Greens aghast as Dorinda Cox jumps ship to Labor

Dorinda Cox’s shock defection from the Greens to Labor has blindsided her former colleagues and angered ex-staffers who had complained of bullying during their time in her office.

Dorinda Cox with Anthony Albanese at Kings Park, Perth, on Monday. Picture: NewsWire / Philip Gostelow

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Dorinda Cox’s shock defection from the Greens to Labor has blindsided her former colleagues and angered ex-staffers who had complained of bullying during their time in her office.

Senator Cox appeared alongside Anthony Albanese at Perth’s Kings Park on Monday just over an hour after she called Greens leader Larissa Waters to inform her of her decision.

The West Australian senator’s defection followed months of internal conflict within the Greens over Senator Cox, the failure of her bid to become deputy leader in the wake of last month’s dismal election showing, and the growing realisation that she was not going to be preselected in a winnable position on the party’s next Senate ticket.

Several former staffers to Senator Cox came forward last year with claims that they had been bullied by the senator and had ­endured a toxic workplace environment marred by extremely high levels of staff turnover.

While her parliamentary colleagues had been broadly supportive of the senator in the wake of last year’s bullying allegations, many of the rank-and-file Greens members in Western Australia are understood to have seen things very differently.

She had also long ago lost the support of the party’s Indigenous faction, the Blak Greens, and many prominent members of the Indigenous community. Senator Cox had a fractious relationship with another Greens Senate ­defector, Lidia Thorpe, and had been concerned about reports – denied by Senator Thorpe – that her rival still had influence over the Greens.

Asked about the bullying ­allegations against Senator Cox, the Prime Minister said he was comfortable that those complaints had been adequately ­addressed.

“We examined everything that had been considered in the past. Those issues were dealt with appropriately,” he said.

“My government has established very clear guidelines, meaning that any issues relating to workplaces and making sure that workplaces are safe are properly examined. They were all dealt with in Senator Cox’s case and dealt with appropriately.”

The news of Senator Cox’s ­defection triggered anger among some of those former staffers who had previously complained about her behaviour.

One former staffer said that while it was not surprising to see Senator Cox part ways with the Greens, it was “shocking” to see her accepted into the Labor fold by Mr Albanese.

“It is disturbing that Labor and the Prime Minister would welcome into their party someone with such a history of alleged bullying,” one former staffer said.

The defection comes just weeks after Senator Cox missed out on the deputy leadership of the Greens, and just days after the Albanese government gave provisional approval to extend the life of Woodside Energy’s North West Shelf gas plant out to 2070.

Senator Cox had previously been vehemently opposed to the North West Shelf extension. She told The Australian in the lead-up to the election – when many pundits were pointing to a likely minority Labor government – that the Greens would “absolutely be taking Labor to task” on the North West Shelf if the Greens emerged with the balance of power in the lower house.

Greens leader Larissa Waters. Picture: Dan Peled / NewsWire

Asked about her position on the North West Shelf given her shift in allegiance, Senator Cox said it would not be appropriate for her to comment given the conditional approval given by Environment Minister Murray Watt last week was only provisional.

“My understanding is that Woodside do need to come back to Minister Watt. And obviously, I will be working with the Labor government now to ensure that we tread a pathway forward in ensuring that there’s a delivery of what’s required for the Australian public, particularly for the West Australian public, and to make sure that we are doing that in partnership with them,” she said.

The senator had put her name forward for the deputy leadership of the Greens last month after former leader Adam Bandt lost his seat, but missed out to incumbent Mehreen Faruqi.

Senator Waters slammed Senator Cox after announcing she would defect to Labor, questioning how the WA senator’s values could truly align with a party that last week approved the North West Shelf gas project. The newly elected Greens leader said Senator Cox had advised her of her decision just an “hour prior” to her announcement that she would join the Labor Party.

“The Greens are disappointed in Senator Cox’s decision to leave the Greens and join the Labor party as a backbencher,” Senator Waters said. “Senator Cox has said that her values align with the Labor Party. This is the same Labor Party who this week approved the climate wrecking North West Shelf gas project, which UNESCO advises will destroy significant First Nations heritage and ancient rock art.”

Senator Waters said Senator Cox would have had “more chance of effecting change by continuing to work with the Greens in the sole balance of power”.

“The Greens are committed to continuing to work for Truth, Treaty and Justice with First Nations people and will continue to work to protect country and the climate that is under such threat from Labor Party decisions in Western Australia,” she said. “We wish her well.”

Senator Cox had herself been a Labor member long before she joined the Greens. Mr Albanese said he had “engaged very constructively” with Senator Cox after she had approached Labor a few days ago. “Dorinda and I have had more discussions in recent days than we had in previous years, and that’s the nature of the Senate and the House of Representatives,” Mr Albanese said.

“Senator Cox didn’t ask for anything, just asked for this to be considered. The national executive committee of the Labor Party met yesterday afternoon (Sunday) and Senator Cox will be admitted to the Labor Party as a member tomorrow (Tuesday) to the Western Australian branch.”

Senator Cox’s defection further diminishes the Greens’ parliamentary numbers, although Labor will continue to rely on the minor party to help pass legislation through the Senate.

Monash head of politics and international relations Zareh Ghazarian said “things seem to be getting worse for the Greens”, noting it would be “particularly galling” for the minor party to lose a senator to Labor.

“Senator Dorinda Cox’s decision will mean Labor has gained one more seat in the Senate, but will still need to negotiate with the other senators or the Greens to get a majority vote in the chamber,“ she said.

Senator Cox told The Australian in 2023 that 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.