Anthony Albanese is tiptoeing through the political tulips when it comes to one of his Labor senators breaking party rules and crossing the floor on the question of Palestine.
WA Labor senator Fatima Payman defied both her prime minister and her party when she sided with the Greens on a motion to recognize Palestinian statehood.
Yes, Labour’s rule about sticking to the collective and not voting against the party is set in stone. At least in theory. And yes, the Prime Minister has quite explicitly condemned the Greens for stoking violence when it comes to issues relating to Palestine and Israel.
But those principles matter less than crude political decision-making. Albo has a problem balancing competing interests on this controversial issue within his own party. Not unlike the challenges President Joe Biden faces within American Democrats.
Slapping the 29-year-old Australian senator for what she did would only have increased tensions within the Labor Party.
So on Wednesday morning, he opted for weakness by refusing to expel her from the party, but for strategic reasons.
Senator Fatima Payman (pictured, with David Pocock) crossed the floor and voted against her party, in violation of party rules.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (pictured) only applies the rules selectively when it suits him. Now it is in his best interest not to expel a young senator for violating them
For starters, she is a young and diverse senator. The last thing the 61-year-old prime minister wanted was to be seen enforcing party rules to destroy her career.
It’s one thing to expel an elderly union leader like CFMEU head John Setka from the party for violating the rules.
However, doing it to a young defender of Palestine would have infuriated activist voters and party members with whom Albo does not want to fight.
Not while counting down to an election in which every vote could count.
Expelling Senator Payman from the Labor Party for crossing the House (which is what the rules prescribe to do) would have divided the factions, given the increase in Green support at the expense of the Labor Party.
It would also likely have increased tensions in beleaguered Labour constituencies across the country. The Prime Minister has pointed to the damage Palestinian protesters are causing to his party’s constituency offices.
Palestinian protesters are unhappy with the Labor government’s response to the war between Israel and Hamas.
Likewise, given that Albo relies on the support of the left faction to maintain his dominance in the party room as leader, taking action against the good WA senator would have been risky business in that regard as well.
If the election is close and the Prime Minister returns leading only a minority government, how forgiving will the left faction be the next time he tries to sell some of his political values?
Currently, the Labor left feels that it is not being heard properly when it comes to Palestine. The prime minister faces a constant struggle to respond to his demands without losing the mainstream or the majority of the right.
While it is true that by not reprimanding her for acting against the rules there is a risk of others acting as copycats in the months and years to come, Albo will hope to be able to deal with such circumstances on her own merits away from the glare of this situation. The problem is currently getting.
This is certainly not the first time a Labor MP has crossed the floor and not been reprimanded for doing so. Harry Quick did so in 2005, as did Graeme Campbell in 1988. On both occasions, political pragmatism trumped rules, although Campbell eventually left the party anyway.
Over the years many more have been expelled for breaking party rules.
While I have long disagreed with Labour’s approach of stifling the conscientious rights of its MPs and Senators to walk across the floor free from the risk of expulsion from the party, as and when it suits them, having such rules only matters if they are enforced when it is inconvenient.
Senator Fatima Payman (pictured) sided with the Greens in a vote in the Senate to recognize Palestine as a state.
Not only when it is convenient to use them to repress dissent for the sake of superficial party unity, or to rid the party of members it would be wise to get rid of.
Selective rule following is akin to an anarchic process run by leaders who pick and choose.
Would Albo be so relaxed if one of his deputies crossed the room in a debate on nuclear energy, for example?
Labor MPs would never cross parliament on this issue because they know Albo would come down on them like a ton of bricks.
Exactly the opposite of your response to Senator Payman.
This is how politics too often works: power and pragmatism trump principle. Agree or disagree with her, at least Senator Payman stuck to her principles.
A rarity in modern politics.