Fatima Payman

Latest speeches

1. Senate Chamber (part 2 of 2) · Australian Parliament · 17 September 2026

   • Members’ statements: housing collapse and child poverty

     “Thank you, Acting Deputy President. Somewhere in Western Australia tonight, a child goes to bed hungry. Not because their parents don't love them or work hard enough, but because the system has let them fall through the cracks. In Hedland,…”

     Watch from 2:16

2. Senate Chamber (part 2 of 2) · Australian Parliament · 16 September 2026

   • Senator Payman: COP31, climate impacts on women

     “Thank you, President. My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Senator Ayres. I met with ActionAid advocates this morning who raised some serious concerns. With every degree of global warming, women around the…”

     Watch from 52:35

   • Senator Payman supplementaries: gender‑focused climate finance

     “Thank you, President. Minister, you didn't answer my question, but we'll go to the supplementary. Women and children are up to 14 times more likely to die in a climate disaster. Will the government commit to a climate finance framework…”

     Watch from 55:37

   • Senator Payman supplementaries: gender‑focused climate finance

     “Minister, Australia's climate finance currently sits on average at just $27 per person compared to $52 per person in the UK and $72 per person in Germany. Will the government commit to closing that gap and scaling our climate finance…”

     Watch from 57:10
   1 more clip in this sitting

3. Senate Chamber (part 1 of 3) · Australian Parliament · 16 September 2026

   • Labor backbench and crossbench: regional access, graduate outcomes and governance

     “Thank you, Acting Deputy President. The Universities Accord (Opening the Doors of Opportunity) Bill 2024 is an important bill and one that I'll be supporting. But it's also a bill that misses some of the problems affecting Australians who choose…”

     Watch from 1:58:40

   • Senators’ statements: child protection, environment, Holocaust education, AI, health and economic integrity

     “Thank you Acting Deputy President. 12 hours. 12 hours of induction, of pain, of my body being pushed to its limit. And then an emergency caesarean I was not prepared for. I remember shaking on that operating table, not from…”

     Watch from 4:32:51

4. Senate Chamber (part 1 of 2) · Australian Parliament · 15 September 2026

   • Two‑minute statements: Festivals, radicalisation, AI, migration and local issues

     “Thank you, Acting Deputy President. I'm extremely fortunate to be able to bring my daughter Aaliyah to Canberra with me. Having her here means I don't have to choose between serving my family and my constituents. Most Australian parents, unfortunately,…”

     Watch from 1:58:00

   • Formal business: Leave, references and introduction of private members’ bills

     “Thank you, President. I ask that general business notice of motion number 712 be taken as a formal motion.”

     Watch from 4:02:52

   • Formal business: Leave, references and introduction of private members’ bills

     “I ask that general business notice of motion number 710 be taken as a formal motion.”

     Watch from 4:27:53
   2 more clips in this sitting

5. Senate Chamber (part 2 of 2) · Australian Parliament · 14 September 2026

   • Formal motions agreed: Payman and Canavan notices

     “Yes, thank you, Deputy President, I ask that general business notice of motion number 701 be taken as a formal motion.”

     Watch from 27:44

6. Senate Chamber (part 2 of 2) · Australian Parliament · 10 September 2026

   • AI transparency failures in Commonwealth agencies

     “AI transparency statement and 30 agencies missed the deadline to appoint an AI accountable official. What's more concerning is the number of agencies who gave false evidence to committees of the Senate about this. There's a few, so I'll go…”

     Watch from 0:00