Latest news with #partydefection
ABC News
2 days 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.
ABC News
10-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Labor claims Jacinta Nampijinpa Price's party-room defection driven by 'ego'
Northern Territory Labor has claimed Country Liberal Party (CLP) Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price's party-room defection was driven by "ego", saying she should have been "up front" with voters before the election. The controversial senator shocked political observers on Thursday afternoon by defecting to the Liberal party room, in a move away from the traditional position of sitting with the Nationals. The CLP is an NT-specific party aligned with the federal Coalition, with its senators joining the Nationals party room and lower house members sitting with the Liberals under a long-standing convention. Live results: Find out what's happening in your seat as counting continues Senator Nampijinpa Price's move has sparked speculation she will run for deputy Liberal leader on a joint ticket with Angus Taylor, when the party meets on Tuesday to fill the power vacuum left by Peter Dutton. Senator Nampijinpa Price formally notified her own party of the move on Thursday afternoon, writing that a "sense of duty" had guided her decision. Territory Labor leader Selena Uibo criticised Senator Nampijinpa Price's move, in comments echoing those from the senator's own National party colleague, senator Matt Canavan. Ms Uibo told the ABC she believed Senator Nampijinpa Price's decision was driven by "ego" and should have been flagged before the election. "Jacinta Price should have been up front with Territorians," she said. "She cannot represent Territorians in a better way by changing party rooms — she is there for herself." "[It's] something that Territorians really dislike about politicians — when politicians have their own personal agenda for their own purposes and their own personal ambitions." Two days after the announcement, the CLP leadership is yet to formally respond to the move, despite the ABC contacting the party for comment multiple times. Want even more? Here's where you can find all our 2025 federal election coverage Catch the latest interviews and in-depth coverage on ABC iview and ABC Listen But speaking to Darwin radio station Mix 104.9 on Friday morning, NT CLP Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby said her party "supports" the defection. "By her making that decision — a very important one which we fully support — it will mean they will do their rebuild after the election, but she will still be a Country Liberal Party senator," she said. Amateur political historian Alex Nelson said Senator Nampijinpa Price was the first and only CLP senator to defect from the Nationals to the Liberal party room in the party's history. The former CLP insider said the move was "a considerable gamble". "I think Senator Price's rather abrupt decision is very short term in its outlook and hasn't really taken into account the long-term consequences," Mr Nelson said. "Given that phenomenal victory that Labor has just won, you're looking at a minimum of two terms of Labor remaining in future. "Whoever wins the position of opposition leader right now is not likely to be in that role in that time six to eight years away." He said in effect, the senator would now be aligned with Liberal Party policies and platforms, rather than those of the National Party. However, he believed she would need to rein in her tendency to "catch everyone by surprise" to succeed. "She does seem to have a bit of an inclination to make statements out of left field in a sense," he said. A spokesperson for Senator Nampijinpa Price said she was unavailable for an interview with the ABC on Friday. But in an interview with Sydney radio station 2GB on Friday morning, she did not rule out a leadership tilt. "People are going to speculate, there will be leaks, all that sort of stuff occurs, so I'm being very considerate with the decisions I'm making and spoken to a raft of people," she said.
