'I'm torn': Senator Fatima Payman announces resignation from the Labor Party

Australian Community Media

'With a heavy heart and a clear conscience, I announce my resignation from the Australia Labor Party', the Western Australian senator will now sit on the crossbench and continue to represent her state as an independent.

Transcript

00:00as a member of the august australian labour party an institution shaped by the hands of

00:07everyday australians over a century ago the labour party has always championed the rights

00:14of the marginalized and defended the common people against bullies intimidators and exploiters

00:22it emerged to challenge the notion that politics belong to solely to the privileged few and

00:30fulfill the promise of our lucky country a land of opportunity a land of harmony and a land of

00:39equality it is a is it is a party i've proudly served the ongoing genocide in gaza is a tragedy

00:50of unimaginable proportions it is a crisis that pieces the heart and soul

00:59calling us to action with a sense of urgency and moral clarity

01:06we have all seen the bloodied images of young children losing limbs being amputated without

01:14anesthetics and starving as israel continues its onslaught live streamed across the world

01:23as a representative of the diverse and vibrant communities

01:27of western australia i'm compelled to be to be their true voice

01:35to be their true voice in this chamber especially when the cries

01:40for justice and humanity echo so loudly unlike my colleagues i know how it feels

01:47to be on the receiving end of injustice my family did not flee from a war-torn country

01:55to come here as refugees for me to remain silent when i see atrocities inflicted on innocent people

02:03witnessing our government's indifference to the greatest injustice of our times

02:09makes me question the direction the party is taking

02:15i'm torn deeply torn

02:20on one hand i have the immense support of the rank-and-file members the unionists

02:28the unionists the lifelong members the party volunteers

02:35who are calling on me to hang in there and to make change happen internally

02:44on the other hand i am pressured to conform to caucus solidarity and toe the party line

02:53i see no middle ground and my conscience leaves me no choice

02:59i'm here to be wa's voice not just on this matter but various issues that western australians have

03:07raised with me from incarceration rates of indigenous people

03:15to locking up kids as young as 10 years old

03:18from the rising cost of living pressures to families living in cars and tents due to the

03:24height the housing crisis

03:29from struggling to put food on the table and pay the bills to the climate crisis

03:35these are all the issues that west australians care about

03:40our actions must align with our principles when history looks back

03:45it must see that we stood on the right side of humanity even when it was difficult

03:52sadly i do not believe our principles align with those of the leadership of the labour party

04:01with a heavy heart but a clear conscience i announced my resignation from the australian

04:07labour party i have informed the prime minister that effective immediately i will sit down

04:14i will sit on the crossbench to represent western australia

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