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At last month’s federal election, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price was in the National Party. Dorinda Cox was a Green. Now, just weeks later, Price is a Liberal and Cox is Labor. How can there be such easy fluidity between parties?
Historian Frank Bongiorno writes that actually, political defections to another party are reasonably rare in Australia. More common is politicians quitting a party to stand as an independent. But no matter what purported matter of principle is cited as the motive, it rarely turns out to be a good career move.
In 1931, Joe Lyons ratted on Labor to lead a new party called United Australia Party, and became prime minister the following year. But it’s much more common for things to turn sour: most of the Labor politicians who joined the breakaway anti-communist Democratic Labor Party in the 1950s ended up out of a job.
Cox has three years left in her Senate term, and after that she will be at the mercy of the Labor Party. “Labor won three Senate seats at the 2022 half-Senate election in Western Australia and perhaps it could do so again,” Bongiorno writes. On that occasion, Labor’s third spot went to an up-and-coming union organiser, Fatima Payman – and yes, she defected too.
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Amanda Dunn
Politics + Society Editor
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Frank Bongiorno, Australian National University
Dorinda Cox has left the Greens to join Labor. She is the latest in a long line of politicians elected under one party banner but serving under another.
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Your Say
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Exceptional teachers make a difference
"Your piece about whether schools are doing enough to support children suffering from family violence touched a nerve. I have lived that experience. At 73, I have managed to achieve some success, but it all came late in life after decades of ups and downs. I count myself particularly lucky as I had the support of some wonderful people, without whom I might not be here. We all know stories of exceptional teachers who mentored troubled students and helped turn their lives around. But it should not be left to providence to provide this support, while less lucky kids fall through the gaps."
Graham Cox 
Schools as sanctuaries
"I grew up in a household marked by constant conflict, as well as emotional abuse and neglect. School became my sanctuary, and as I grew older, I spent less and less time at home. Now, at 39, I continue to live with the psychological impact of that environment. I consider myself fortunate for the resilience I’ve developed and for the few people in my life who offered genuine love and care during my formative years. But I often think about the children facing even more extreme circumstances than I did. For them, school has the potential to be more than an educational institution, it can be a refuge, a source of hope, and a critical support in building the emotional tools they’ll need to lead stable, healthy adult lives."
Name withheld
Teacher training
"Teachers aren’t trained how to deal with these complex issues facing children at home. Many teachers discuss problematic children/ families quietly together. Often after parent teacher evenings, teachers then become aware why children behave as they do; they see first hand the underlying aggression in the parent and their inability to cope."
Helen Batt
The National Sexual Assault, Family and Domestic Violence Counselling Line – 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for anyone who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.
You can share your thoughts on any of our stories by emailing us at yoursay@theconversation.edu.au.
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