In short:
Senator Fatima Payman could become crucial for Labor if she follows through on running as an independent.
She says she will serve as an independent for the rest of her term as a senator.
What's next?
If Senator Payman follows through on her commitment, she will be serving as an independent until the election after next.
Fatima Payman's defection to the Senate crossbench presents a political headache for the federal government as it seeks to progress a busy program of legislation before the next election.
The government passed more than two dozen bills in the last parliamentary sitting fortnight before the winter break.
But dozens of others remain before the parliament, including key housing measures and a bill to enable the government's Future Made in Australia investment program, with further bills expected.
That will make Senator Payman's vote crucial if she follows through on her commitment to serve the rest of her Senate term as an independent, a term which will last until the election after next.
Labor's ability to pass legislation already relied on securing the support of either the Coalition or 'the Greens plus two'.
But the two will now become three, and Senator Payman told the ABC in an interview on Thursday evening she would reserve her right to scrutinise legislation on its merits and vote her own way — a departure from the approach taken by recent Greens defector Lidia Thorpe, who pledged to vote with her former party on most issues.
Other crossbench senators include David Pocock, Jacqui Lambie, Tammy Tyrrell, banished ex-Liberal David Van, One Nation's Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts, and the United Australia Party's Ralph Babet.
And while Senator Payman's repeated statement that she holds "Labor values" suggests she may align with the government on many issues, she has already singled out Indigenous incarceration rates, the age of criminal responsibility and cost of living as issues "raised by constituents" on which she may agitate.
Senior Labor figures say Senator Payman should quit
But senior Labor figures have argued Senator Payman's defection means she should quit.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has hinted at that view in recent days by pointing out that Labor politicians are elected "with an ALP next to [their] name."
NDIS Minister Bill Shorten told the ABC's Afternoon Briefing he would resign from the parliament if he quit the Labor Party after being elected in its name.
"I'm not going to put pressure on her. But if I was elected as a Labor candidate… and I chose to no longer be in the Labor Party, I would probably think that in the case of the voters who voted for me, it's a Labor seat, it's not a Bill Shorten seat. But that's me."
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher agreed, telling the ABC's 7.30 her "moral conscience" would not allow her to stay in parliament if she quit Labor.
"It's her decision, but [quitting] would be the right thing to do," she said.
"If it was me, I wouldn't stay in the parliament. I would feel that as an obligation to the Labor Party … If I'm elected as a Labor Party senator, I would find it impossible to sit in the chamber as anything else."
By convention, Labor would be able to replace Senator Payman if she did decide to quit. But senators are elected in their own name, and the party has no recourse to force her from the parliament.
Senator Payman told the ABC she did not plan to quit. Asked whether she believed the seat belonged to Labor and she should stand again if she wanted to be an independent, she said constituents had reached out to her to encourage her to continue.
"I will continue upholding and serving the best interests of West Australians in this capacity."
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiaWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDI0LTA3LTA1L2NwaC1sYWJvci1jYWxscy1mb3ItZmF0aW1hLXRvLXF1aXQtYnV0LW1heS1uZWVkLWhlci12b3RlLzEwNDA2MDY2NtIBKGh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMDQwNjA2NjY?oc=5
2024-07-04 18:46:19Z
CBMiaWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDI0LTA3LTA1L2NwaC1sYWJvci1jYWxscy1mb3ItZmF0aW1hLXRvLXF1aXQtYnV0LW1heS1uZWVkLWhlci12b3RlLzEwNDA2MDY2NtIBKGh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMDQwNjA2NjY
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