Fatima Payman to sit on Senate crossbench
Fatima Payman then confirms her move to the crossbench:
Our actions must align with our principles. When history looks back, it must see that we stood on the right side of humanity, even when it was difficult.
Sadly, I do not believe our principles align with those of the leadership of the Labor Party. With a heavy heart but a clear conscience, I announce my resignation from the Australian Labor party. I have informed the prime minister that, effective immediately, I will sit on the crossbench to represent Western Australia.
Key events
Before Fatima Payman’s interview with ABC radio, she will appear on Sky News.
That is coming up shortly.
Sarah Basford Canales
Senate question time has gotten a bit ugly this afternoon. The opposition’s questions turned to newly-independent senator, Fatima Payman, who entered the chamber right after her emotional press conference and sat on the crossbench.
The mood was already tense but Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie turned it up a dial.
Labor senator Penny Wong confirmed Payman’s colleagues and staff had asked whether the 29-year-old senator was receiving support from the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service – a HR body for staff and politicians in Parliament House. Wong said it was a private matter for Payman as to whether she took up the offer.
McKenzie then asked:
[The prime] minister has been repeatedly defied and humiliated by Senator Payman. His belated and feeble efforts to impose some form of discipline has spectacularly, has spectacularly, failed. If the prime minister cannot bring himself to act decisively, effectively, with strength, within his own government, how can the Australian people trust him to act with strength and decisiveness on issues of importance to our nation?”
Wong responded:
The prime minister has sought to act with restraint. The prime minister has sought to act with understanding. To my way of thinking, those are qualities associated with leadership, with leadership and with strengths. I regret that. I regret that Senator McKenzie’s taking such an approach in relation to this matter.”
Here is Fatima Payman resigning from the Labor party, speaking about how hard a decision it was for her:
Simon Birmingham has moved a motion to suspend standing orders in the senate, to recognise Israel’s right to defend itself, in a similar move to what Andrew Hastie attempted in the house a little earlier today.
The government had the numbers to adjourn Hastie’s motion, but things can be a bit more tricky in the Senate, so it tends to take up more time.
The Senate seems a bit of a mess at the moment. Senator Fatima Payman has left the chamber after what was described as a particularly “brutal” round of questioning, and heckling, from Coalition senators.
Anthony Albanese:
Well, the Greens political party, of course, did vote with the Coalition to delay the Housing Australia Future Fund and they did vote with the Coalition to block build-to-represent, just in the last fortnight … That would have 160,000 new affordable rental homes as a result and they voted against it.
… If the Leader of the Opposition [Dutton] votes with the Greens any more times, he’ll have to get a hyphen in his surname. [This is a reference to the majority of Greens MPs having hyphenated surnames.]
It just keeps going. You guys over in the Senate block build-to-rent, delay the Housing Australia Future Fund and you voted with the Coalition to block help-to-buy as well which is sitting in the Senate.
… I mean it is unbelievable that they oppose every single measure and, indeed, the member for Griffith is supporting a campaign against new homes. He claimed on Insiders that planning changes that allow more housing won’t change a thing. He went on to say it won’t change a thing because the planning system is not the barrier to fixing the housing crisis.
… We know that planning is a big problem. But of course one of his colleagues is not here today, of course, who has opposed an apartment building in his inner-city electorate, the member for Brisbane, because it would, to quote him, have a substantive impact on the views of existing nearby residents.
That would turn an empty sand and gravel factory into 381 apartments, but there would be too many carparks associated with it. He’s also concerned that the height of the building would impact the unique character of this heritage neighbourhood. And, of course, the member for Brisbane, of course, the justification for opposing this very sensible build-to-rent scheme is that developers would build the buildings.
That’s what they put in their media release.
The Greens press release actually said:
The current ‘build to rent’ plan will see developers able to access tax concessions from the government if they build private rental apartments where 90% can be completely unaffordable, while the other 10% have to meet a weak definition of affordability.
Max Chandler-Mather questions PM on affordability of build-to-rent apartments
In the chamber, Max Chandler-Mather has taken one last opportunity to get under the prime minister’s skin until parliament returns in six weeks by asking:
The Greens will pass your plan, build-to-rent plan, if Labor guarantees in law that 100% of the apartments built under this scheme are genuinely affordable.
But an analysis of build-to-rent projects in Sydney found rents for a two-bedroom apartment were 27% above market rent. A two-bedroom apartment in Marrickville under Labor’s scheme could be over $1,000 extra a week in rent.
Will Labor work with the Greens to ensure tax handouts don’t go to developers to build apartments no one can afford?
Sarah Basford Canales
Foreign minister Penny Wong speaks on Parliament House protesters
Following Senate president Sue Lines’ statement on the protests this morning, the government leader, Penny Wong, stood up to make a comment.
The foreign affairs minister said “what occurred at Parliament House today was not appropriate and those responsible should feel the full force of the law”.
Wong said:
Peaceful protest does have an important place in our society. I think there are many who would question whether this was a peaceful protest, and their actions have done nothing to advance the cause of peace [in Gaza].
The South Australian senator then turned to the broader issue of social cohesion.
There is a tragic, horrific conflict that is occurring … we have seen loss of life at scale.
And people in Australia on all sides … are deeply distressed by this and those of us in this place do have an obligation to remember first and foremost, that one of the precious aspects of our democracy, one of the prerequisites of our democracy, is our capacity to peacefully disagree.
Three Liberals booted from question time
Returning to question time, Michael Sukkar was the first to be booted – glad he got one in this week, we were beginning to worry about him.
As Karen Middleton reported, Rick Wilson was also sent packing.
And Phil Thompson just became the third Liberal MP to be sent out under 94A for interjecting.
Having a look at the question time opener from the opposition, Paul Fletcher had asked Anthony Albanese:
During the course of the prime minister’s meeting on Sunday with Senator Payman at The Lodge, was she spoken to in an aggressive or intimidating manner?
For the record, in her press conference, Fatima Payman said she wouldn’t characterise the conversation in that way. She said it was a “stern but fair” conversation.
Karen Middleton
Back in the house and the Member for O’Connor is upholding the fine tradition of his predecessor Wilson Tuckey, who used to manage to be routinely thrown out of QT on Thursday afternoons at the end of a parliamentary session in time to catch the 4pm flight back to Perth.
There is no suggestion that incumbent Rick Wilson orchestrated his turfing this afternoon. He seemed to just run foul of a speaker who’s over all the noise.
And these days, the last flight leaves a lot later.
Liberals should preference One Nation at next election, Pauline Hanson says, citing ‘weak ambiguity of Labor’
Pauline Hanson has released a statement saying that Fatima Payman’s defection to the crossbench is evidence that the Liberals should preference One Nation at the next election: Hanson said:
This shouldn’t be a controversial or difficult proposition – the Liberals did recommend voters preference One Nation in nine WA seats last time but didn’t deliver in New South Wales, South Australia or Tasmania.
On Australia’s support for Israel, our fellow democracy in the Middle East, our policy is virtually idenitical to the Liberals’ and – of course – in stark contrast to the extremist views of Payman and the Greens, or the weak ambiguity of Labor.
I’m certainly prepared to reciprocate on preference recommendations if the Liberals do the right thing, helping to ensure a conservative majority in both houses of Parliament.
At this point of the electoral cycle, One Nation is polling below what it would need to receive a senate quota in Queensland (I think Malcolm Roberts is up this next time) but is looking like winning a seat in the Queensland state election.
Payman takes seat on Senate crossbench after quitting Labor party
Sarah Basford Canales
The now independent senator, Fatima Payman, has entered Senate question time after her emotional press conference moments ago.
She entered from the back entrance and sat in an empty seat on the crossbench. According to the seating plan, it’s a seat next to ACT senator David Pocock, who isn’t here at the moment.
The Greens senators looked over to her trying to catch her eye but Payman looked straight ahead toward the president.
The Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson got up and poured her a glass of water, to which Payman seemed grateful for.
Payman’s Western Australian colleague, Louise Pratt, who is also in the left faction, is sitting in the seat Payman would usually be in.
Over in the senate, Sarah Basford Canales reports that Louise Pratt is sitting in the senate seat usually occupied by Fatima Payman on the Labor benches.
Payman will return to the senate on the crossbench. She has another four years left in the senate term she was elected for, in 2022.
Well. That has been quite the hour.
A lot of questions were answered and speculation put to rest. Fatima Payman says she has wrestled with the decision and is following her conscience. She says allegations that she has been planning this for a month, as suggested by the prime minister yesterday, were “simply not true”.
Sarah Basford Canales
Senate president says ‘thorough investigation’ to be held into protesters who scaled Parliament House roof
Because today continues to be an incredibly busy day, the Senate president, Sue Lines, kicked off question time with a statement on the protest at Parliament’s entrance this morning.
Lines said the presiding officers – which include house speaker Milton Dick – took matters of security “very seriously” and said the building’s security infrastructure “operated as designed”.
There have been significant upgrades to security infrastructures and measures in the last parliament, and further upgrades are in progress in consultation with the Senate appropriations staffing and security committee, alongside the deputy president. I have requested a thorough investigation into today’s events by the Australian federal police commissioner with the Department of Parliamentary Services. In light of ongoing investigations, I do not intend on making any further statements.
