Senator Dorinda Cox switches political parties from Greens to Labor

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Western Australian senator Dorinda Cox has announced she’s leaving the Greens to join the Labor Party.

Cox announced her decision during a press conference in Perth on Monday, alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

The prime minister said Cox had approached Labor about joining the party, and that he “engaged very constructively with Senator Cox after that approach was made”.

“I’m very, very grateful for this opportunity and I want to thank the Labor team for welcoming me,” Cox told reporters.

The Yamatji-Noongar woman was elected to the upper house in 2021 to fill a Greens vacancy and had been the party’s Indigenous affairs spokesperson.

‘Lost confidence’

“I’ve worked hard to make Australia fairer and much more reconciled, but recently, I’ve lost some confidence in the capacity for the Greens to assist me in being able to progress this,” Cox told reporters.

“I feel reassured with my experience, my skills and my knowledge, I can continue to collaborate and build on the existing relationships with an already amazing team of Labor MPs across the country.”

A woman in a blue blazer sitting in parliament with her arms folded.

Dorinda Cox said she had “lost some confidence in the capacity for the Greens” to help her in her efforts towards reconciliation in Australia. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas

Cox had previously been a member of the Labor Party before joining the Greens, and will be formally admitted into Labor on Tuesday.

Albanese said Cox, the first Indigenous woman to represent Western Australia in the upper house, would be a welcome addition to the government benches.

“She wants to be part of a team that’s delivering progress for this country by being a part of a government that can make decisions, to make a difference,” he said.

“Dorinda Cox is someone who’s a former police officer. She’s someone who has a lot to offer in terms of policy development.”

Cox had been accused of bullying staffers in 2024, with as many as 20 employees leaving the office in a three-year period and complaints made to parliament’s workplace support service.

Albanese said the allegations had been examined.

“They were all dealt with in Senator Cox’s case and dealt with appropriately.”

Greens ‘disappointed’ by Cox’s decision

In a statement, the Greens said Cox had advised party leader Larissa Waters of her decision an hour before she announced she would be joining Labor.

Waters said the party was disappointed in Cox’s decision but wished her well.

“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.”

Pressed on her previous opposition to the project, Cox said she did not want to comment on the issue as the extension was still being provisionally approved.

“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,” she said.

“I would need to look at the provisional approval that’s been made by [Environment Minister Murray Watt].”