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Key Points
- Fatima Payman left the Labor party in July over its position on Palestinian statehood and the Israel-Hamas war.
- She is now an independent senator and is preparing to launch her own political party.
- Payman revealed her party would aim to run Senate candidates in each state and is eyeing some lower house seats too.
Independent senator Fatima Payman has rejected Anthony Albanese’s calls to step down from the Senate ahead of launching her new political party.
In comments to the Australian Financial Review, the prime minister challenged the 29-year-old to resign from the Senate.
He said Payman should test her popularity by contesting the next election under the banner of her new political party.
Payman, in the middle of her six-year term, is not up for re-election until 2028.
In an interview with SBS News, the Western Australian senator disagreed with Albanese and said her popularity would be tested even if her name wasn’t directly on next year’s ballot.
“I will be testing the support for my actions by running a new political party in the upcoming federal election,” she said.
“My reputation will be on the line. This new party will be tested not just in WA but across the nation.”
The first-term senator now sits on the crossbench after leaving the Labor party in July over its position on Palestinian statehood and the Israel-Hamas war.
As she is already a senator, Payman does not need to register a minimum 1,500 members to form a party.
Payman revealed her party would aim to run Senate candidates in each state and is eyeing some lower house seats too.
This includes a potential candidate in Albanese’s seat of Grayndler in Sydney’s inner-west.
“We are looking at running candidates in marginal seats. If the PM really wants an electoral arm wrestle, we may even run a candidate in Grayndler,” she said.
“This will be a full-body contact competition, bring it on!”
When contacted, Albanese’s office did not give a response to Payman’s comments.
SBS News understands the new party will not be religion-based and appeal to more progressive voters, similar to the platform of the teals.
On Friday, Payman told reporters more needed to be done on the “everyday issues” affecting voters including cost of living pressures, housing, and climate change.
She previously told SBS News of her desire to connect with voters “disenfranchised by the two major parties” and often overlooked by the government.
Payman will officially launch her party later this week.