Indigenous leaders slam ‘disrespectful’ Fatima Payman’s choice of party name, Australia’s Voice

Fatima Payman’s move to lead a breakaway party named Australia’s Voice has angered distinguished Indigenous figures, who are in solemn reflection over the defeat of the voice referendum a year ago.

Former Labor senator Fatima Payman, left, and Uluru Dialogue co-chair Megan Davis.

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Furious Indigenous leaders have slammed Fatima Payman for claiming and rebadging the voice for her own political brand, as the former Labor senator refused to outline policies or reveal candidates.

Senator Payman’s announcement on Wednesday that she would lead a breakaway political party named Australia’s Voice has angered some of Australia’s most distinguished Indigenous figures, who are in solemn reflection over the defeat of the voice referendum a year ago on Monday.

Uluru Dialogue co-chair Megan Davis, a Cobble Cobble woman and constitutional expert who worked on the voice process for 12 years, described Senator Payman’s announcement as “curious timing given it’s the anniversary of the referendum and many of our people are still grieving”.

Four months since she crossed the floor to vote for Palestinian statehood, the West Australian senator launched the Australia’s Voice party in Canberra, saying her policy platforms would “come with time”. In a later interview on ABC, she described Palestinian recognition as overdue.

Indigenous entrepreneur Sean Gordon, who joined fellow political conservatives in supporting the Indigenous voice through the Uphold & Recognise collective, said he saw the name of the new party as part of persistent and wrong-headed efforts to link the Indigenous rights movement with pro-Palestinian activism.

“The use of the term ‘voice’ by Fatima Payman for her new political party is a further attempt by the pro-Palestinian movement to leverage off the back of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,” Mr Gordon said.

“This is no different to the pro-Palestinian movement who drowned out our voices on Australia Day early this year.

“The only day that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have to advocate our issues which are broadcasted locally, nationally and internationally.

“I’m not surprised by the lack of respect shown by Fatima Payman toward Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by using the term ‘voice’, this is no different to the NSW Minerals Council who also used the term ‘voice for mining’ for their 2024 campaign, which was a play on the Voice Referendum Campaign for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples recognition.”

Edward Synot, a Wemba Wemba man and senior member of the Uluru Dialogue, said the name of the new party “ smacks of political opportunism”.

Mr Synot said his group – the custodians of the Uluru Statement from the Heart and its call for an Indigenous voice – were not consulted about the new party or its name.

Senator Payman refused to apologise on Wednesday over criticism that her new party’s name invoked the landmark call by Indigenous Australians for a constitutionally enshrined advisory body.

Senator Payman pledged to sit between the Greens and Labor and build a movement for “all Australians”.

Speaking to ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, Senator Payman said: “This is not just the voice referendum per se, this is Australia’s Voice and that encompasses all the communities.

“I think it is important to see that Australia’s Voice as a political party will be prioritising and looking into Indigenous issues as much as it will be for all Australians.”

Questioned further, Senator Payman said she had held private conversations with Indigenous elders about the name but declined to give details. “People will have objections, that is just the nature of the political landscape and political world we live in,” she said.

“At the end of the day it comes down to the intentions and what this party stands for. I don’t see why I should apologise.”

At her press conference on Wednesday, she said: “So many of you have told me with emotions in your hearts, we need something different. We need a voice … And so it is with great humility and deep responsibility that I announce the formation of Australia’s Voice. A new political party for the disenfranchised, the unheard and those yearning for real change.”

Nova Peris, a former Labor senator and the first Indigenous Australian to win an Olympic gold medal, said she was appalled by the party name and that Senator Payman chose to launch it so close to the anniversary of the defeat of the voice referendum and the aftermath of the Hamas massacre on October 7.

“So many of our mob are grieving, so many Jewish Australians are mourning, and she chooses today to launch this totally insensitive party name,” Ms Peris said.

“It is breathtakingly disrespectful, and a complete misappropriation of yet another aspect of my people’s story and emblems. The Australian Labor Party gave Ms Payman a voice. This rogue senator has misappropriated that privilege in a self-entitled manner.”

Ms Peris said Senator Payman had also hijacked her people’s flag by wearing a lapel pin with the Aboriginal flag paired with the Palestinian flag.

“It speaks volumes about her priorities and those of her party,” Ms Peris said.

“This is not a party that respects either Australia or Indigenous Australians. Where is the Torres Strait Islander Flag? Where is our national flag? Why is the Palestinian flag there in preference to those flags?

“Given the proximity to the anniversary of the October 7 massacre and the crowds of purportedly ‘pro-Palestine’ protesters openly expressing support for Hamas and Hezbollah in recent days and weeks, this symbolism and timing should be of great concern to all Australians, particularly the government and police given that Hamas and Hezbollah are listed terrorist organisations.

“All of these elements suggest that ‘Australia’s Voice’ is the opposite of what this party is about.

“It is not a voice of, or for, Australians. Certainly not Indigenous Australians, Jewish Australians, or any Australians with moral clarity.”