Albanese has also checked in on Payman since that Senate vote on May 16, but some members of the Labor Party’s leadership team and her Left faction remain furious with the senator.
One of those Labor senators, who asked not to be named so they could discuss the situation, said there was concern about what Payman might do if the Greens moved a motion in the Senate to recognise the state of Palestine.
“People are unhappy with her, there is also concern for her, so people are checking in,” the senator said. “I don’t think it’s at the point where she will go rogue and leave the party, though.”
Another senator, an ally of Payman, argued there was a double standard because Labor MP Josh Burns, who is Jewish, had been allowed to publicly criticise the government for voting in favour of granting Palestine extra privileges at the United Nations last month.
If Payman did cross the floor and vote with the Greens on a motion, she would almost certainly be expelled from the party because of the premium Labor places on loyalty and discipline, and the precedent it would set.
Payman declined to comment.
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Greens deputy leader Faruqi has maintained contact with Payman in recent weeks and said on Wednesday the party was considering introducing another motion when the Senate next sits in the week beginning June 24.
“The Greens will be pushing for justice for Palestinians, for the genocide on Gaza to end, for this government, for the Albanese Labor government to listen to their communities and to end their complicity in Israel’s genocide on Palestinians,” she said. “And we will use every tactic that is available to us to allow us to do that.”
Payman has previously voted with Labor and against the Greens on motions that have, for example, called on Israel not to invade Gaza.
The war in Gaza started after Hamas launched a series of terrorist attacks on October 7 last year, killing 1200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. The ensuing assault from Israel has resulted in more than 36,000 Palestinians being killed, Gaza medical officials say. Israel says 290 of its troops have died in the fighting.
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