The community independent movement and the Greens have seized on the Albanese government's loss of a senator over Palestine to fuel their push to convince Canberrans to vote for alternative candidates at the next election.
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Voices for Canberra co-founder Arnagretta Hunter, whose group is seeking a candidate to challenge Labor MP Alicia Payne, said the party's inability to accommodate divergent views strengthened the case for voters to elect independents.
"It certainly comes up in the conversations we're having on the streets, that people are concerned about the way the Palestine issue is dealt with," Dr Hunter said.
"Palestine being such a complicated and devastating issue ... party politics fails to reflect the conversations that are so important," she told The Canberra Times.
"It's something that people are concerned about ... It reflects how the political process either does represent or doesn't represent what people are thinking."
Western Australian senator Fatima Payman's move to the crossbench on Thursday came after she was suspended from the Labor caucus following her decision to cross the floor to vote in support of a Greens motion to recognise the state of Palestine, then her vow on ABC Insiders to cross the floor again.
"I felt I exhausted every opportunity to raise my concerns ... and I just felt that there was no place for me to continue these conversations and decisions were already made by the time it was brought to caucus," Senator Payman told reporters in Canberra.
Dr Hunter said Canberrans were concerned by a perception the government was "shutting people down and preventing them from holding deeply considered and strong opinions".
"People want to be part of better political conversation, that's not about winning the point. It's about talking about complicated challenges and coming to a consensus view, it's not stifling debate."
She said Labor's decision to back gas beyond 2050 also clashed with voter expectations in Canberra, but the local member was expected to vote with her party.
"The electorate of Canberra doesn't support that sort of gas expansion policy," she said. "But there's a disconnect between what our MPs are allowed to do with their politics, and what people are talking about, what people care about in community."
'Party politics trumping electorate views'
Jessie Price, co-founder of the Voices of Bean group, said Senator Payman's treatment by the Albanese government was also a hot topic in Canberra's south.
"It has been brought up a number of times, including as a clear example of party politics trumping electorate views and community representation," Ms Price said.
"Palestine has been brought up regularly as an issue for people in Bean."
Greens Canberra candidate Isabel Mudford said it was "clear from what we are hearing on the doors and stalls ... that Canberrans want immediate, decisive and strong action on Israel's invasion of Gaza."
"While a lot of attention has rightly gone to the bravery of Senator Payman this week, the silence from Canberra's Labor MPs is deafening," Ms Mudford said.
"Canberrans understand that Australia can and should take action right now for the plight of Gazans."
Voters 'wanted to elect a Labor government': PM
Prime Minster Anthony Albanese took aim at Senator Payman over her plan to represent Western Australia as an independent, pointing out that she personally attracted only a handful of votes.
"Fatima Payman received around about 1,600 votes," Mr Albanese told reporters in Canberra on Friday.
"The ALP box above the line received 511,000 votes. It's very clear that Fatima Payman is in the Senate because people in WA wanted to elect a Labor Government.
"And that's why they put a number one in the box above the line, next to Australian Labor Party, rather than voted below the line for any individual."
Senator Payman told ABC radio when the issue was put to her: "And those same voters expected Labor to uphold its own values - and what it has in the policy platform - when it comes to the recognition of Palestinian statehood."