Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has hinted he expects suspended Labor senator Fatima Payman to cut ties with the party and move to the crossbench within days.
He suspended the WA senator from the Labor caucus at the weekend amid the fallout from her crossing the floor to back a Greens motion on Palestinian statehood.
The indefinite suspension was confirmed at Tuesday’s caucus meeting, although Labor has left the door open for Senator Payman to return to the fold if she agrees to abide by its solidarity rules.
But it emerged on Tuesday that the senator has had informal talks with Glenn Druery, the political adviser known as the “preference whisperer” for his role in getting micro-party and independent candidates elected.
Mr Albanese told Parliament on Wednesday that Senator Payman “has made a decision to place herself outside the Labor Party”, mirroring the wording of the caucus motion.
“That is a decision that she made. I expect further announcements in the coming days which will explain exactly what the strategy has been over now more than a month,” he said.
Mr Albanese subsequently told Parliament that peace in the Middle East “won’t be achieved by resolutions in the Senate and stunts by the Greens, it won’t be achieved by those people who choose to desecrate war memorials”.
More to come.