Coalition attacks Anthony Albanese’s ‘weak leadership’ after rogue Labor senator crosses the floor over Palestinian statehood

Liberal senator Jane Hume accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of “weak leadership” after Washington Labor senator Fatima Peiman crossed the rostrum to vote for the Greens’ proposal for Palestinian statehood.

The motion was defeated, but it is the first time in decades that a sitting Labor MP has crossed the floor to vote against the party, an offense that can lead to suspension or expulsion from the group.

However, the Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement saying Payman was unlikely to be excluded following Tuesday’s move.

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Labor is expected to toe the party line, but there is no mandatory sanction for crossing the floor. This is the first time a party member has taken the podium since 2005.

On Wednesday, Senator Jane Hume joined Nat Barr and Home Secretary Clare O’Neill Sunrisewhere she attacked Albanese for the act of the MP.

“This is not only the first time that Fatima Peyman has defied her prime minister by sitting with the Greens,” Hume said.

“This time, but only a month ago, she stood up and gave a press conference where they used this phrase, which I won’t repeat – but a phrase that the Prime Minister himself says incites violence and anti-Semitism.

“Frankly, it is because the Prime Minister has been weak on this issue.

“He has shown such poor leadership, he has deviated from his position, he has unilaterally changed the government’s position on a two-state solution, so of course you can expect dissent within his ranks.

“How he handles it will also be a test of his leadership.”

“But it is an issue that the Labor Party has to grapple with.

“One of the reasons I joined the Liberal Party is that they encourage us to think for ourselves. In the Labor Party, dissent is promptly suppressed with the threat of expulsion from the party.

However, O’Neill said Payman should not be penalized for the move.

“I think Fatima Peiman feels very strongly about these issues for very understandable reasons, and she expressed her opinion in the Senate,” O’Neill said.

“What I think is really obvious here, to anyone who understands this, is that this is a really complicated subject.

“We will not solve peace in the Middle East through proposals from the Greens in the Senate.

“Our government is working through the right channels to get us to where we all want to be here, which is peace and innocent people stop dying in a conflict in which they have no specific involvement.”

It is Labor Party policy to recognize a Palestinian state, but with no timetable and some caveats attached.

“I wasn’t elected as a token diversity representative, I was elected to serve the people of Western Australia and uphold the values ​​instilled in me by my late father,” Peiman said.

“We cannot believe in a two-state solution and only recognize one.”

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said recognition could only come after Palestinian officials and the Palestinian Authority agree that Israel has the right to exist as a democratic and Jewish state.

Hamas cannot play any role in the state – meaning all remaining hostages must be released – and adequate security guarantees must be put in place between the countries within the recognized borders, he said.

— with AAP