Fatima Payman will reportedly quit Labor but remain in the Senate as an independent for the remainder of her term until mid-2028.
The first-term senator is expected to make the announcement on Thursday afternoon, the ABC reported.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last weekend indefinitely suspended her from the federal caucus after she broke party rules and crossed the floor to support a Greens motion on Palestinian statehood.
While she was initially only suspended for one meeting, Mr Albanese increased the sanction after she said on national television she would continue to cross the floor on the issue.
He was backed in by the full caucus at its meeting on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old was elected in 2022 to a rare third WA Senate seat for Labor.
Leaving the party means she will be on the hook to repay campaign expenses Labor incurred for her election, as The West revealed this week.
In a twist to the story, until caucus suspended her on Tuesday, Senator Payman was a member of the WA Labor administrative committee that will decide the size of this bill.
Senator Payman has been increasingly diverging from the Government’s position on Palestine and the timing of her interventions has put many parliamentary colleagues offside.
The day after the Budget in May, she made a speech to media, originally intended to be delivered to a rally outside Parliament House, accusing Israel of genocide, saying Australia was not doing enough and using the controversial phrase “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” which Mr Albanese had previously condemned as violent language.
This fortnight’s spillover of tensions has overshadowed the Government’s sales pitch for its July 1 tax cuts, power bill rebates and wage rises for the lowest-paid workers.
She has faced an intense personal struggle with the Government’s position on the war in Gaza and has been publicly pushed by many activists to speak out.
The Government has moved to a more pro-Palestine position over the nine months since the October 7 attacks but some within its ranks – not only Senator Payamn – believe that has happened too slowly.
However, there is anger from her colleagues because Senator Payman did not use any of the internal processes, formal or informal, to raise her concerns before going public or crossing the floor.
On Monday, she said she had been “exiled” from the party and felt that Labor colleagues were trying to intimidate her into leaving Parliament.
https://thewest.com.au/politics/federal-politics/fatima-payman-tipped-to-quit-labor-stay-in-senate-c-15239175
