Independent senator Fatima Payman has alleged that Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese ignored a message thanking him for the government’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state, deepening a long-running dispute between the pair.
“Thank you, Prime Minister, for your leadership and courage,” Ms Payman said she texted Mr Albanese. She said the message received no reply.
The Western Australian senator left the Labor Party in 2024 after a disagreement over the Gaza conflict and later founded her own political group, Australia’s Voice. She has since repeatedly criticised the government, including over the staffing support provided to her office.
Ms Payman claims she remains the only independent federal politician without staff at adviser level. She has alleged that Mr Albanese, who she says has personal authority over staffing allocations, continues to resent her defection.
Staffing dispute with the Albanese government
She has also claimed that, after leaving Labor, she was offered an additional staff member if she helped the government with parliamentary votes by supporting Labor or abstaining.
One alleged offer was linked to an invitation to meet in the Prime Minister’s office on November 28, 2024, to discuss the government’s migration legislation package. Ms Payman said she rejected the invitation because she did not want to “rubber-stamp” the reforms.
She said a second offer was later passed on through staff but was also refused.
Ms Payman said she subsequently tried to improve relations with Mr Albanese after the government announced in September 2025 that it would recognise a Palestinian state. Her unanswered message was sent on that occasion, she claimed.
The staffing row became more public last month when Ms Payman referred to the alleged attack on independent MP Helen Haines while arguing for additional support.
During Senate Estimates on October 26, she asked whether Mr Albanese was waiting for “something like what happened to Helen Haines to occur” before taking her requests seriously.
The remark prompted a backlash. Ms Payman apologised for the comparison and contacted Ms Haines directly, but maintained her criticism of the government’s handling of her office.
She also challenged Special Minister of State Don Farrell to meet her staff and understand the impact she said the workload was having on their mental and physical wellbeing.
“If the special minister of state’s assessment is that my staffing allocation is appropriate, I invite him to sit down with the workers in my office to try and understand the toll the job is taking on their mental and physical wellbeing,” she said.
Mr Albanese has rejected suggestions that Ms Payman is being treated unfairly. He said she had the same number of staff as when she was elected as a Labor senator, plus one additional staff member granted to all senators and members of the House of Representatives.
He did not answer whether it was appropriate for the Prime Minister alone to determine staffing allocations for independent and crossbench politicians.
