As parties vie for Muslim voters, Australia should not go down the path of religiously influenced politics, the Prime Minister warned.
The dramatic departure of Senator Fatima Payman from the Labor Party raises the question of whether the Labor Party can continue to rely on the votes of the Muslim communities.
The Western Australian senator resigned from the party over her stance on Palestine and also met with representatives of The Muslim Vote, a grassroots organisation that will field candidates in some Labor strongholds in western Sydney.
But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is convinced that the country’s political parties should preserve social unity.
“I do not believe and do not want Australia to go down the path of sectarian political parties because that would undermine social cohesion,” he told reporters on Friday.
“In my party there are … Catholics, Uniting Church members, Muslims, Jews – that’s how we did politics in Australia, that’s how you create unity.”
Senator Payman’s resignation also suggested that Albanese could form a minority government in his next term, which Opposition Leader Peter Dutton described as a “disaster” because it would include “Greens, Green-Teals … and Muslim candidates from Western Sydney”.
Cricket legend Usman Khawaja described Mr Dutton’s comments as “absolute disgrace” and said he was “stirring up Islamophobia”.
When the issue was discussed again on Friday, the opposition leader stressed that this political situation would have a negative impact on the economy because, in his opinion, groups such as The Muslim Vote were too focused on issues outside Australia.
“If you are a Senator for NSW, your first job is to look after the people of NSW,” he told the Today Show.
This does not mean that there is a clear boundary regarding the role of religion and politics, said Cabinet Minister Bill Shorten.
“We bring our values, they help make us who we are,” he said.
“But of course some of the worst countries in the world are those ruled by oppressive, theocratic governments that use religion to justify the persecution of minorities.”
Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s evangelical faith sometimes came under scrutiny during his time in office.
Senator Payman rejected claims that she wanted to join the Muslim Vote movement and called the suggestion that her departure was due solely to her religion an insult.
Her title as the first woman to wear a hijab in the Australian Parliament made her faith uniquely visible and led to situations in which she was, as she said, “marginalized.”
“Religion is something private for me, it determines my moral compass and it is a matter for me to hold myself to higher standards,” she told ABC radio.
“Other than that, I don’t impose my religious views on other people, nor do I expect them to make decisions the same way I do.”