Several thousand people attended pro-Palestine rallies in Melbourne and Sydney on Sunday, one day before the October 7 anniversary of the Hamas attacks, as protesters called for a ceasefire and greater intervention from Australian politicians.

Former Labor Senator Fatima Payman will announce her new political party later this week, Sky News has revealed.

Jillian Segal, Australia’s special envoy to combat antisemitism, has told ABC’s RN there should not be large protests on October 7, which she described as “a very very sad day for the Australian Jewish community,” and “a day of infamy”.

Sources familiar with Senator Payman’s thinking said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s threat of a double dissolution election meant she needed to move swiftly.

WA senator Fatima Payman, who resigned from Labor to sit as an independent, is set to announce the formation of a new political party targeting progressive voters in every state and territory.

In response to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Payman has said her party will launch a "full-body contact competition" in marginal seats at the next election.