Fatima Payman voted against her own party to support the Greens’ motion calling on the government to recognize the State of Palestine, leaving her facing expulsion from the Labor Party.
The extraordinary decision comes after the 28-year-old first-term Labor senator departed from the party line last month to describe the current crisis in Gaza as a “genocide” and demand more from her colleagues and the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Fiery Senator Lidia Thorpe used the high-stakes moment, which attracted a crowd of journalists, to lash out at politicians from both main parties for voting against the Greens motion.
He said doing so made them “complicit in genocide.”
Ms Payman chose to abstain in a series of initial votes on Tuesday afternoon, sitting defiantly in the back – behind the action but in view of journalists – as the debate continued.
But as things came to a close and the final vote on Greens senator Nick McKim’s motion for “the Senate to recognize the State of Palestine”, Ms Payman was approached by MP David Pocock.
After a brief discussion, the couple walked together towards the Greens.
There was a brief moment when it was unclear whether Payman was leaving the chamber entirely or had decided to vote, but then he took a seat next to Pocock and directly across from Thorpe.
Payman faces expulsion from the match for choosing to cross the room.
But as things came to a close and the final vote on Greens senator Nick McKim’s motion for “the Senate to recognize the State of Palestine”, Ms Payman was approached by MP David Pocock. After a brief discussion, the couple walked together toward the Greens.
Prior to her decision to cross the floor, Ms. Payman abstained from several rounds of voting. She visibly did so and watched as Senator Thorpe shouted at the Labor Party for being “complicit in genocide”.
Minutes earlier, it seemed as if she had arrived in the chamber to be a silent spectator, sitting in the back behind Ms Thorpe as the outspoken senator shouted “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.
“All of you complicit in genocide,” he shouted, pointing at the assembled Labor and Coalition senators who opposed the Greens motion.
‘What a shame for all of you. Have a good night’s sleep.’
When Senate President Sue Lines attempted to intervene to call for order, Ms Thorpe continued: “You are complicit too, President.”
Greens Senate leader David Shoebridge also weighed in, arguing that the main parties had banded together to “muzzle” debate on the issue.
“They gagged him,” he said. ‘It is disrespectful to ignore a genocide. They have muzzled the debate.’
Throughout all the chaos, Payman barely raised his head.
He had the option of not going to the Senate during the vote, which made his decision to appear and still visibly abstain even more notable.
Fatima Payman has defied Anthony Albanese and his party to support the Greens in recognizing the State of Palestine.
Payman, whose family fled Afghanistan when she was eight, asked the Prime Minister last month what is the “magic number… of international rights laws that Israel must violate before we can say enough is enough.”
“They are enlightening the world community about the rights of self-defense,” he said, describing the ongoing conflict in Gaza as a “genocide.”
“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
The Coalition and Labor joined together to condemn that phrase and agreed to a motion urging senators to “refrain from inflammatory and divisive comments, both inside and outside the chamber at all times.”
Foreign Minister Penny Wong agreed that it was “not consistent” with the two-state solution, which the party officially supports.
Payman defiantly ignored his party’s position and crossed the floor to vote alongside the Greens.
“We want a two-state solution,” he said. “And it is that solution that is needed for peace and security for both Palestinians and Israelis.”
Labor supported the motion with the Coalition. Payman did not turn up for the vote and the Greens, along with Lidia Thorpe, voted against the motion.
Payman joined the Labor Party because she felt aligned with traditional working-class values, having seen her parents taken advantage of while raising her in Australia.
“I witnessed the struggles my parents went through to put food on the table, pay for our education and provide us with a roof over our heads,” he previously told the Senate.
‘From discrimination and abuse to job insecurity and low wages, my father endured those hardships without complaint or seeking redress.
“Like many hard-working Australians, this came naturally to my parents, who just wanted the best future for their four children.”
The crisis in the Middle East has exposed fractures within the Labor Party on the issue.
Israel launched a ground invasion of Gaza after the Palestinian paramilitary group Hamas – designated by Australia as a terrorist organization – killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages on October 7.
Israel’s retaliation in Gaza has killed more than 35,000 people and injured 77,000 more, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Israel has emphatically rejected the use of the term genocide, saying its war was against Hamas militants in Gaza, not civilians, and that precautions were being taken to reduce casualties.
But Ms Payman clearly described the conflict as a genocide, saying: “Instead of advocating for justice, I see our leaders making performative gestures defending the oppressor’s right to oppress.”
He said they are “setting the global community on fire over self-defense rights.”
“My conscience has been troubled for too long and I must call this out for what it is,” he said. ‘This is genocide and we must stop pretending otherwise.
‘Lack of clarity, moral confusion, indecision are eating away at the heart of this nation. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
