Latest news with #DorindaCox
AU Financial Review
10 hours ago
- Politics
- AU Financial Review
Indigenous leader takes aim at Greens, Labor amid Cox saga
A prominent WA Indigenous leader and human rights expert has criticised Labor and the Greens over their handling of the Dorinda Cox saga, accusing both parties of ignoring First Nations voices and concerns. Kurin Minang woman Hannah McGlade, who helped Labor develop its First Nations Women's Policy Forum in 2018, called out Prime Minister Anthony Albanese over what she described as a 'captain's pick' in recruiting Cox to the party.
The Age
10 hours ago
- Politics
- The Age
Defecting senator torched ‘patronising' Labor in leaked Greens application
Senator Dorinda Cox described Labor as patronising to women and people of colour and claimed the party cared more about its donors than members in her application to run for the Greens in 2020. Cox was a Labor Party member before leaving to join the Greens, becoming a senator in September 2021. She rejoined Labor in a surprise defection from the crossbench this week that infuriated her former colleagues. When Cox applied to become a Greens senator, she filled out an online application form that asked her reasons for leaving any other political party. In her response, seen by this masthead, Cox delivered a withering verdict on the party whose values the senator said she shared on Monday. 'I was a previous member of the Labor Party but left disillusioned and disappointed. I had joined in the hope that it was a party of significant influence that could create change but soon realised that they did not authentically engage with members,' Cox wrote. 'I was let down by what I found to be a patronising attitude towards women and people of colour. Finally, leaving when it became clear that they cared more about election donors that [sic] the views of members.' Cox, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's office, and the Western Australian division of the Greens did not respond to requests for comment. On Tuesday, Albanese brushed off the risk of policy disagreements with Cox, who has previously criticised Labor for its stance on environmental and Indigenous issues. 'Well, Dorinda Cox understands that being a member of the Labor Party means that she will support positions that are made by the Labor Party,' Albanese said. On Monday, Cox said: 'I have reached a conclusion after deep and careful reflection that my values and priorities are more aligned with Labor than the Greens.' The exposure of the senator's once-critical views of the Labor Party are the second damaging leak about Cox in two days, following the release of a message in which she used a slur against a senator, underscoring the depth of anger within the Greens at Cox's exit.
The Guardian
11 hours ago
- General
- The Guardian
Lidia Thorpe urges Albanese to ‘do his homework' as PM insists Dorinda Cox allegations have been ‘dealt with'
Lidia Thorpe has urged Anthony Albanese to 'do his homework' on bullying allegations against Greens turned Labor senator Dorinda Cox, claiming the prime minister was 'wrong' to publicly declare the matters had been dealt with. The independent Victorian senator – previously a member of the Greens – revealed on Wednesday she had formally filed a bullying complaint against Cox in March 2023, months after she first notified the then Greens leader, Adam Bandt. Cox was the subject of a number of workplace behaviour complaints with 20 staff having left in just three years, as first reported by the Nine newspapers in October 2024. Earlier this week, Albanese said formal complaints lodged to the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service (PWSS) against Cox had been 'dealt with appropriately' as he announced her defection to Labor from the Greens. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email When asked by media on Thursday why he would welcome Cox into his party despite the allegations against her, he reiterated that they were 'dealt with'. However, Thorpe told Guardian Australia her complaint against Cox had stalled and was 'never resolved' after Cox declined to attend a mediation session the PWSS offered in early 2023. On Thursday, Thorpe told the ABC's Afternoon Briefing program she made her complaint public because the prime minister had claimed the issues had been resolved. '[Albanese] should have done his homework before he opened his mouth because there is still an ongoing issue with bullying in the workplace and there is a lot of work to do, and Labor needs to take that seriously,' she said. 'If the prime minister does not even know that there is a problem then there is a lot of work to do on their end.' Thorpe added 'you cannot force people to mediate' but she remained open to a 'conversation and conciliation' with Cox. Guardian Australia has contacted the prime minister's office for a response. Cox's office did not respond to questions on Wednesday. In October last year, Cox apologised for 'the distress this may have caused' but said there had been 'significant missing context' in the reports of bullying allegations within her office. The WA Greens launched an investigation into grievances against Cox in mid-January but confirmed it would no longer proceed after the senator switched political parties. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Thorpe said on Wednesday the PWSS had limited powers and the process had been 'far from satisfactory' and referring the matter to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission (IPSC) would require 'jumping through more hoops with no real guarantee of an outcome'. 'Parliament should be setting the standard for the rest of the country,' she said. 'We need a safe, accountable workplace, especially if we want to see more young people, First Peoples and people of colour stepping into politics.' The PWSS was set up as an interim body before being made permanent in late 2023 and functions as a HR body for parliamentarians, their staffers and others working in the building. The IPSC was established in September 2024 and has the power to investigate complaints and sanction those working within Parliament House. A spokesperson for the PWSS said people could not be forced to attend mediation but that complainants could use other avenues, such as referring issues to the newly established IPSC. 'Mediation is one of the local resolution processes that the PWSS can facilitate to resolve a complaint. Mediation is a voluntary process and parties cannot be compelled by the PWSS to participate,' they said. The spokesperson confirmed complainants are 'advised when the matter is closed'. Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the 'honourable thing' would be for Cox to resign from the parliament for defecting to Labor. 'It's not fair to the voters and indeed any of the parties involved that if somebody is elected as one party and then jumps ship later on,' she said in Canberra on Thursday morning. 'I do think the honourable thing is to resign from the parliament. But, you know, that's not the rules and we're left where we are.' Do you know more? Email sbasfordcanales@
ABC News
14 hours ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Albo's Trump-sized headache
Donald Trump has re-entered the domestic political frame this week, doubling the tariffs on steel and aluminium, while his defence secretary urges Australia to increase its defence spend. So, how is Anthony Albanese positioning? And then there's the shock defection of WA Senator Dorinda Cox from the Greens to Labor — and Teal Independent Nicollete Boele just clinching the seat of Bradfield. But it looks like Liberal candidate Gisele Kapterian could appeal the result. And speaking of Liberal women, Fran and PK are steel reeling from a Liberal elders' suggestion that women in the party are "sufficiently assertive" and that it might be time to give men in the party a leg up. Patricia Karvelas and Fran Kelly are joined by Paul Sakkal, Chief Political Correspondent for the SMH and the Age on The Party Room. Got a burning question? Got a burning political query? Send a short voice recording to PK and Fran for Question Time at thepartyroom@
ABC News
17 hours ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Sarah Hanson-Young says 'honourable' move is to quit after Dorinda Cox defects
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young says it would be "honourable" for her former colleague Dorinda Cox to leave federal parliament after moving parties. Senator Cox left the Greens this week, arguing her values were more aligned with the government's. Senator Hanson-Young said when a MP switched parties it was unfair on both Australian voters and the political parties involved and they should re-evaluate their position. "If somebody is elected as one party and then jump ships later on, I do think the honourable thing is to resign from the parliament," she said. "But that's not the rules, so we're left where we are." She went on to accuse Labor of "hypocrisy" after government MPs criticised their former colleague Fatima Payman when she left to become an independent because the senator did not vote with the government on a motion about Palestinian statehood. "There is a bit of hypocrisy, of course, about how Labor has responded to this," she said. "It wasn't OK to jump ship for Fatima Payman but apparently when it's people coming to them, it's all OK." Senator Cox was the subject of multiple workplace bullying complaints made to both the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service (PWSS) and the Greens. Ms Cox's defection put an end to the investigation the party launched, according to multiple party sources. That was because the party had no jurisdiction over the defected senator and therefore could not apply any sanctions after she left. That is despite the fact state director of the WA Greens Dean Smith said the investigation had not been concluded. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has insisted investigations into her behaviour "got dealt with by the mechanism that my government established". On Thursday, the prime minister brushed off a question about whether Labor had spoken to any of the complainants before accepting Senator Cox into its ranks. "We have an independent system. That is appropriate," he said. "It is an independent system which was established for these issues to avoid exactly that — to avoid political interference so those issues are dealt with appropriately." He added it was "not surprising" there was "opposition" from the Greens following Senator Cox's defection. Separate to complaints from her staff, Ms Cox's former Greens colleague, Lidia Thorpe, revealed she also made a workplace bullying complaint to the PWSS that she said remained unresolved after nearly three years. Senator Thorpe said that was because Senator Cox did not want to mediate. However, Senator Cox and Labor have not answered the ABC's questions about the claim. But Mr Albanese again supported her defection. "I think that the Labor Party, as the natural party of government, should be the vehicle where people who are serious about progressive change are a part of," he said. Senator Cox has previously apologised for distress her staff faced working in her office, noting the "challenges" and workload, but also arguing the media reports on the bullying allegations — first reported in Nine Newspapers — missed context.
