Senior positions within The Greens in Western Australia have been vacated as the fallout from bullying allegations levelled at senator Dorinda Cox continues.
First reported by The Australian, the party's secretary and the treasurer were replaced at the party's annual general meeting in Perth last weekend.
Also replaced were Chloe Durand and Nat Tang, who reportedly withdrew their nominations to continue as Greens WA co-conveners shortly before last week's application deadline.
The four office bearers replaced at the weekend reportedly felt unsupported by federal Greens leader Adam Bandt, who sidestepped questions relating to allegations surrounding Senator Cox's office earlier this month.
"Our approach is that any time any staff member comes to me or comes to my team with an issue, we take it very seriously, and we support them to take that complaint through the independent PWSS (Parliamentary Workplace Support Service) process," Mr Bandt said at the time.
The reshuffle comes after former staffers of Senator Cox went public, alleging bullying and a toxic culture within her office, a workplace which has seen more than 20 individuals hold five positions since the Yamatji and Noongar woman joined the Senate in late 2021.
"During my time working in the office, I witnessed and experienced disturbing behaviour by Dorinda Cox towards myself and other staff members. These experiences made me concerned for my safety and for the safety of others in the office," an ex-staffer, who was kept anonymous, alleged.
Former media advisor to Senator Cox, Lou Hendricks also went public, saying staff in the senator's office "were anxious, visibly distressed and in some cases speaking about taking their own life".
Following the allegations, it emerged that the Blak Greens - a group of Indigenous Greens members - had actively opposed Senator Cox's appointment as the party's First Nations spokesperson after Lidia Thorpe quit the party, amid concerns about her interactions with senior Indigenous leaders and her own staff.
After the allegations were made public, Senator Cox released a statement taking responsibility for "any shortcomings" in her office, while apologising for the distress that may have caused.
Widespread party changes at the weekend came days after senior members, including those replaced, received a letter from law firm Segelov Taylor, warning them Senator Cox would lodge a Supreme Court injunction to block attempts made by the Greens WA to censure her earlier this month.
According to The Australian, concerns were held by WA office bearers that the letter alluded to legal advice provided to them by the Greens federal office, with fears raised the federal branch of the party was working with Senator Cox to prevent disciplinary action.
A spokesperson for Senator Cox said the senator had consistently shown her willingness to work with the WA and Australian Greens to resolve concerns raised by the membership.
"She further commits and looks forward to continuing this approach with the new co-convenors … for a fair, legally sound and culturally appropriate process for conflict resolution," the spokesperson said.
"The process followed by the previous Greens WA office co-conveners was not procedurally fair or consistent with… by-laws as per the independent legal advice and was therefore abandoned by them."
A spokesperson for Mr Bandt, Senator Nick McKim and Senator Penny Allman-Payne said they were "supportive of a process to resolve these matters which is legal and affords procedural fairness to all participants".
