Blak Greens wanted anyone but Dorinda Cox for Indigenous role

One prominent Indigenous leader sent a letter to the Greens earlier this year accusing First Nations spokeswoman Dorinda Cox of acting in an ‘unprofessional, disrespectful manner’.

Greens leader Adam Bandt with First Nations spokeswoman Senator Dorinda Cox. Picture: Gary Ramage / NewsWire

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The Greens faction representing Indigenous members of the party actively opposed Dorinda Cox’s appointment as the party’s First Nations spokeswoman, amid concerns about her interactions with senior Indigenous leaders and her own staff.

As pressure continued to build on Greens leader Adam Bandt to finally take action after multiple complaints about Senator Cox’s conduct in the workplace, it can be revealed that the Blak Greens – a faction representing Indigenous members of the party, which has typically shaped the party’s position on First Nations issues – had wanted deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi “or anyone else” other than Senator Cox to be given the portfolio after it became available following Lidia Thorpe’s decision to quit the party last year.

The faction’s opposition to Cox’s appointment reflected concerns about her strained ties with sections of the Indigenous community and her persistent issues with both Indigenous and non-­Indigenous members of her staff.

At least 20 workers have quit their jobs in the senator’s office since she was selected to fill a senate vacancy in October 2021. The turnover rate is all the more remarkable given just five people are employed in the senator’s office at any one time.

Three senior staff all resigned in the space of about six weeks in February and March this year, with chief of staff Vivienne Glance, campaigner Linelle Fields and media adviser Lou Hendricks all walking away.

Few if any employees have lasted more than a year in the office. One employee, media adviser Rudi Maxwell, lasted just four days before she quit.

Senator Cox addresses the media. Picture: Martin Ollman / NewsWire

One senior figure in the Blak Greens, who did not want to be named, told The Weekend Australian that the group had made multiple complaints to the party and the office of Mr Bandt about Senator Cox, only for those warnings to be ignored.

Senator Cox was the only Indigenous parliamentarian in the party following Senator Thorpe’s departure, but the Blak Greens source said the faction did not believe that the First Nations portfolio should necessarily be held by an Indigenous person.

“It’s a myth to say you have to be a First Nations person to be able to work effectively in that space,” the source said.

“The bottom line is, you want someone who’s honest and you can work with … You don’t care about their nation when you’re in the trenches, you want someone who has got your back.”

The source said the senator’s personal interactions had put her off-side with large parts of the ­Indigenous community.

“Dorinda has come along, and she’s just bullying everyone left, right and centre … She gets personal and nasty,” the source said.

The Weekend Australian has also obtained copies of letters sent to the Greens leadership by one prominent West Australian Indigenous leader who expressed concerns about Senator Cox’s behaviour. One of the letters, sent to the Greens National Council earlier this year, accused Senator Cox of acting in an “unprofessional, dis­respectful manner” towards her at a public event. “As a Noongar woman with a proud history of Indigenous rights leadership, this conduct is unacceptable,” she wrote. “In the Aboriginal way, personal differences with others can be resolved directly and should not be carried on in this way. Ms (sic) Cox lacks cultural understanding and respect and is a poor reflection on the Greens.”

That letter comes on top of at least four confirmed complaints made about Senator Cox by former staff. One of those who complained about the senator’s conduct was Esther Montgomery, a veteran activist and Indigenous elder who briefly worked in the office. Ms Montgomery told The Weekend Australian she had experienced “constant mental and psychological putdowns” during her time working for the senator.

In a statement on Friday, Senator Cox issued an apology and said she continued to work with Parliamentary Workplace Support Services to improve the culture and wellbeing of her office.

“Politics is a challenging and high-pressure environment, especially as a First Nations Woman with five federal portfolios and competing priorities, including Australia’s largest geographical electorate,” she said.

“As the employer, I take responsibility for any shortcomings in what has occurred during this period and I apologise for the distress this may have caused,” she said.

The senator said she had received “consistent and overwhelming support” within her office and the community for the work she had done as the first First Nations female senator from WA.

Greens leader Adam Bandt. Picture: Gary Ramage / NewsWire

Mr Bandt also issued a statement defending his office’s handling of the complaints, noting that PWSS was the appropriate independent body to handle the matter.

“The PWSS was established to ensure all staff in parliament had an independent body that would look at any issues they raised about their workplace. A key aspect of this important reform was that it would help avoid any issues being ‘politically managed’ and a party putting their own interests ahead of staff’s wellbeing,” he said.

“My staff encouraged every staff member who raised concerns to raise these matters with the PWSS, which is the independent body that has legal powers and responsibility to deal with complaints about MPs and their offices.”