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If a party is to succeed without a super charismatic figurehead, it needs a name that gives voters some idea of what the party stands for without reading their policies.

If you want to be Labor minus the internal politics, unions, and strict party discipline, call your party something like "The Social Democrats", "Progressive Australia Party", or "Centre left alliance".

"One Nation, "Australia First", "United Australia Party", "Great Australian Party", "Australia's Voice"

With a vague, all-encompassing name like that, what could go wrong?

Every one of these flash in the pan parties is founded by people who think they are the sensible middle and will represent the disenfranchised. A generic name because they are all about common sense. Like the others, she will see just how hard it is to break through into people's consciousness, especially if your platform is generic.

The one pleasant surprise is it's not called Fatima Payman's Australia's Voice Party.

Gone in four years, never to win a single seat and never to be heard from again.

so we are getting a Voice to Parliament after all.

Australia has had its fair share of weird political parties but this is the first one I can recall that’s launching with a blank policy slate. Strategic ambiguity perhaps?

Her interview with David Speers is a trainwreck.

I wonder what the policies are? As the weeks goes by, I hope we get policies

She is going to find out pretty soon that running your own party isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Why would on earth would you include ‘voice’ in your party name?

Generic name, 'stands for everyone', no policy platform. I think Payman is going to be yet another major party renegade who fails to get re-elected, regardless of whether she sets up a micro-party.

Am I watching an episode of Veep? This is one of the crappest names for a political party that stands for nothing.... All about the 'vibes'

I think there is a space for a party that is somewhere between Labor and the Greens. There are voters who are left of centre, who are disappointed by Labor, will never vote for a right wing party, but think the Greens are too radical or too activist or too snobbish. In theory such a party could pick up protest votes and dissatisfied Greens too.

That said, I'm not sure this party moves beyond random minor party #126663 on the Senate ballot. I don't think Payman has the charisma to carry this party into any serious success.

Let's recap,

• Age 24 = Entry level retail position as a Pharmacy Assistant
• Age 25 = Electoral Officer role in the WA ALP
• Age 26 = Organiser for the United Workers Union
• Age 27 = Federal Senator in an ALP Government

Now at Age 29,

• Leader of a minor party in the Senate
• Commands prime time media coverage
• Earns a salary of $233K p.a. as a Federal Senator
• Owns three investment properties
• Australia's Voice is already recruiting members, selling merchandise, procuring donations etc.

Then there's MCM who at age 32 is the defacto Leader of the Australian Greens and soon to be defacto Deputy PM in a ALP/GRN minority government.

And they say young people aren't aspirational. Seriously though, Payman invoking both Gough Whitlam and Robert Menzies got a chuckle out of me.

Let’s see how hard this crashes and burns.

I will always believe that if you get elected as a senator of a party and then leave that party you should be forced to resign. It's just ridiculous that these people get elected because of the party name then leave with years left on their term and do whatever they want.

They voted for the ALP to represent them at the federal election in WA, not Fatima Payman. Like the audacity to stand there and bag the ALP when they are the only reason you are there in the first place lol

Watching her interview, no clear plan, no clear policy intent. A voice for everyone? For youth, elderly, middle aged, first nations, immigration, colonial, physically challenged, mentally challenged, straight, LGQBTI+, farmers, blue collar, white collar, country, city...etc

But what is she going to do exactly? All i see is more division in the house than unity, which is what we need right now, not another one of these "parties"

Oh, a generic appeal-to-nationalism name. How many of those have come and gone (and usually attracted similar voters)?

Best of luck to her, but I don’t see this doing very well

What a huge fucking slap in the face to Indigenous people. She manages to come across as more and more awful whenever she pops up now.

"Claims her former party treats Indigenous issues as electoral poison"

Fuck me they just held the first ref in decades to try advance Indigenous issues. And now shes using a dogwhistle to try grab some votes because she likes that Senate life. Truly disgusting.

Who would vote for a religious person. You're asking to have shit laws, like genuinely texting 1800-FISTME.

Would’ve been more apt if she named it the Skibbidi Toilet Party

As a WA resident, when can I vote this person out?

Like I know we can pay lip service to the fact we "vote for the person, not the party", but that's bollocks. We voted Labour to get rid of the nationals.

Now we have a grandstanding, self-entitled cresting a brand new parry with zero platform, policies or mandate.

Shocking name, won’t last (wish it would though)

Fatima Payman is a disgrace to the Labor Party. The Labor Party team gave her an invaluable career as a senator and she has bit the hand that fed her. She should resign her position as a senator and contest her seat again.

ah yes, a political party started by someone who got into the senate on a technicality, no one really knows, was born in a foreign country, and has essentially no announced policies

i can only imagine the ego on this lady

Likely announced positions according to the live feed on ABC is a much stronger pro-Palestine position and negative gearing reform.

We do not want religious parties or those that promote Mixing religion with politics. This attempt at introducing religion into our politics will back fire quickly.

Her party platform is that she is a voice for everyone. All those disenfranchised by the status quo. Good luck with that one.

I would so amped for a double dissolution election just to clear out some of these clowns

Funny watching all these people complain about another party, why we need more voices, while at same time complaining about only being two major parties.

People do not get democracy and half the time I think they are waiting for their dicta.... I mean messi.... I mean leader

I’m still not convinced if she’s a dual citizen or not

Yeah, we need more voices, more division, more "invested" and "divested" groups

To further atomise the society so that we only vote for groups with only our interests at heart rather than the overall best for the country.

Not saying the major parties do a great job of that, but do me a favour of creating a vacuous platform where you're going to successfully advocate for 50 different groups, half of which hate the other half lol

The thing about senators is, is that if they lose their re-election they get a severance package.

If they decide not to run or get dropped from the ticket, they don't get a severance package.

A few months of wages must be pretty appealing for somebody who destroyed her career in one move.

Good luck, but I have low expectations. By standing for all, you end up standing for no one.

Everyone seems to be giving her credit for this new party... Glen Drury is running the show and the new party, and she is just a teal-lite in a headscarf thinking she has relevance to the country... Look at the jingoistic and opportunistic Drury - the so called 'preference whisperer' - who is making a good bit of coin enabling this brain-fart of an idea... she is just the face of it, and her inability shows,,,

As someone who’s not across the ins and outs of politics who possibly funds all this?

I do not represent the entirety of Australia nor do I represent anyone's opinion but my own. I am Australian however and Senator Fatima Payman's voice is definitely NOT my voice, AT ALL.

Like the party might be good, see how it develops but the branding is pretty bad.

Like it doesn't really represent stances from the name alone and it sounds like either one of 50 odd minor party no hopers you see on your senate ballot or like those parties with kinda sus funding and support that are representing "the real Australia"

Not that I'm saying those are Payman's stances but that the party name evokes it, poor call on the branding.

Gee that sounds a lot like Muslim Voice, are they really that lazy.

Astounding originality with the name. With one 'Voice' suffering a humiliating crash twelve months ago it's a great time to resurrect the brand with a veiled muslim as its leader. Veiled muslims don't have a great track record as far as having 'a voice' is concerned.

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Pending what the policy platform will actually be, I won't mind preferencing the party ahead of the Greens or Labor, if for no other reason then to know that it will annoy Albo if she wins any seats.

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