Late yesterday, Labor senator Fatima Payman said she had been effectively “exiled” from the Labor Party over her controversial decision to cross the floor on a Greens motion related to the Gaza war.
As Michelle Grattan writes, it’s clear Payman is now “on her way out of the Labor party – one way or the other”.
Grattan emphasises the fact that Labor’s rule against MPs crossing the floor is sacrosanct and deeply embedded in Labor history.
However, she says, the internal anger over Payman’s action is unprecedented in recent times. As she writes, it has reached “how DARE she” fury.
Where does this leave the party? Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is keen to shift attention back to other matters, primarily the July 1 tax cuts and other issues before parliament in the final sitting week before the winter break.
But this could prove challenging with an issue – the Gaza war – that has galvanised so many young people across Australia.
“Whether she’s expelled or leaves herself, there will be a lot of blowback for Labor,” Grattan says.
Payman’s transgression was to breach the concept of “caucus solidarity”, which is an article of faith in the Labor Party (but has a less mythic status for other parties without roots in the union movement).
Emily Foley explains why this principle is so important to Labor, and how few MPs have dared to defy it over the years.
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Justin Bergman
International Affairs Editor
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
Rebel Senator Fatima Payman has escalated her confrontation with the Labor Party by claiming “some members” are trying to intimidate her into quitting the Senate.
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Emily Foley, La Trobe University
The Australian Labor Party has been around for more than a century. In that time, very few MPs have crossed the floor. Why does it matter so much that one did?
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