A Muslim senator who sensationally quit Labour over its handling of the Gaza war has accused the party of treating her like a “diversity hire”.
Senator Fatima Payman, 29, says she decided to leave the party last month because she felt she was continually monitored and censored at “every” public event.
The Afghan-born West Australian MP accused the Labor Party of editing her speeches and silencing her views on the Middle East.
“Every move, every interaction, every event I attended, every speech I made was monitored, was reviewed,” he said. News from heaven on Mondays.
‘There comes a point where you lose your autonomy as an individual and you ask yourself: what am I doing here?’
Senator Payman accused Labor of keeping her in the party just to tick a “diversity box” but said they were not prepared to deal with “diversity of thought, values and representation”.
“If parties do not recognise, appreciate and allow for dissenting voices and differences of opinion, then I don’t think they are fit for purpose or fit to lead,” he said.
“Especially because Australia today is very different to Australia 50 years ago,” he said.
Senator Fatima Payman (pictured) left the Labour Party in July, citing its handling of the Gaza conflict as the reason for her departure.
Senator Payman on Monday accused the Labor Party of treating her as a “diversity hire” and censoring her public appearances.
Ms Payman’s departure sparked a debate on the principle of solidarity between parliamentary groups.
Ms Payman believes the censorship she experienced under Labour is a clear sign that it has abandoned its old values.
“I feel like the same Labour Party that I campaigned so hard for was not the same Labour Party that I fought against,” she said.
When Ms Payman left the party in early July, she cited unresolvable tensions as the reason for her departure.
He accused the Labour Party of failing to take a position on the situation between Israel and Palestine and the 38,000 people who have died in Gaza since the situation escalated following a surprise attack by the extremist group Hamas last year.
“It is with a heavy heart but a clear conscience that I have announced my resignation from the Australian Labor Party,” he said.
‘My family did not flee a war-torn country to come here as refugees so that I would remain silent when I see atrocities inflicted on innocent people.’
Senator Payman (pictured) claimed Labour only kept her in the party to tick a “diversity box” but was not prepared to deal with “diversity of thought, values and representation”.
Ms Payman’s family were refugees who fled to Pakistan from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, before joining other family members in Perth when she was about eight years old in 2003.
Ms Payman was elected to a six-year term in 2022 during Labor’s resounding victories in Western Australia. She will serve the remaining four years as an independent.
Mr Albanese had reportedly privately told Senator Payman that she had been elected on the Labor Party platform and had urged her to leave the Senate altogether so that the government could reappoint an insider to the Senate seat.