Fatima Payman and Pauline Hanson in unlikely alliance over staffing allocation

Former Labor senator Fatima Payman has taken a swipe at Anthony Albanese and suggested his decision not to allocate her any personal staff was politically motivated.

Independent senator Fatima Payman on Wednesday. Picture: Martin Ollman / NewsWire

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Former Labor senator Fatima Payman has taken a swipe at Anthony Albanese and suggested his decision not to allocate her any personal staff was politically motivated, revealing she would consider supporting Pauline Hanson should the One Nation senator take the matter to the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

The unusual alliance between the West Australian senator and the leading conservative in Queensland comes ahead of pushback from the Coalition and other members of the crossbench over the Prime Minister’s discretionary powers in how staff are allocated, with expectations the matter will be raised in parliament next week.

In June, after many weeks of consideration, Mr Albanese revealed he would be cutting staff from Labor and Coalition ranks.

Senator Pauline Hanson and Senator Fatima Payman in the Senate at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Government sources confirmed the Prime Minister had directed ministers to focus on hiring political operatives over public policy experts.

However, the government’s approach to the crossbench varied drastically for each party and independent. While some independents, such as Jacqui Lambie and David Pocock, received an adequate number of personal staff, others such as Senator Payman – who left Labor last year – did not.

“From the fourth of July 2024 I have not receive a single response to the letters and emails I’ve sent to the Prime Minister requesting the additional stuff that’s given to all the other cross front senators,” Senator Payman said.

“It’s really unfair to see that the Prime Minister would use discretionary power to his advantage of not allowing people like me, an independent senator, an independent voice for Western Australia, to truly represent my state without the resources.”

Asked if she believed Mr Albanese had made the decision for political reasons – given her refusal to leave parliament and return the Senate spot to Labor – Senator Payman said “everyone can read between the lines”.

It comes as former “preference whisperer” Glenn Druery, who joined Senator Payman’s staff after she resigned from the Labor Party, announced his resignation.

Mr Druery – who will focus on a memoir spanning his 26 years in politics – said he was leaving on positive terms with Senator Payman, citing frustrations with the makeup of the 48th parliament as a factor in his decision.

“I am not your typical staffer. I’m a negotiator. I create opportunity, that’s what I’ve always done,” he said. “It’s very difficult to do that. I shouldn’t say it’s impossible, but it’s very difficult given that the Greens have the balance of power, the rest of the crossbench, I shouldn’t say they’re not irrelevant, but it’s very difficult.”

The staffing stoush came on the second official sitting day of the 48th parliament and first question time of the term, with matters including Labor’s superannuation tax proposal and childcare safety bill a key focus.

Along with the decision not to allocate Senator Payman any personal staff, Senator Hanson was told her party would be assigned a “pool” of four staff.

This was drastically different to the previous term, when Senator Hanson had been assigned two staff members, as had her Senate colleague Malcolm Roberts.

One Nation senator Pauline Hanson in West Hobart. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

The allocation effectively halved One Nation’s senator-staffer ratio, given the two newly elected One Nation senators brought the party’s total number to four in the upper house.

In a letter to Mr Albanese and Special Minister of State Don Farrell, Senator Hanson blasted the “distress” caused to her staff by the allocation matter and the fact the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service had emailed Senator Roberts’ two staff members on Monday informing them their contracts had been terminated.

Senator Hanson demanded answers over the move by PWSS and declared “there is a high likelihood of discrimination being applied” by the Labor leader.

“This process flies in the face of best practice and the requirements of all Fair Work advice regarding reasonableness and consultation and due diligence on mental health and wellbeing,” she said in the letter, seen by The Australian.

The government has defended its position on staffing allocation, citing the fact it was “routine practice to revise staff allocations in a new parliamentary term”.

“Staffing allocations are made based on a range of considerations, including demonstrated need and individual circumstances,” a Labor spokesman said.