Dorinda Cox accuses Greens of racism in scathing resignation letter
In a fiery resignation letter, ex-Greens senator Dorinda Cox has accused her former party of racism and ignoring serious claims she raised, including disputed allegations of an assault at Perth Airport by a party member.
The senator also denied in her letter ever bullying others, contrary to reporting, adding she herself had suffered an "unremitting" campaign of bullying over the past 18 months.
Senator Cox spectacularly defected to Labor last week after sitting as a Greens senator for the past four years.
Announcing her move to Labor, Senator Cox said her values were more aligned with the government — though it prompted calls from Greens senators to hand back the seat and left party leader Larissa Waters "disappointed".
The Greens revoked Senator Cox's membership last week, after her announcement.
In a formal resignation letter, Senator Cox said she was no longer bound by confidentiality obligations, and could put on the record how the Greens had "failed [her] as its last First Nations MP, and continue to fail First Nations people".
"In my experience, the Greens tolerate a culture that permits violence against First Nations women within its structures. In this respect, the party is deeply racist," she wrote.
"My reports to the party and parliamentary workplace services range from being assaulted at Perth Airport by a party member, which was ignored (indeed, I was advised not to report it to police), to incidents involving my staff who were isolated by the state and other MPs offices."
The Greens have disputed that account.
Senator Cox and former ACT candidate Tjanara Goreng Goreng reportedly made complaints against each other to police in 2023 after an altercation at Perth Airport over the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
Dr Goreng Goreng denied those claims she harassed or assaulted the senator to The Guardian, and has been contacted by the ABC.
The senator also named incidents of rumours being shared within Greens networks as examples of a "toxic culture", where the party had sought to quiet her rather than address issues.
"Recently, my children were approached by a former staff member who had publicly made serious allegations about me at a Greens event. This type of mobbing made its way into 'moderated' online meeting chats and the widely circulated meeting minutes of the [Australian Greens First Nations Network].
"The Greens failed in their duty of care for my staff and me, and disregarded the reported and obvious impact of what was occurring. The focus was solely on winning seats," she wrote.
Ms Waters's office only learned of the complaint after being contacted by the ABC.
In a statement, a Greens spokesperson disputed the claims by Senator Cox.
"These claims are disappointing, unrepresentative of the support Senator Cox received and ignore the substantive work undertaken by the party to find a resolution to the complaints made both by and against Senator Cox, and to address the breakdown in her relationship with Greens' First Nations members," the spokesperson said.
"The Greens are an anti-racism party, and pushing a senator to take complaints seriously is not bullying.
"As the [Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission] and [Parliamentary Workplace Support Service] are the bodies created by parliament to address complaints from staff, they can continue to investigate ongoing matters. This is unchanged by the senator's decision to move to a party that continues to destroy First Nations cultural history through approving coal and gas projects."
The ABC has been told former Greens leader Adam Bandt's office was closely involved in finding a resolution to the airport matter, but the other matters raised in Senator Cox's letter were unknown to the party and not understood to have been previously raised with the leader's office.
Senator Cox suggested despite her internal struggles she had maintained her professionalism and loyalty to the party, but after the election lost confidence that her concerns would be addressed.
The Greens senator apologised late last year after several bullying complaints in her office were reported in the Nine newspapers, citing "challenging conditions both political and personally", but added the reporting was missing context.
In her letter, Senator Cox said, contrary to reporting, at the time of her leaving the Greens there were no "grievances" pending against her in the party's conflict resolution process and that none had been put to her during her time as a senator.
"I have faced an unremitting campaign of bullying and dishonest claims over the last 18 months," Senator Cox said.
Ex-Greens senator Lidia Thorpe claimed last week that she still had an active complaint against her former colleague that had sat unresolved for three years.
A former staffer to Senator Cox told the ABC she was "deeply surprised" and "offended" by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's suggestion that complaints against Senator Cox had been dealt with.
That staffer, who worked for Senator Cox for six weeks in 2024, said her brief time in the office had left her traumatised.
Mr Albanese has repeatedly insisted the complaints have been examined and are in the past.
An internal investigation by the WA Greens into complaints raised against Senator Cox has been dropped now that she has left the party.
Senator Cox concluded her letter saying she was now free to do the role she was elected to do by the people of WA, and she remained focused on delivering "tangible outcomes for First Nations peoples and other Australians".
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