Anthony Albanese done with discipline as defiant rebel Fatima Payman ‘reflects on future’

Anthony Albanese is resisting further action against rebel senator Fatima Payman despite her ­openly defying his leadership in parliament, attacking her Labor colleagues and threatening to quit the party.

Labor Senator Fatima Payman is embraced by Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek on Monday. Picture: AAP

Anthony Albanese is resisting further action against rebel senator Fatima Payman despite her ­openly defying his leadership in parliament, attacking her Labor colleagues and threatening to further destabilise the government by quitting the party.

The Prime Minister is under ­internal pressure to consider asking Labor’s national executive to expel the West Australian senator from the ALP, after she said she would continue to defy the party in the Senate by abstaining from all votes this week.

Labor MPs have historically been suspended or expelled from the party for abstaining from voting with the party in parliament, while ALP convention is that she should have been kicked out of the party for crossing the floor last week on a Greens motion to immediately recognise Palestine.

But despite Labor MPs arguing her latest act of rebellion should force her out of the party, The Australian understands Mr Albanese isn’t considering further punishment after on Sunday suspending her indefinitely from attending caucus meetings.

While she doesn’t attend meetings of Labor MPs, she remains a Labor senator and is expected to sit with the party in parliament. Mr Albanese said of his Sunday conversation with her at The Lodge: “I pointed out to her she was elected as a Labor senator.”

Several Labor sources, who wished to remain anonymous, said there was significant anger within the party over Senator Payman’s behaviour, which they said was “embarrassing” Mr Albanese and “disrespecting” her colleagues.

Government MPs were ­incensed over Senator Payman’s suggestion on Sunday the road to achieving marriage ­equality took too long, in a veiled swipe at gay party members including Penny Wong and Louise Pratt who voted against the plebiscite despite their own convictions. “Those sorts of comments were totally unnecessary. I was completely shocked,” a Labor source said.

Amid questions over when the Greens would next bring on their motion on Palestinian recognition and an urging from the Nationals for Senator Payman to cross the floor on the live export sheep ban being debated on Tuesday, the 29-year-old said she would abstain from voting all together.

“I have lost all contact with ­caucus colleagues. I have been ­removed from caucus meetings, committees, internal group chats and whip bulletins … I have been exiled,” she said in a statement.

“These actions lead me to ­believe that some members are ­attempting to intimidate me into resigning from the Senate. As a ­result, I will abstain from voting on Senate matters for the remainder of the week, unless a matter of conscience arises where I’ll uphold the true values and principles of the Labor Party.”

Her comments come despite her being seen embracing Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek and laughing with Labor senator Jana Stewart on Monday.

Senator Payman concluded her statement by saying she would “take this time to reflect on my ­future and the best way to represent the people of Western ­Australia”, raising questions over whether she would resign from the party.

Greens leader Adam Bandt has left open the option of moving ­another motion this week asking the parliament to recognise Palestine as a state.

He refused to say if he’d spoken to Senator Payman since she supported his party’s resolution last week. Asked if the Greens would move the same motion this week or when parliament returns after the winter break, Mr Bandt said the party was considering its ­options.

Senior Labor sources accused Senator Payman of “strategically” choosing the week of the revamped stage-three tax cuts flowing through to say she would continue crossing the floor, in a move that overshadowed a key plank of the government’s economic agenda.

“She’s completely taken away from the message (on tax cuts),” they said. “It’s obviously very strategic. In a way, a lot of us underestimated her.”

Mr Albanese rebuked Senator Payman for the damage and “disruption” done to the government.

“She chose to … disrupt Labor and what we are doing today, the day before the most significant ­assistance that has been given to working people in a very long ­period of time,” he told the ABC.

“That was a decision that Senator Payman made and Senator Payman made alone.”

Mr Albanese acknowledged the war in Gaza had created a “very difficult period” but said real solutions were needed, not “gestures and stunts from the Greens”.

“This stunt from the Greens was designed to put Fatima Payman in a difficult position. It was designed to do that. It wasn’t designed to assist Palestinians in Gaza. It wasn’t designed to advance the peace process. And it was counter-productive,” he said.

“Pretending that the Senate recognises states is, quite frankly, untenable. The resolution that was moved by the Greens, which didn’t acknowledge two states at all, unlike Senator Wong’s position, which was a principal position of two-state ­solution to advance the cause of a sustainable peace in the region, that’s what we need. And that’s a collective position that Labor has had.”

Several Labor MPs said that while there was a great deal of frustration towards Senator Payman, there remained disquiet over Mr Albanese’s decision not to consult caucus when announcing his initial punishment for her of being barred from just one caucus meeting.

Sources said they expected that this lack of consultation, along with Senator Payman’s ­future, to be raised during caucus on Tuesday morning.

“There has to at least be that conversation,” one Labor MP said.

The Australian understands the Labor Left faction met late on Monday afternoon to discuss the developments involving Senator Payman, who is part of the Left.

Early Childhood Education Minister Anne Aly, who like Senator Payman is a Muslim woman, said she had tried to reach out to her colleague but hadn’t heard back and had felt emotional over the weekend because she’d hoped “things might be different for whoever comes after me”. She said it was correct Labor’s motion on Palestine went to caucus last week but Senator Payman didn’t speak up. “Fatima comes from within the party, she’s been a party member, she’s participated in party processes, so she knows and she has in the past always had the ability and I hope had felt comfortable to raise her voice,” she said. Dr Aly said she hoped Senator Payman remained in Labor.

“I hope she stays, I really do. I fought long and hard to ensure we have a diverse representation in our parliament,” she said.

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher also hoped Senator Payman wouldn’t leave Labor.

“I hope not but the decisions she’s made in the last week have been of her own making,” she told Nine’s Today Show.

“It’s a privilege to serve in the Labor caucus and when you serve in the Labor caucus … you sign up to making decisions together and standing together. And when somebody doesn’t stand with you, there has to be consequences.

“But I hope not (that she’ll ­become an independent). Really, the Prime Minister has said, until she can commit to you know that solidarity that we expect in the Labor caucus, she’ll have to sit outside. But the decision now is over to her.”