Independent Western Australia Senator Fatima Payman says Australians need a real alternative to the “two-party duopoly” that is dominating the nation’s politics.

The former Labor politician made global headlines last June when she defied her party and crossed the floor in support of a motion calling on Australia to formally recognise Palestinian statehood, a move that last occurred in 2005. 

With the Federal Election due on May 3, Payman is questioning the competency of Labor and the Liberal-National Coalition.

After leaving Labor, Payman launched Australia's Voice last year, a party she says will “truly represent grassroots people and the community as a whole”.

She has since revealed on Instagram candidates for South Australia, Victoria and Western Australian Senate seats.

Payman says Australia's Voice will focus on “generational change” rather than the “short-termism” seen from Labor and the Coalition.

“They’re starting to become more like one another,” she says. 

“They’re almost becoming more … hung up about the fact that they want to placate each other and have … fewer points of differences, rather than actually being bold about where they stand and their policy positions.”

A study led by the Australian National University with Griffith University after the 2022 federal election revealed that support for the two major parties had fallen to “historic lows”, with about one in three voters opting for minor parties or independent candidates.

Senator Payman says people are “yearning for an alternative that beats the two-major-party duopoly”.

“People have told me they no longer see Labor as the lesser of two evils. They see both Labor and Liberal as two sides of the same coin; the only difference between them is their colours.”

Clause 25 of the Australian Labor Party’s constitution states that party or majority decisions “shall be binding upon all members of the parliament”, which likely served as grounds for her removal. 

As it was, Payman’s decision to cross the floor led to her indefinite suspension and eventual resignation.

“[My resignation] came as a result of the Labor Party giving me an ultimatum,” she says, “putting me in indefinite purgatory, and then suggesting that I either give up my seat or remain silent and continue toeing the party line.” 

When asked whether her decision to become an independent senator was part of a broader shift toward political independence or solely driven by the Israel Gaza war, Payman emphasised the fundamental values behind her choice.

“[It] came about as a matter of … principle and justice — something that I couldn’t just look by idly and just expect to get resolved without playing an active role.”

With the emergence of a new party whose values align closely with other left-wing parties, questions have been raised about where Australia’s Voice falls compared to the likes of the Greens — such as when ABC TV current affairs show 7.30 pressed Payman last October to hone her message for a broader cross-section of voters. 

“A lot of people think, ‘Oh well, you’re going to steal votes from the Greens.’ Well, nobody says that about One Nation, you know. You’ve got Advance Australia, you’ve got Gerard Rennick’s People First, you’ve got all these other minor parties that exist, so why am I always put against the Greens?”

The senator says she remains committed to advocating for diverse and critical issues affecting Australians and has addressed a range of topics since becoming independent, from the aged care crisis to the National Disability Insurance Scheme, where Australians face barriers like eligibility, funding and limited access.

Yet she has made headlines over critical issues, too. Last October she faced criticism of her party’s name, given its similarity to the failed Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum, as reported on SBS News.

In January, she accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of “petty” behaviour for delaying approval of two extra staff members, as reported on ABC News.

And in February, she came under fire for appearing to say that Iran was an “incredible place” for women, for which she later apologised (see ABC).

But Payman says she has drawn attention to “real issues that politicians need to look at, that don’t necessarily have to make the headlines for it to be a hot, juicy topic” – such as the worsening housing affordability crisis.

She says housing “has become more of a dream than a reality for many”, underscoring the urgent need for action.

The Labor government promised in 2023 to build 30,000 affordable homes within the first five years of the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund. 

But Labor came under scrutiny last month. As The Sydney Morning Herald reported, despite claims that 358 homes have been completed, the Coalition claimed that no houses have been “built” (they were instead “acquired”).

As shadow housing minister Michael Sukkar told news.com.au: “No government in Australia’s history has failed on housing as catastrophically as the Albanese government.” 

Labor has also been criticised for a shifting and inconsistent public stance on Gaza. 

As Crikey pointed out last May, Albanese's earlier activism has been highlighted by a range of critics for different reasons.   

In undated news footage aired by Sky News in October 2023, Albanese is seen holding a megaphone, addressing a pro-Palestine protest in Sydney, and saying: “The response of Israel has been to meet children throwing rocks with helicopters, with tanks and with missiles.”

More recently, however, Albanese has criticised movements to boycott Israeli goods and claimed pro-Palestine protesters in Melbourne “wouldn't be able to find the Jordan [river] on a map”, as reported on SBS News.

In January, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who has previously been reported as suggesting there were “no innocent Gazans”.

In a media release, Dreyfus stated that during his trip, he would convey Australia’s support for Israel’s “right to defend itself in the face of terrorism”. Dreyfus has been a member of the Australian Labor Party since 1979.

However, Payman says “the self-determination and liberation of Palestine” is an “ongoing” matter, one that she won’t “park to the side because it’s no longer making headlines”.

She says a broad base of Labor’s rank-and-file members and unionists no longer see the party as “that progressive, left-leaning party that values the human rights of all”. 

MOJO News repeatedly sought comment from a Labor spokesperson for this article, but no comment was forthcoming.