Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young says Dorinda Cox should resign after Labor defection
Ms Cox said she chose to quit the minor party to join the Albanese government after some 'deep reflection' about her personal values.
However, Ms Hanson-Young has criticised the move, and Labor's embrace of it, saying the defection disrespects the voters who elected her as a Greens representative.
'I always think that it's not fair to the voters and indeed any of the parties involved that if somebody is elected to one party and then jumps ship later on,' she told reporters.
'I do think the honourable thing is to resign from the parliament, but that's not the rules, and so we're left where we are.'
The comments follow a spate of criticism surrounding Ms Cox's abrupt resignation.
Ms Cox only announced she would leave the party after she lost a deputy leadership ballot 9–3 to Senator Mehreen Faruqi.
She then claimed 'deep reflection' had led her to realise her values were more closely aligned with Labor's.
But her sudden transformation has met skepticism and accusations of political opportunism, particularly given her scathing past criticisms of the Labor Party.
In 2020, Ms Cox said she left Labor because it was 'patronising to women and people of colour' and accused the party of caring more about donors than members.
More recently, she accused Labor of having 'spectacularly failed' the public through its support for the North West Shelf gas project.
Also resurfacing was her support for the controversial slogan 'from the river to the sea' - a phrase Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has publicly condemned.
Adding to the controversy was another leaked 2023 text message in which Ms Cox referred to One Nation leader Pauline Hanson as a 'f---ing retard'.
Labor's apparent willingness to accept Ms Cox, despite these incidents, has drawn comparisons to Mr Albanese's prior treatment of former Labor senator Fatima Payman.
Ms Payman was hounded by Mr Albanese after she quit the Labor Party last year to form her own party, Australia's Voice.
'There is a bit of hypocrisy, of course, about how Labor has responded to this,' Ms Hanson-Young said.
'It wasn't okay to jump ship for Fatima Payman, but apparently when it's people coming to them, it's all okay.'
Ms Payman herself chimed in on Tuesday, saying she was surprised Ms Cox had not suffered 'the smear campaign' that she endured after her exit from Labor.
Meanwhile, internal alleged complaints of staff bullying continue to hang over Ms Cox's legacy in the Greens.
More than 20 staff reportedly quit her office, prompting an internal investigation—but the probe was abandoned following her defection.
'There has been a process, and an internal process is hard to run if somebody's gone to another party,' Ms Hanson-Young said.
Former Labor minister Stephen Conroy added to criticism, calling for Ms Cox to 'resign from the Senate' and seek Labor preselection through the proper channels.
'She shouldn't steal something from the Greens; she should resign and ensure that it's passed back to the Greens,' Mr Conroy told Sky News.
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