Anthony Albanese sprang into action after his recalcitrant senator, young Muslim woman Fatima Payman, gave a defiant Sunday morning interview on the ABC Insiders program in which she vowed to cross the floor again if similar circumstances arose.
There was no slap with a feather this time, as happened last week after she broke party solidarity to vote for a Greens’ pro-Palestinian motion.
Then, Albanese had what Payman described as a “stern but fair conversation” with her, but only barred her from this week’s caucus meeting.
On Sunday, he summoned her to the Lodge and told her she was suspended from taking part in the caucus indefinitely – unless and until she accepted caucus discipline.
Later a government spokesperson said: “By her actions and her statements, Senator Payman has placed herself outside the privilege that comes with participating in the federal parliamentary Labor Party caucus.
“If Senator Payman decides she will respect the caucus and her Labor colleagues she can return, but until then Senator Payman is suspended from the right to participate in federal parliamentary Labor Party caucus meetings and processes.”
Payman remains a member of the Labor Party.
Last week Albanese got himself into trouble with some in caucus in his unilateral handling of the Payman issue. The critics asserted that disciplinary matters were up to the caucus to handle, not the PM.
In his latest action he has the backing of the leadership team.
The Payman affair confronted Labor with an existential moment about one of its foundational principles – that caucus members are bound by solidarity to vote as a bloc in parliament.
In parliamentary votes, what caucus decides – or agrees to after cabinet or the leadership decree – backbenchers duly follow. Anyone who doesn’t can expect to face suspension or expulsion from the caucus, which is the arbiter of their fate.
That’s been the understanding since year dot.
Payman, 29, from Western Australia, was not just adamant about sticking to her position, saying without qualification she would cross the floor again if there was a motion similiar to last week’s, which declared “the need for the Senate to recognise the state of Palestine”. (The motion failed, with government and Coalition both opposing.)
In her interview she cast her situation in the wider context of diversity politics. For Labor, which has made much of advocating a more diverse parliament, this is an awkward point.
“You can’t have that diversity in personalities and the representation but not have the diversity of views and opinions,” she said.
“Look, we’ve had diverse views in the caucus from […] various people, various perspectives on the table,” she said. “But I think that we need to be able to embrace that diversity of views.”
When it comes to the crunch, almost all Labor MPs over the years are willing to put their commitment to solidarity in parliamentary votes before their commitment to other groups or causes. The example of now Senate leader Penny Wong and marriage equality is often cited. She went along with Labor opposition while fighting internally to change the party’s policy.
But for Payman her commitment to the Palestinian cause and her Muslim community comes ahead of her willingness to abide by solidarity.
As Australia becomes more diverse, and the parliament catches up with that, will the solidarity rule appear obsolete, or become unenforceable?
From other perspectives, some in Labor have disagreed with the tight binding of MPs on all issues. More than a decade ago Chris Bowen, now energy minister, argued the Labor rule was too restrictive generally, compared to for example what happens in Britain, where backbenchers have more freedom in their votes on some issues.
The solidarity principle has been upheld in the Payman fracas, which should make some caucus members feel more comfortable next time they are challenged over their parliamentary vote.
But there will be downsides from this indefinite suspension,.
It will give Payman political martyr status among her supporters in the wider Labor rank and file and among some of her union backers.
Worse, saying a young Muslim woman is no longer welcome in caucus because she is championing r Palestinians will be a bad look in areas such as western Sydney where Labor is already worried about its Muslim vote.
It will put pressure on the two ministers who are Muslims, Ed Husic and Anne Aly, as well as other Labor MPs to explain to the Muslim community why Labor’s solidarity rule trumps a backbencher’s right to say what they believe.
Caucus solidarity has both tradition and practicality behind it, but even in the wider community, it won’t be so easy to make the case for disciplining a parliamentarian standing on their principles.
