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Fatima Payman has announced she has quit the Labor party, having already been indefinitely suspended from Labor’s federal parliamentary caucus. Payman will remain in the upper house as an independent in a major rupture with the Albanese government over Palestine.
The WA senator said on Monday she felt “exiled” by the party. She found herself increasingly at odds with her caucus colleagues, which culminated with her crossing the floor to side with the Greens on a motion declaring an urgent need “for the Senate to recognise the state of Palestine”.
In a press conference on Thursday, Payman said she was “deeply torn” but saw “no middle ground” and did not believe her principles aligned with the Labor leadership.
There is no rule preventing an elected senator from quitting their party and staying on in the Senate, but Labor has insisted Payman is only in the upper house because she stood as an ALP candidate.
Top news
Lehrmann to stand trial on two counts of rape | The 29-year-old faces two counts of rape, alleged to have occurred in Toowoomba in October 2021. The magistrate, Mark Howden, rejected Lehrmann’s argument he had “no case to answer”, two and a half weeks after the complainant gave her evidence and was cross-examined in closed court.
2,700 arrests in five-month domestic violence blitz | Victoria police on Thursday said 7,500 charges had been laid as a result of the blitz between January and June. Officers conducted proactive checks throughout five LGAs that account for more than 70% of family violence incidents across Melbourne.
Pro-Palestine protesters scale roof of Australia’s Parliament House | Protesters climbed on to the roof of the building in Canberra and unfurled a banner declaring “war crimes … enabled here”. Meanwhile, anti-coal protesters in T-shirts emblazoned with “Rising Tide” glued themselves to marble pillars. The simultaneous efforts were allegedly not coordinated.
Cold weather over Australia’s south-east to linger | The cold weather has been particularly notable for part of Tasmania this week, with the mercury dropping to -13.5C overnight in Liawenee, as a giant high pressure system dominates the region and nudges national records.
Synthetic opioid detected in bodies found in home | Police say a synthetic opioid was detected in the bodies of four people found dead in Melbourne last week. The update came just days after the health department issued a drug alert for cocaine laced with protonitazene, a novel synthetic opioid up to 100 times more potent than heroin.
Police find human remains after suspected crocodile attack | Northern Territory police have located remains believed to be of a missing 12-year-old girl who was reported missing while swimming on Tuesday near the remote community of Palumpa.
‘Tories braced for bleak night’: what the papers say as the UK votes | Campaigning has ended and voters are set to decide who will lead the UK for the next five years, with the country’s newspapers covering the parties’ final pitches – while making a few suggestions of their own.
Democratic mega-donor calls for Biden to step aside | Reed Hastings, the co-founder of Netflix, has called for Biden to “step aside to allow a vigorous Democratic leader to beat Trump”. Meanwhile, Democratic governors have voiced their support for Biden’s campaign.
Wallabies name new captain and seven debutants | The raft of changes ahead of the first Test against Wales mean only five Australians – as well as three Welsh starters – remain from the last time the sides met, when Wales thrashed the Wallabies 40-6 during last year’s Rugby World Cup.
In pictures
Fierce and fantastic: drag artists with Down syndrome
‘‘Our message? Be fabulous!’: the artists who make up the collective Drag Syndrome explain why performing helps them express who they really are.
What they said …
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“We rarely see them now” – Heidi Joy
A few years ago, it would not be unusual for Joy, a marine science student from Efate, Vanuatu, to spot a dugong in the morning and then again at sunset. That has since changed.
In numbers
The peak body for Australian doctors, the Australian Medical Association, has welcomed a parliamentary report that suggests sugary drinks should be taxed to help stop the spread of obesity and type 2 diabetes, which is diagnosed every 5 minutes in Australia. The Guardian’s Natasha May breaks down the situation.
Before bed read
‘Radical’, ‘a headrush’, ‘insanely clever’: the best Australian books out in July
Each month Guardian Australia editors and critics pick the upcoming titles they have already devoured – or can’t wait to get their hands on.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: CARR . You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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