Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has warned against faith-based political parties and argued one that advocated for Muslim Australians would only isolate the religious group, as rebel senator Fatima Payman hints at a new political movement. Source: The Age.
Senator Payman, who on Thursday quit the Labor to sit on the crossbench, said “stay tuned” and “anything can happen” when asked if she wanted to collaborate with a coalition of Islamic community groups planning to run against Labor MPs in seats with large Muslim populations.
On Thursday, as Coalition leader Peter Dutton came under fire for comments about Muslim candidates, Senator Payman said she had no immediate plans to create a new party. However, she has been working closely with election strategist Glenn Druery and met the network of Islamic organisations.
Mr Albanese on Friday echoed the view of NDIS Minister Bill Shorten, warning any faith-based party would risk social cohesion and Australia’s secularised political culture.
“My party has in around the cabinet and ministerial tables people who are Catholic, people who are Uniting Church, people who are Muslim, people who are Jewish,” Mr Albanese said. “That is the way that we’ve conducted politics in Australia.
“And it seems to me as well, beyond obvious, that it is not in the interest of smaller minority groups to isolate themselves.”
Senator Payman said on Thursday she felt ridiculed by her colleagues talking among themselves and to journalists about her claim that she was being guided by God and praying frequently before crossing the floor to vote on a motion to recognise Palestinian statehood, which sparked a dramatic political crisis and her exit from the Labor Party.
FULL STORY
PM warns against faith-based political movements as Payman hints at next move (By Paul Sakkal, The Age)
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