‘I look forward to further announcements in the coming days’: PM suspends decision on Senator Fatima Payman’s departure

Ms Payman claims she was “banished” from Labor and intimidated by her party after she stormed the Senate chamber last Tuesday, and later said she would do it again if given the chance.

Suspicions that the Western Australian senator would step down intensified after it was revealed she had been in talks with Glen Druery, an election strategist known for advising smaller parties on how to use complex preference deals to win elections.

The Coalition pressed Mr Albanese to contact the senator during a question-and-answer session on Wednesday, when deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley asked whether reports of bullying by Labor members against Ms Payman had been passed on to the Parliamentary Employment Service.

The prime minister responded by saying Opposition Leader Peter Dutton had criticised Labor for taking “great care” in considering Senator Payman’s candidacy, before saying the senator would speak out more about her status in the party “in the coming days”.

“Senator Payman has obviously made the decision to remain outside the Labor Party, that is her decision,” he said.

“I expect further announcements in the coming days that will explain exactly what the strategy that has been implemented for over a month is.”

The rebel senator’s supporters have been making plans for her future outside the Labour Party for “weeks”, The Daily Telegraph has learned, despite Ms Payman saying on Sunday she had no intention of leaving the party.

Ms Payman’s supporters are reported to have contacted Mr Druery before the Western Australian senator spoke last week.

The strategist said he had been approached by Muslim groups to discuss the election and that he had had “informal talks” with Payman.

“I was invited to a meeting by members of the Muslim community to have informal discussions about the next election and to meet with Senator Payman. There is no agreement between the Muslim community or the senator and me,” he told Guardian Australia.

Mr Albanese said it was “obviously… unacceptable” for Senator Payman to be having discussions with Labor’s political opponents, pointing out she was only a senator because she was a member of the Labor Party.

“Fatima was of course elected as a Labor senator with the ALP next to her name, just as I am the prime minister because I am a member of the group. I rely on the support of the political party that I have been loyal to since I came out of the womb,” Mr Albanese told ABC’s 7:30 programme.

Speculation about Ms Payman’s future in the party comes after News.com.au revealed she has links to a controversial Islamist television station which warned against “aggressive feminist propaganda” and “homosexual references” in the hit movie Barbie.

The One Path Network, to which the senator donates an undisclosed amount of more than $300 a year, produces videos on a wide range of topics, mostly focusing on Islam.

There was also content praising Ms Payman’s actions, with the caption including the phrase “from the river to the sea.”

Controversial TikTok slams Barbie, calling it “propaganda,” with a caption warning Muslims to stay away from the hit movie.

“We get it – the video is satire and probably shouldn’t be taken that seriously. But the message is something we should be careful about,” the caption reads.

“Not to mention the vulgar sexual jokes and references to homosexuality and transgender people.

“This is not a movie Muslims should watch.”

SkyNews.com.au has spoken to Ms Payman about the controversial film and her donations to the station.

Senator Payman did not appear in Parliament on Tuesday, a day after she claimed other Labor members had “tried to intimidate her into resigning from the Senate”.

The first-term senator said she plans to use her absence from the Labor primary to “reflect on my future and the best way to represent the people of Western Australia”.