Anderson was dropped from cabinet after the CLP only won five booths in the federal seat of Lingiari, which has the most Indigenous voters in Australia. This, combined with a factional struggle coming to a head, resulted in Anderson being dropped from cabinet on 9 September. In March 2014, she walked out of parliament after accusing the CLP of failing to keep promises made for the bush, including the reinstatement of a ministry for Aboriginal affairs. The Chief Minister at that time, Adam Giles, responded by suspending her from the CLP parliamentary wing. On 3 April, Anderson and two other Indigenous MPs, Larisa Lee and Francis Xavier Kurrupuwu, resigned from the CLP, slipping their resignation letters under the door of the CLP office in Darwin. According to "The Australian", they were laying the groundwork for a new party to speak for regional interests. However, on 27 April, it was announced they would be joining the Palmer United Party instead, with Anderson as the party's Northern Territory leader and the aim of campaigning to become Chief Minister at the 2016 election. This did not last long, and she became an independent once again later in 2014.