Jacqui Lambie responds to Tammy Tyrrell resignation
Jacqui Lambie has declared the departure from Tammy Tyrrell from the Jacqui Lambie Network will not change her friendship with her fellow Tasmanian senator.
Jacqui Lambie has said the departure of Tammy Tyrrell from the Jacqui Lambie Network will not change her friendship with her fellow Tasmanian senator and she wishes the best for her former colleague.
Senator Tyrrell announced on Thursday she would leave JLN to sit on the crossbench as an independent, saying Senator Lambie no longer “had confidence” in her.
“Jacqui has indicated she is not happy with the way I have been representing the Jacqui Lambie Network,” Senator Tyrrell said.
Breaking her silence in a statement on Friday, Senator Lambie said she had wanted to give Senator Tyrrell an opportunity to represent Tasmania when she joined JLN and wished her “the best of luck” going forwards.
“One of my missions has always been to give people who aren’t part of the political class an opportunity to serve the Australian people,“ she said. “I wish Tammy all 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.”
Senator Tyrrell was elected for a six-year term in the 2022 federal election and brought the total number of senators representing JLN to two.
Before entering parliament, Senator Tyrrell worked for 15 years in employment services and as a farm hand and potato harvester between 1990 and 1995.
She also worked as a staff member and office manager for Senator Lambie until the election, where she ran against Liberal senator Eric Abetz.
In a statement on Thursday, Senator Tyrrell said Senator Lambie had “not kicked me out of the network” but suggested she would be better suited on the crossbench as an independent.
“While Jacqui has not kicked me out of the network, she has suggested that I go it alone,” she said.
The split between Senator Tyrrell and Senator Lambie undermines JLN’s power in the Senate, given it is no longer able to guarantee two votes.
More Coverage
Might as well close it: Chalmers’ big call leaves fund without a future
It’s Jim Chalmers’ big chance to put his loopy ideas about ‘reinventing capitalism’ to become a ‘values-driven’ system into practice. Labor has never really liked the Future Fund because it’s a reminder of Peter Costello’s success.
Chalmers’ $230bn Future Funnel for favoured projects
Jim Chalmers is overhauling the investment mandate of the Future Fund to drive capital into Labor’s agenda, in a major shift in the role of the sovereign wealth fund established by the Howard government.