The decision by Dorinda Cox to defect from the Greens to Labor was a further sign the minor party had lost its way, but should not affect negotiations on the $3 million superannuation tax or other bills in the Senate, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese believes.

Albanese said Cox’s defection, amid mounting acrimony between her and more radical Greens, was the latest in a series of setbacks for the minor party that was precipitated by its obstinacy in the Senate and embrace of militancy during the last term of parliament.