Australian MP suspended for pro-Palestinian stance – ruling party calls for “exile”

Australian ruling Labor Party Senator Fatima Payman said on Monday the prime minister’s decision to indefinitely exclude her from the party’s caucus had driven her into “exile”.

Payman, who faced suspension after supporting a motion in Parliament to recognise a Palestinian state, said she had lost touch with her party colleagues, SBS News reported.

She said she was excluded from group meetings, committees, internal group discussions and group bulletins. She was instructed to avoid all parliamentary duties that require a vote, including votes, motions and matters of public interest.

Payman said she believed some members were trying to intimidate her into resigning, and she had decided to abstain from voting in the Senate for the rest of the week unless a “question of conscience” arose.

According to local media reports, Labour factions would meet on Monday ahead of Tuesday’s party meeting, where tougher penalties, including Payman’s possible expulsion, could be discussed.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said last Wednesday that the ruling party had suspended Payman because he supported a motion in parliament to recognize a Palestinian state.

On Monday, Albanese said Payman had “undermined” Labor’s collective position, after saying in an interview on Sunday that she would continue to campaign for a Palestinian state in parliament.