Young ALP Female Senator Stands Strong For Palestinian People and Palestinian State
Written by: Ned K. on 8 July 2024
ALP Senator Fatima Payman resigned from the ALP last week after courageously "crossing the floor" of the Senate to support a Greens motion that Australia recognize a state of Palestine.
Over 100 other countries have already taken this position. The ALP leadership could not bring itself to do so. The Albanese Government was more concerned about not getting out of step with the USA and Zionist Netanyahu Israeli Government.
Senator Payman, only 29 years young, went into the Senate on an ALP ticket with the genuine belief that she could make a difference by being a member of a political party that stood for social justice, for solidarity with oppressed peoples both within Australia and internationally.
She came into the Senate supported by United Workers Union where she was an Organizer and where union members learned through their own experience that there is real strength in diversity.
She must have been bitterly disappointed when she found that the same values were not practiced by the ALP leadership when it came to the issue of the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza by the Israeli Government backed by western powers led by the USA.
We do not know exactly what was said to her by Albanese and key Ministers to try and "persuade" her to toe the Party line.
However, they met their match in Senator Payman when she announced her resignation from the ALP, but her continuation in the Senate as an Independent Senator.
When she made this decision, it was easy for her to see who her enemies are and who are her friends.
The ALP leaders joined the Murdoch Press with the idea that she may be ineligible to be a Senator due to dual citizenship with Afghanistan and Australia.
Of course, the ALP never thought this when Fatima Payman was put on the ALP Senate ticket.
At that time, the leaders probably thought it would add to their appearance as supporting diversity in representation in parliament to have a young, female, Muslim woman in ALP Seante ranks "under the wing" of Senators Wong and Farrell.
What a contrast between this barrage of hate against a Senator standing her ground and the hundreds of cheering unionists and diverse communities that greeted Senator Payman when she arrived at Perth airport from Canberra!
Print Version - new window Email article
-----
Go back
Independence from Imperialism
People's Rights & Liberties
Community and Environment
Marxism Today
International
Articles
| Media and CFMEU Administrators threaten rank and file fightback |
| Dare to struggle, dare to win against Administrator: CFMEU Sydney Rally |
| Richard Boyle: Hero not Criminal |
| Unionists In SA Celebrate 140 Year Anniversary of United Trades and Labour Council |
| Building industry and parliamentary squabble over how best to exploit construction workers |
| Defending the CFMEU in SA |
| Murdoch media’s blindness and indifference to the far-right |
| Freedom for Georges Abdallah! |
| Attacks on Greens MP reveal ruling class distortions and weakness |
| Sacking of CFMEU rank and file reps a wake-up call for all workers |
| CFMEU members defy threats to defend their union |
| Attack on Construction Workers' Union Is All About Profits and Destroying Workers Collective Power |
| Attack on CFMEU attacks every Australian worker |
| Department of Foreign Affairs department at DFLP: “Targeting Children in Gaza is a crime that requires legal prosecution” |
| Dreyfus must release Dan Duggan |
| Makarrata: Bipartisan approach to stop truth-telling commission |
| Israeli murder of Australian aid worker whitewashed |
| “It’s an attack on us, our wages, our conditions, our right to organise.” |
| New Delegate Rights Clause in Awards - A Small but Significant Win By Workers |
| Israel’s Apartheid Practice |
-----