Coalition senator accuses Labor’s Fatima Payman of ‘supporting terrorists’ before withdrawing claim

Comments come just hours after Senate passes motion urging senators to ‘engage in debate and commentary respectfully’

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A Coalition senator accused the Labor backbencher Fatima Payman of “supporting terrorists” and then withdrew the claim, just hours after the Senate passed a motion opposing “inflammatory and divisive comments”.

The NSW Liberal senator Hollie Hughes denied she had directly referred to Payman as a “terrorist”, which is what was alleged by some senators who were sitting in the chamber at the time and did not wish to be named.

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