Senator Fatima Payman has stepped down from Australia’s governing Labor Party following her vote against party lines in favor of a motion supporting Palestinian statehood.
Labor imposes severe penalties for members who contradict its official stances, and Ms. Payman had already been placed under “indefinite suspension” from the party’s caucus for indicating her intention to repeat such actions.
“This is a matter I cannot compromise on,” the 29-year-old said on Thursday, adding that she was “deeply torn” over the decision.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that Ms. Payman expressed gratitude for his leadership and refuted claims of being coerced into resigning.
Ms. Payman will now take her place on the crossbench as an independent senator.
At 29 years old, she is Australia’s first and only federal politician to wear a hijab, coming from a Muslim background with her family having fled Afghanistan after the Taliban took over in 1996.
“Unlike my colleagues, I know how it feels to be on the receiving end of injustice. My family did not flee a war-torn country to come here as refugees for me to remain silent when I see atrocities inflicted on innocent people,” she said during a press conference on her resignation.
The conflict in Gaza has become a volatile political issue in Australia that all sides have sought to carefully manage.
Officially the government favours a two-state solution, but it did not back the motion on statehood after trying – and failing – to insert a condition that any recognition should be “as part of a peace process”.
The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy the Hamas group which runs Gaza in response to an unprecedented Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October, during which about 1,200 people were killed, and 251 others were taken hostage.
More than 37,900 people have been killed in Gaza since then, including 28 over the past 24 hours, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Ms Payman said that since crossing the Senate floor to vote with the Greens party last Tuesday she had received “immense support” from some colleagues, and “pressure… to toe the party line” from others. She also reported receiving “death threats and emails that were quite confronting” from members of the public.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who handed down the indefinite suspension on Sunday, had repeatedly said Ms Payman could rejoin the caucus – where MPs discuss the government’s agenda – if she was willing to participate “as a team player”.
But in a statement earlier this week, Ms Payman said she had been “exiled” by Labor – explaining that she had been removed from meetings, group chats and all committees.