Senator Tammy Tyrrell quits the Jacqui Lambie Network

Firebrand Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie has asked her fellow party member Tammy Tyrrell to leave her eponymous network, in a shock rift in the key crossbench group.

In a statement released on Thursday evening, Tyrrell said she would remain in the Senate as an independent.

Senators Jacqui Lambie and Tammy Tyrrell have parted ways.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“This is not something I’ve taken lightly,” she said. “It’s become clear to me that I no longer have the confidence of the Jacqui Lambie Network to be able to represent it in the Senate.

“While Jacqui has not kicked me out of the network, she has suggested that I go it alone.”

Tyrrell, who won her Senate spot in the 2022 election after working for Lambie for seven years, said she was leaving the Jacqui Lambie Network so the party could continue to succeed.

“As it is now clear that the network does not have confidence in my ability to contribute to that success, I do not wish to do anything in my advocacy for Tasmania that might harm it,” she said.

In a separate video, Tyrrell said there were no hard feelings, despite differences between her and Lambie.

“Jacqui has indicated that she’s not happy with the way that I’ve been representing the Jacqui Lambie network, so I’ve made the tough decision to step aside and let the network shine in its own right, and me to shine in my own right,” she said.

“There’s no hard feelings between Jacqui and I. I want the best for the network. But I’m hopeful that this is the right decision for Jacqui, the network and the people of Tasmania.”

In a short statement released on Friday, Lambie said she wished Tyrrell the best of luck.

“We will both continue to represent the great state of Tasmania in the Senate. This does not change our working relationship or friendship,” Lambie said in a statement.

The pair last worked together on Wednesday when they joined the rest of the crossbench and the Greens to vote with the Coalition to delay Labor’s deportation bill.

The split between the two crossbenchers challenges Lambie’s status as a kingmaker in the Senate, as she will not be able to guarantee two votes on legislation.

In the Tasmanian election last Saturday the Jacqui Lambie Network won two seats with the possibility of snagging a third, putting the party in a strong negotiating position as the returning Liberal government tries to form a minority government.

Following the state poll, Lambie said she wanted to see a government formed, and her party would push for more transparency, including on the plans to develop an AFL stadium in Hobart, which she is not in favour of.

“I am hoping there’s a prospect that it can certainly be adjusted because Tasmania just cannot afford that,” she said on ABC RN Breakfast earlier this week.

Lambie has had previous rifts with minor parties. She initially won her Senate spot as a member of Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party in 2013, but left the party within months of entering parliament.

The former army corporal admitted later that she was a “wrecking ball” when she began her political career but maintains a good relationship with Palmer despite the split. However, the pair no longer talk politics.

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