Key Points
- Former Labor senator Fatima Payman has launched her own political party.
- She said Australia’s Voice would represent a diversity of voices and those “fed up” with the two major parties.
- Some Indigenous leaders are reportedly unhappy about the word ‘Voice’ being used in the party’s name.
Western Australian senator Fatima Payman has rejected criticism over her new political party’s name, saying she will not change it.
Payman, , launched Australia’s Voice on Wednesday, saying the party would represent those “fed up” with the two major parties.
It would be politically centrist and a voice for the “disenfranchised, the unheard, and those yearning for real change”, she said.
“We need a voice … Because we can no longer sit by while our voices are drowned out by the same old politics,” she told reporters on Wednesday.
“This is more than a party. It is a movement for a fairer, more inclusive Australia.
“Together, we will hold our leaders accountable and ensure that your voice, Australia’s voice, will never be silenced.”
But the 29-year-old, has faced questions over her choice of party name.
Voice ‘is not trademarked’
Asked whether she was concerned people might accuse her of co-opting the term ‘Voice’ — in reference to — Payman told reporters she had consulted broadly with First Nations people.
However, some Indigenous leaders, including those involved in , said permission had not been sought and were unhappy about the word being used in the party’s name, the ABC and The Guardian reported.
On 14 October, it will be a year since the Voice — born from — was .
Payman told the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing that she had “many private conversations” with First Nations people, some of which included discussion of her party’s name.
But she would not reveal who she spoke to, saying she hadn’t asked for permission to share their names.
She said “the word voice isn’t trademarked” and did not answer directly when asked by host David Speers if her party name had nothing to do with the Voice campaign.
“I think it’s important to see that Australia’s Voice, as a political party, will be prioritising and looking into Indigenous issues as much as it will be for all Australians.”
Payman said the nature of politics meant some people would have objections. Asked “So no apologies about the name” she replied: “I don’t see why I should apologise.”
She said she would not change it.
Voice co-architect Tom Calma told SBS News while there was no copyright on the name, Payman must “make clear she is not associated with or representing the Indigenous Voice to Parliament”.
What will Australia’s Voice campaign on?
Payman didn’t reveal the party’s policy platform but highlighted housing affordability and cost of living as agenda items.
“The policy platform will come in time, and I’m very excited to publicly announce them in due course,” Payman told reporters.
Payman told Afternoon Briefing her party would advocate for , and would “look into public school funding”.
When asked what would differentiate the party from the Greens, she said while she admired their “passion” Australians often felt they “go too far”.
“When it comes to practicality or pragmatism, there needs to be that level of engagement with what is possible and what can be achieved,” she told reporters.
Payman also divulged that members of her party would “definitely have a conscience vote”, citing intimidation she reportedly received from her former Labor colleagues after she
She said Labor had “lost its way” and referenced to explain her approach to politics.
“I’m reminded of the quote by the great Gough Whitlam: ‘There are some people who are so frightened to put a foot forward, to put a foot wrong, that they won’t put a foot forward’.
“This comment was made in 1985 and applies so much to the current Labor Party, which has lost its way.”
She said her party “believes in a system where people come first” and “if we need to drag the two major parties kicking and screaming to do what needs to be done, we will do it”.
Who will run for Australia’s Voice?
Payman, who said she decided to form the party in September, did not disclose where she would run candidates, saying “all the details will come in due course”.
But SBS News understands she will run Senate candidates in all states and contest a few lower house seats.
She said disgruntled former Labor candidates and some National Party members had approached her but no candidates have yet been locked in.
She said her members would be decided on merit and reflect the diversity of Australia.
, Payman said she was considering running a candidate in the prime minister’s seat of Grayndler in Sydney’s inner-west after being challenged by Anthony Albanese to resign.
“If the PM really wants an electoral arm wrestle, we may even run a candidate in Grayndler,” she said.
Albanese said Payman — elected from third place in Labor’s 2022 WA Senate ticket and not up for re-election until 2028 — should leave parliament until her popularity was tested under the banner of her new political party.
Payman told SBS News her popularity would be tested in the upcoming federal election, regardless of whether her name was on the ballot.
“My reputation will be on the line. This new party will be tested not just in WA but across the nation,” she said.