Greens voice on Indigenous affairs Dorinda Cox prefers a chat to a feud

The Greens’ new First Nations spokeswoman, Dorinda Cox, says she was surprised Labor did not try to legislate the Indigenous voice to parliament to give the model time to ‘evolve and be tested’

Greens’ First Nations spokeswoman Dorinda Cox. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

The Greens’ new First Nations spokeswoman, Dorinda Cox, says she was surprised Labor did not try to legislate the Indigenous voice to parliament to give the model time to “evolve and be tested” before taking it to the Australian people with a referendum.

The West Australian senator, who will be at the helm of the Greens’ negotiations with Labor over Indigenous affairs this year, said she intended to bring her style of politics, which focused more on relationships and negotiation than the approach of her predecessor, Lidia Thorpe, to the portfolio.

“We definitely need a firebrand like Lidia, that’s who she is,” Senator Cox told The Australian. “I’m much more of a ‘Hey, can we have a chat (person)’. I might not agree with your politics, but there must be a sweet spot.”

While confirming she would be strongly behind the Yes campaign for the voice, Senator Cox said she had thought the body would have been legislated first.

“I thought Labor would … put a voice in place and then legislate it, that was the way I thought they would do it, not even have a referendum. Give it time for the model to evolve and be tested,” she said.

However, she said she was now “quite happy” with the progress being made by the government on all elements of the Uluru ­Statement from the Heart, including details around treaty and agreement-making processes she believed would be unveiled imminently. “I’m confident that we’re going to get a few answers on that in the next few weeks,” she said.

Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney confirmed at the weekend that details on treaty and truth-telling would be announced soon, including how the proposed Makarrata commission would work.

The Uluru statement called for a Makarrata commission to be set up to “supervise a process of ­agreement-making and truth-­telling about our history”.

Senator Cox said the Coalition’s concerns around the voice didn’t hold water and were for nothing more than a “clickbait moment”.

“The waxing and waning of what the opposition are doing with that in a negative way … (is) for the clickbait moment, not for the actual care and understanding and humanity that’s required for us to actually sit down and look at what communities need and solutions,” she said.

Senator Cox said her father had always encouraged her to vote for Labor, and that she had joined the party for a brief period in her late 20s to progress First Nations rights. “I gave them the benefit of the doubt. I paid my membership, went to one branch meeting and the local member didn’t even acknowledge me – and I just thought this is not for me,” she said.

Following a career in the police force and business consulting, Senator Cox was selected to replace WA Greens senator Rachel Siewert in 2021. She said the legacy she wished to leave from her time in politics was one that would “help to make change that is going to be felt by my daughters”.

While she felt she had needed to “fight” to have her voice heard her whole life, Senator Cox said she never expressed the desire to be listened to through violence or protest. “It’s always felt like I have to speak louder to get my voice heard, like I have to make sure my point gets across, but not in a violent way and not in a not in a protest way,” she said.