'I'm torn': Senator Fatima Payman announces resignation from the Labor Party
'With a heavy heart and a clear conscience, I announce my resignation from the Australia Labor Party', the Western Australian senator will now sit on the crossbench and continue to represent her state as an independent.
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00:00as a member of the august australian labour party an institution shaped by the hands of
00:07everyday australians over a century ago the labour party has always championed the rights
00:14of the marginalized and defended the common people against bullies intimidators and exploiters
00:22it emerged to challenge the notion that politics belong to solely to the privileged few and
00:30fulfill the promise of our lucky country a land of opportunity a land of harmony and a land of
00:39equality it is a is it is a party i've proudly served the ongoing genocide in gaza is a tragedy
00:50of unimaginable proportions it is a crisis that pieces the heart and soul
00:59calling us to action with a sense of urgency and moral clarity
01:06we have all seen the bloodied images of young children losing limbs being amputated without
01:14anesthetics and starving as israel continues its onslaught live streamed across the world
01:23as a representative of the diverse and vibrant communities
01:27of western australia i'm compelled to be to be their true voice
01:35to be their true voice in this chamber especially when the cries
01:40for justice and humanity echo so loudly unlike my colleagues i know how it feels
01:47to be on the receiving end of injustice my family did not flee from a war-torn country
01:55to come here as refugees for me to remain silent when i see atrocities inflicted on innocent people
02:03witnessing our government's indifference to the greatest injustice of our times
02:09makes me question the direction the party is taking
02:15i'm torn deeply torn
02:20on one hand i have the immense support of the rank-and-file members the unionists
02:28the unionists the lifelong members the party volunteers
02:35who are calling on me to hang in there and to make change happen internally
02:44on the other hand i am pressured to conform to caucus solidarity and toe the party line
02:53i see no middle ground and my conscience leaves me no choice
02:59i'm here to be wa's voice not just on this matter but various issues that western australians have
03:07raised with me from incarceration rates of indigenous people
03:15to locking up kids as young as 10 years old
03:18from the rising cost of living pressures to families living in cars and tents due to the
03:24height the housing crisis
03:29from struggling to put food on the table and pay the bills to the climate crisis
03:35these are all the issues that west australians care about
03:40our actions must align with our principles when history looks back
03:45it must see that we stood on the right side of humanity even when it was difficult
03:52sadly i do not believe our principles align with those of the leadership of the labour party
04:01with a heavy heart but a clear conscience i announced my resignation from the australian
04:07labour party i have informed the prime minister that effective immediately i will sit down
04:14i will sit on the crossbench to represent western australia