Labor Senator Fatima Payman has crossed the floor to support a motion moved by the Greens declaring “the need for the Senate to recognise the State of Palestine”.
Although the stand of Payman invited a sanction by her party – which demands that its parliamentarians stick by the party line in votes – a government spokesperson quickly made it clear she won’t face discipline.
Given the sensitivity of the issue, action against the 29-year-old Payman, a Muslim born in Kabul, Afghanistan, would be provocative and counter-productive.
