Jacqui Lambie is back and Liberals win second seat in Tasmanian Senate washup

Outspoken senator Jacqui Lambie has learned her fate in the final Senate preference carve-up in Tasmania, as has a senior Liberal.

Senator Jacqui Lambie. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

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Jacqui Lambie is back in the Senate, vowing to resume her fight for veterans, as is senior Liberal Richard Colbeck.

The final preference carve up in Tasmania has seen those two incumbents defeat Labor and One Nation challengers for the island state’s last two Senate seats.

Senator Lambie was elected to the 5th spot and Senator Colbeck to the 6th.

“I am very grateful that the Tasmanian people have given me the chance to fight for them for another six years,” Senator Lambie said.

“Representing Tasmania and bringing the voices and concerns of the people to Canberra, is what gets me out of bed in the morning. My focus is on the Tasmanian people, especially those doing it tough.

“Interest rates are coming down and that’s good, but for many Tasmanian families it will barely touch the sides. I want to ensure the recommendations from the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide are implemented properly and that they make a real difference to the lives of veterans and their families.”

The preference wash up means Labor will have another crossbencher to potential negotiate with in the Senate, while Pauline Hanson’s daughter, Lee Hanson, has failed to secure a seat.

Liberal senator Richard Colbeck. Picture: Dan Peled

Labor has secured two Senate seats in Tasmania - Carol Brown and Richard Dowling; the Liberals two - Claire Chandler and Richard Colbeck, with Greens Senator Nick McKim and Senator Lambie completing the six.

The Tasmanian parliament, meanwhile, endorsed unionist Josh Dolega as Labor’s replacement to fill the Senate casual vacancy left by Anne Urquhart, who quit to contest the lower house seat of Braddon, which she won.

Despite Senator Lambie’s triumph, she has been urged to “build bridges” with the state’s $1.4b salmon industry, after suffering first preference swings against her in salmon seats and statewide.

In comments during the campaign that angered the industry and its workers, Senator Lambie backed a boycott of their products, telling Australians: “Don’t eat bloody Tasmanian salmon.”

She suggested the sector, which the state government estimates directly and indirectly employs 5,000 Tasmanians, should leave the island.

“We don’t want that bloody salmon farming in Tasmania, they can piss off,” Senator Lambie told a podcast with influencer Abbie Chatfield.

Labor candidate Anne Urquhart, right, with Labor Senate candidate Bailey Falls. Ms Falls missed out on clinching a third Tasmanian Senate seat for Labor after the distribution of preferences. Picture: Simon Sturzaker

The Jacqui Lambie Network’s statewide first preference vote fell from 8.9 per cent at the 2019 election - when Senator Lambie last led her party ticket - to 7.2 per cent at the May 3 poll.

In the northwest electorate of Braddon, home to Senator Lambie and her traditional powerbase, the JLN first preference vote slumped from 15.6 per cent in 2019 to 9.3 per cent on May 3.

Far bigger negative swings – of up to 14 per cent – were recorded in voting booths where the salmon industry has a footprint.

Senator Lambie’s opponents – and even some supporters - said the first preference results represented a clear backlash and urged her to reconnect with the aquaculture sector if re-elected.