Labour defector Fatima Payman has opposed the Albanian government’s new age restriction legislation for social media in a bizarre speech to the Senate, laden with Gen Z jargon.
The 29-year-old independent senator from Western Australia delivered her two-minute statement in Parliament on Wednesday afternoon, which was filled with terms commonly used by young Australians.
Instead of addressing her fellow senators – all much older than her – she was speaking directly to Generation Z and Alpha, whose voices are often not heard in Parliament.
Ms Payman began by talking about Australia’s “sigmas”, which broadly mean admirable people.
‘I say that this stupid government has been putting limits on us. Not just now, but for a long time. Some of you will remember when they said ‘there will be no Fanum tax under a government that I lead’. They are addicted to limits, they are also addicted to yapaholics.
‘They go on and on about how their cost-of-living measures are changing the lives of all Australians. Just put the chips in the bag, bro.’
Translated into everyday English, he accused the Labour Party of being stupid and continually lying about taxes, talking endlessly about the cost of living but failing to address it properly, and finally told the government to do its job properly.
She continued: ‘We are told they are determined to improve the housing situation in this country – they must have rotten heads from watching too much Kai Cenat and have forgotten about their plans to ban social media for children under 14.
Fatima Payman’s speech was aimed at young Australians (pictured) and was loaded with Gen Z slang.
“If this becomes law, you can forget about the skull emoji that talks about watching Duke Dennis or watching a baseball game with your buddies from Fort.”
Kai Cenat and Duke Dennis are gaming influencers with millions of followers on the live streaming platform Twitch. “Fort” refers to the popular game Fortnite. “Dub” means to win a game.
“Forgord” with a skull emoji is another term for “forgot.”
Senator Payman then asked: “Is this Prime Minister serious?”
“Chat” is a term used by live streamers when they talk to fans who interact with them in real time, through a text box.
The rest of the speech continued in a similar vein, boiling down to a few key points: Mr Albanese is out of touch, the opposition should not cut WA’s services tax, Labor is mediocre, the Coalition is unqualified and the Teals are the best option.
His speech concluded with a message to young people: “Even though some of you cannot yet vote, I hope that when you do, it will be in a stronger Australia, for a government with more aura. Skibidi.”
By this, the senator meant that she hopes the government will become the best ever (acronym: goat) and with a cooler factor than it currently has.
Skibidi has no real meaning, but it comes from a bathroom meme and can be used to describe something really cool.
Fatima Payman was praised for her speech on TikTok and many said they finally understood something that was said in Parliament.
Ms Payman then shared the speech on TikTok, where young people flocked to the comments section to say they were relieved to have finally understood a parliamentary speech.
“Oh my god, I finally understand someone from parliament,” one user said.
Another wrote: “(To be honest) I understand this more than actual politics.”
A third person said: “I knew I was wrong when I understood this better than actual political speech.”
Others, however, found the speech awkward.
“This is really cringeworthy. It’s time to be an adult,” said one Instagram user.
“Desperate for attention,” wrote another.
The Prime Minister on Tuesday announced plans to introduce legislation to prevent children from accessing social media in a bid to safeguard their emotional and mental wellbeing.
A minimum age has not yet been announced, but she has previously backed moves to raise the proposed limit from 13 to 16 to give teenagers more time to mature without the social pressures that are heightened in an online environment.
