Independent Senator Fatima Payman has hired veteran political operative Glenn Druery as her chief of staff, formalising a partnership that began in the weeks before the former Labor senator sensationally quit Labor over its response to the war in Gaza.

This masthead first revealed last month that Payman had teamed up with Druery, who is widely known as “the preference whisperer” for his success in securing seats for upper house independents and minor party candidates.

Druery has also been working with Muslim groups on a plan to stand candidates in lower house seats with a high proportion of Muslim residents, amid growing disquiet within some communities over the federal government’s stance on the war in Gaza.

Druery, who has been informally advising Payman, joked the pair would “raise the Titanic” together as he confirmed the appointment to the newly-independent senator’s office.

His appointment means he will play a key role in helping Payman determine her legislative priorities.

“I hope to help the senator achieve her goals and those goals will become clearer as time goes by,” he said.

“For the duration of her term in parliament, senator Payman will be focused on the good people of Western Australia.”

Druery said Payman had the potential to be as consequential a balance of power senator as former Tasmanian Senator Brian Harradine and Nick Xenophon from South Australia.

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Both of those men held a share of the balance of power for decades and earned reputations for driving a hard bargain on behalf of their states and, for the most part, being reliable centrists who were prepared to with the government of the day on legislation.

“I have worked with politicians for decades not all of them know how to work in parliament to achieve their goals. Harradine and Xenophon did and achieved a lot for the states. You can’t just sit there, you have to work with the government of the day,” Druery said.

But he struck a note of caution for the Albanese government, adding it could not take Payman’s vote for granted.

“All legislation will be taken on its merits and dealt with on a case-by-case basis.”

Labor currently holds 25 seats in the 76 member senate and to pass legislation needs to secure a majority of 39 votes meaning it needs to secure the support of the Coalition, or the Greens and a handful of crossbenchers to pass laws.

The Coalition holds 31 seats, the Greens hold 11 seats and there are nine senators sitting on the cross bench, including the ACT’s David Pocock, two Pauline Hanson senators and Tasmanian Jacqui Lambie.