Jacqui Lambie retains Senate spot, holds off challenge from Pauline Hanson’s daughter

Tasmanian Jacqui Lambie has retained her Senate seat after speculation she could lose it to One Nation candidate Lee Hanson, who entered the race only in April after urging from her mother and party leader, Pauline Hanson.

Two of the six Tasmanian Senate spots were in doubt for weeks, leaving Lambie in limbo alongside Lee Hanson, Labor’s Bailey Falls, and the Liberal Party’s Richard Colbeck.

Senator Jacqui Lambie.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Despite Lambie’s return, Labor is likely to negotiate with either the Greens or Coalition in the Senate, as support from either group would be enough for the government to pass legislation, diminishing the power that independents and minor parties have in the upper house.

Other candidates to win Tasmanian Senate spots include Labor’s Carol Brown and Richard Dowling, Liberals Claire Chandler and Colbeck, and Greens senator Nick McKim. Hanson missed out.

In a statement, Lambie, who is currently bedridden with the flu, said she was grateful to the people of Tasmania for giving her the chance to fight for them for another six years.

“Representing Tasmania and bringing the voices and concerns of the people to Canberra is what gets me out of bed in the morning,” she said.

In the 47th parliament, Lambie and fellow independent senator David Pocock played a major role in negotiating with federal Labor on its industrial relations reforms.

The 2023 Closing Loopholes Bill was amended by lobbying from Pocock and Lambie, which earned them praise from the business community.

Lambie has also been a strong advocate for veterans affairs – being a veteran herself – as well as salmon farming in her home state and small businesses.

Lambie was first elected to the Senate in 2014 as a candidate for the Palmer United Party, before resigning that year to sit as an independent. She set up the Jacqui Lambie Network before the 2017 election, where she was retained, but was then forced to stand down after being caught up in the parliament’s eligibility crisis after it was discovered she had British citizenship through her father. She was re-elected to the Senate at the 2019 election.

Lee Hanson made headlines during the election campaign for her attempt to join her mother in the Senate, which would have been the first time a mother and daughter had sat in parliament together.

Pauline Hanson told this masthead her three sons were not up for the job, and defended claims of nepotism for her daughter.

“I wouldn’t have one of my sons in parliament, so it’s about qualifications and ability,” Hanson said.

She recruited her only daughter to carry on her political legacy as she nears retirement at age 70, as the populist right-wing party competes for relevance in the Senate.

Lee Hanson, 41, said in April she was compelled to run for the Senate to secure her children’s future, which included fighting against “wokeness”.

“The way of life’s changed and everything’s so woke,” said Lee, who wanted to see Tasmania’s health and education system reformed.

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