Anthony Albanese sprang into action after his recalcitrant senator, young Muslim woman Fatima Payman, gave a defiant Sunday morning on the ABC Insiders program in which she vowed to cross the floor again if similar circumstances arose.
Author
Michelle Grattan
Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
There was no slap with a feather this time, as happened last week after she broke party solidarity to vote for a Green’s pro-Palestinian motion.
Then, Albanese had what Payman described as a “stern but fair conversation” with her but only barred her from this week’s caucus meeting.
On Sunday, he summoned her to the Lodge and told her she was suspended from caucus – until she accepted caucus discipline. Moreover, this was a decision of the Labor leadership team.
Later a government spokesperson said: “By her actions and her statements, Senator Payman has placed herself outside the privilege that comes with participating in the federal parliamentary Labor Party caucus.
“If Senator Payman decides she will respect the caucus and her Labor colleagues she can return, but until then Senator Payman is suspended from the right to participate in federal parliamentary Labor party caucus meetings and processes.”
Payman remains a member of the broader Labor Party.
The Payman affair confronted Labor with an existential moment about one of its foundational principles – that caucus members are bound by solidarity to vote as a block in parliament.
In parliamentary votes, what caucus decides – or agrees to after cabinet or the leadership decree – backbenchers duly follow. Anyone who doesn’t can expect to face expulsion from the caucus, which is the arbiter of their fate.
That’s been the understanding since year dot.
Payman, 29, from Western Australia, was not just adamant about sticking to her position, saying without qualification she would cross the floor again on a similiar motion, which declared that “the need for the Senate to recognise the state of Palestine”.(The motion failed with government and Coalition both opposing.)
In her interview she cast her situation in the wider context of diversity politics. For for Labor, which has made much of advocating a more diverse parliament, this is an awkward point.
‘You can’t have that diversity in personalities and the representation but not have the diversity of views and opinions,” she said.
“Look, we’ve had diverse views in the caucus from […] various people, various perspectives on the table,” Payman said. “But I think that we need to be able to embrace that diversity of views.”
When it comes to the crunch, almost all Labor MPs over the years are willing to put their commitment to solidarity in parliamentary votes before their commitment to other groups or causes. The example of now Senate leader Penny Wong and marriage equality is often cited.
But for Payman her commitment to the Palestinian cause and her Muslim community comes ahead of that.
As Australia becomes more diverse, and the parliament catches up with that, will the solidarity rule appear obsolete, or unenforceable?
There have already been those in the party, such as Chris Bowen a decade ago, who have said it is too restrictive generally, compared to for example what happens in Britain, where backbenchers have more freedom in their votes on some issues.
Last week Albanese got him iself into trouble with some in caucus in his unilateral handling of the Payman issue. The critics asserted that disciplinary matters were up to the caucus to handle, not the PM.
In his latest action he has the backing of the leadership team. The solidarity principle has been upheld, which should make some caucus members feel more comfortable next time they are challenged for not standing up for this or that in a parliamentary vote.
But there will be downsides from this indefinite suspension,.
It will give P political martyr status among her supporters in the wider Labor rank and file and among some of her union backers.
Worse, saying a young Muslim woman is no longer welcome in caucus because she is standing up publicly for Palestinians will be a bad look when Labor is already worried about the Muslim vote in areas such as Western Sydney.
It will put pressure on the two ministers who are Muslims, Ed Husic and Anne Aly to explain to the Muslim community why Labor’s solidarity rule trumps a backbencher saying what they think. 0
Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
