The WA senator announced the decision alongside Anthony Albanese in Perth on Monday, confirming she initiated the move and had been considering it for some time.
“I am very, very grateful for this opportunity and want to thank the Labor team for welcoming me. I have also spoken with the prime minister about the work I hope to do as a member of a party in government,” she said.
Senator Cox, a Yamatji-Noongar woman, had been the only Indigenous member of the Greens’ federal parliamentary team since Lidia Thorpe left the party in 2023 and served as the party’s Indigenous Affairs spokesperson.
Anthony Albanese mentioned he had barely spoken to Senator Cox before she approached him about joining Labor. (ABC News: Courtney Withers)
In her role, she recently signed a joint statement with colleagues accusing Labor’s Environment Minister Murray Watt of “spectacularly failing” after he provisionally approved an extended licence for WA’s “climate-wrecking” North West Shelf gas project.
On Monday, she told reporters it was not appropriate to comment publicly on that decision.
She informed Greens leader Larissa Waters about her defection “about an hour and a half” before making it public.
Senator Waters expressed disappointment but wished Cox well in a statement.
“Senator Cox says her values now align with the Labor Party. This is the same Labor Party that recently approved the climate-wrecking North West Shelf gas project,” she said. “Senator Cox would have had a better chance to influence change by remaining with the Greens holding the balance of power.”
Mr Albanese said he had not spoken to Senator Waters.
“The reason Dorinda made this choice is the same reason I joined Labor years ago—as a young man, I believed the best way to make a difference was by being part of a party in government,” he said.
Last year, Senator Cox apologized to staff for “distress” following bullying allegations reported by Nine newspapers.
WA Greens senator apologizes for ‘distress’ after bullying complaints
She said the report claiming 20 of her office staff had quit was “missing context.”
In the recent Greens party room leadership elections, Senator Cox was the only unsuccessful nominee, competing against Mehreen Faruqi for deputy and Penny Allman-Payne for deputy whip, receiving only a few votes in each.
She was first appointed as a senator in 2021 to replace retiring Greens senator Rachel Siewert, and was elected to a six-year term in 2022.
“What I want to achieve politically cannot be done from the crossbench. Being in government, alongside the prime minister’s team, allows you to make real change,” she said.
While the additional Labor senator slightly increases Labor’s numbers in the Senate, it does not significantly change its ability to pass legislation, which still requires support from either the Greens or the Coalition.
If Senator Cox had instead joined the crossbench, Labor would have faced a more difficult Senate, needing an extra vote to pass bills with Greens support.
It also means the Greens and Coalition can no longer block legislation together without support from at least one crossbencher.
Senator Cox is the second WA senator elected in 2022 to change parties, following Senator Fatima Payman, who left Labor to join the crossbench after crossing the floor to back a Greens motion on Palestinian statehood.
