00:00On live TV, a rebellious warning.
00:05If the same motion on recognising the state of Palestine
00:08was to be brought forward tomorrow, I would cross the floor.
00:11Fatima Payman, the young backbench senator who crossed the floor
00:15this week, determined to not be a token for diversity,
00:18even if it costs her popularity in the party.
00:21As I understand, there's been various colleagues
00:24who have been upset with me and frustrated.
00:26I've received the cold shoulder,
00:28but there has been an overwhelming majority
00:30who have stood up in solidarity.
00:32Her choice to vote against the rest of her party,
00:35a breach of Labor rules.
00:37Caucus solidarity, what it is to be a member of the team,
00:40is fundamentally important to every one of us.
00:43It's the heart of the obligations that we have.
00:46An obligation the Prime Minister decided she no longer met,
00:50summoning her to the Lodge to indefinitely suspend her
00:53from the party's caucus.
00:55When we get elected to Parliament,
00:57there's a range of things that we commit to.
00:59If people can't keep those commitments,
01:01then obviously things need to change.
01:03That is how we operate and it's how we've always operated
01:05and everybody knows that.
01:06Senator Payman knows that.
01:07It's about time that the Prime Minister
01:09demonstrated some leadership.
01:11The reason this is such a big deal is because
01:13under Labor Party rules, you have to vote with the caucus,
01:16even if you disagree.
01:18It's led to many reflecting on Penny Wong,
01:21who years ago had to oppose same-sex marriage
01:24as she worked from within the party to win support on the issue.
01:28Their advocacy from within,
01:30it took 10 years to legislate same-sex marriage.
01:34We're talking about 40,000 Palestinians being massacred here.
01:38These Palestinians do not have 10 years.
01:41That urgency on full display elsewhere in the capital,
01:45at a site honouring lives lost in conflicts gone by,
01:48a call to end the current one.
01:51But done in a way that's drawn quick condemnation.
01:54The government labelling the graffiti
01:56horrible and completely unacceptable.
Comments