Fatima Payman’s decision to quit Labor party will ‘empower opponents on far right’, Wayne Swan says

Government MPs express disappointment over WA senator's decision as Greens and crossbench praise move

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Fatima Payman says she is grieving" after deciding to quit Labor to sit as an independent, a move that party president Wayne Swan claims will empower Labor's opponents on the far right".

Payman said on Thursday she felt she had no choice but to quit Labor after her advocacy for the Australian government to recognise a Palestinian state. She claimed voters were frustrated" at Labor's position on the war in Gaza, and that she was displaying Labor values" in the positions she had taken.