Dorinda Cox
Dorinda Cox | |
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Senator for Western Australia | |
Assumed office 14 September 2021 | |
Preceded by | Rachel Siewert |
Personal details | |
Born | c. 1977 (age 46–47) Kojonup, Western Australia, Australia |
Political party | Greens |
Occupation | Police officer Public servant Activist |
Dorinda Rose Cox (born c. 1977) is an Australian politician. In 2020 she won preselection as the Australian Greens' lead Senate candidate in Western Australia, and the following year she was appointed to fill the casual vacancy caused by the resignation of Senator Rachel Siewert.
Early life
Cox was born in Kojonup, Western Australia, to Yamatji and Noongar (Kaniyang and Yued)[1] parents. Her family has experienced "five generations of child removal in her matriarchal line".[2] Her grandfather was taken from his family as an infant to be raised at the New Norcia mission, where his name was changed.[3]
Cox grew up in Perth, leaving school in 1994 at the age of 17 to become a cadet with the Western Australia Police. She left the force at the age of 27 to work for Centrelink.[2] In 2008, Cox was appointed to the Rudd Government's National Council to Reduce Violence Against Women.[4] She has also served on the board of anti-violence organisation Our Watch, on the WA Ombudsman's Advisory Committee on Child Death Reviews and Family Violence Homicides, and on the indigenous working group for the Every Woman Treaty campaign.[2] As of 2019, Cox was the acting executive officer of the Noongar Family Safety and Wellbeing Council.[5] She is a director of the Kooraminning Aboriginal Corporation based in Narrogin.[6]
As of 2018 Cox was studying towards a Master of Human Rights at Curtin University.[7]
Politics
Cox stood for the Greens at the 2017 Western Australian state election in the seat of Jandakot.[8] She was also the party's candidate at the 2018 Fremantle federal by-election.[7]
In October 2020, Cox won preselection as the lead candidate on the Greens' Senate ticket in Western Australia at the next federal election, following the decision of incumbent senator Rachel Siewert not to re-contest. She defeated former state MP Lynn MacLaren and incumbent state director Sophie Greer in the preselection ballot.[9] Siewert chose to resign from the Senate prior to the end of her term, creating a casual vacancy to be filled by Cox in September 2021.[10] She would be the first Indigenous woman to represent Western Australia in the Senate[9] and the fifth in federal Parliament.[11]
Cox was sworn in to the Senate on 19 October 2021.[11]
Political positions
In 2020, Cox stated that her priorities if elected to the Senate would be to work for treaties with Indigenous Australians and to establish a national family violence strategy.[9][11] She has campaigned for a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women, and has compared the situation in Australia to that in the United States and Canada.[12] Cox has also advocated for the use of Indigenous Australian customary law as a complement to the Australian legal system, as a way of improving criminal justice outcomes for Indigenous people.[5] Following the 2021 Australian Parliament House sexual misconduct allegations, she stated that the women's rights movement in Australia suffered from a lack of diversity.[13]
Cox supports changing the date of Australia Day from 26 January.[3]
Personal life
Cox has two daughters with her ex-husband.[5]
References
- ^ Stringfellow, Rachel (23 October 2020). "Dorinda Cox holds lead for WA Greens Senate spot". National Indigenous Times. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ a b c Knowles, Rachael (8 September 2021). "Motivated to make change". National Indigenous Times. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ a b Cox, Dorinda (5 April 2018). "Perth woman tells why 'changing the date' is one step on a long road". WAToday. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ Nicholson, Brendan (26 May 2008). "Campaign hopes to reduce violence against women". The Age. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ a b c "Dorinda Cox". 16 Days, 16 Stories. Centre For Stories. 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ "Kooraminning Aboriginal Corporation". Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ a b Green, Antony. "2018 Fremantle by-election". ABC News. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ Green, Antony. "WA Election 2017: Jandakot". ABC News. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ a b c Wellington, Shahni (21 October 2020). "Yamatji Noongar woman, Dorinda Cox, wins pre-selection Senate race". NITV. SBS. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ Dennett, Harley (25 August 2021). "Rachel Siewert's final climate call to Senate: 'History will judge us very harshly'". Canberra Times. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ a b c Brennan, Bridget (19 October 2021). "New Greens senator Dorinda Cox becomes fifth Indigenous woman in parliament - and she wants to be a 'beacon' for others". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
- ^ Higgins, Isabella; Collard, Sarah (8 December 2019). "Lost, missing or murdered?". ABC News. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ Knowles, Rachael (10 April 2021). "Time to create space for all types of women". National Indigenous Times. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
External links
- 1970s births
- People from Kojonup, Western Australia
- Australian Greens members of the Parliament of Australia
- Members of the Australian Senate
- Members of the Australian Senate for Western Australia
- Women members of the Australian Senate
- Australian police officers
- Indigenous Australian politicians
- Noongar people
- Australian women's rights activists
- Public servants of Western Australia
- Living people