In a rare and revealing interview, former Labor senator Fatima Payman opens up about her decision to break ranks with the ALP and the personal fallout that followed. The episode airs on ABC Australia and ABC iview on Monday, 19 August 2024, at 8:00 pm.
Just a week after her return to Canberra as an independent, Senator Payman sits down with Australian Story to share the inside story of her choice to cross the floor, going against her party’s position on the Gaza war. This move placed her at the centre of a media and political storm, leading to her eventual resignation from the Labor Party seven weeks ago.
Senator Payman provides a unique insight into the conflict between her private views and party policy, as well as the toll her actions took on her personal life with her new husband, Jacob Stokes, a former Labor staffer in WA. Stokes shares his perspective, noting the rarity of witnessing “your wife in a public fistfight with the prime minister.”
The episode also includes candid comments from Labor Minister Anne Aly, reflecting on the actions of her former colleague. Additionally, Australian Story documents Senator Payman’s return to federal parliament as an independent, featuring an interview with her controversial new chief of staff, former “preference whisperer” Glenn Druery.
Fatima Payman’s story is a significant one. She and her family fled Afghanistan when the Taliban rose to power, and in 2022, at just 27 years old, she unexpectedly won a Senate seat in Western Australia. This made her the first parliamentarian to wear a hijab and the first Labor member to cross the floor in four decades.
Australian Story: Fatima Payman airs on ABC Australia and ABC iview on Monday, 19 August 2024, at 8:00 pm.
