Jaquie Lambie blows up during TV interview over alleged sexual abuse at Tasmania school

Jaquie Lambie has exploded on live TV, calling on politicians to “get off their butts” and help one of their constituents.

Senator Jacquie Lambie has torn strips off Tasmanian politicians in a fiery monologue on live TV, accusing them of refusing to act on an alleged sexual abuse case at a primary school.

As reported by the ABC, the mother of the nine-year-old girl – who was allegedly sexually abused by an older boy on school grounds in July – was offered a year-long family pass to a zoo by the school.

Ms Lambie said the single mother has been forced to home school her kids, who both have disabilities, after the incident and has received “no answers” from local representatives.

“Everyone from the school administration to the Premier knows what’s going on. Every single person up the chain had the same attitude – ‘not my problem’,” Senator Lambie said.

“The mother has taken her kids out of school because they’re not safe there. She had to stop working to look after them, so they have no money coming in and they might not have a roof over their heads for much longer.

“Keeping kids safe at school is the minister’s job. It’s the premier’s job. They better front up and start doing their job – or quit.”

Ms Lambie fired up during her live cross with the ABC on Wednesday afternoon, calling on anyone up the political food chain to step in and offer the mother and her children assistance.

“None of us know what’s going on. What hypocrisy when you’ve got a Commission of Inquiry going on in this state for this sort of behaviour and six months later and we have no answers?” she said.

“I would like first of all for this family to have somewhere to go. But I would like someone from the state government to intervene here, and to at least make the call to this mother. Not one phone call from the education minister, the deputy premier or the premier to even see, ‘What can we do for you?’”

“Why does it take for me to come on TV to absolutely blow this up in your face before you will get off your butts and do anything?

“This is enough. I’ve got a nine-year-old girl out there who has probably had her life destroyed. How many other young girls have been to that school who are now having their lives destroyed? What are you doing?”

The mother, who cannot be named, told the ABC her children were “checking locks and in my bed every night having night terrors”.

“They‘re asking me where they’re moving and where they’ll go to school and I can’t give them an answer because I don’t know.”

Jacquie Lambie has blasted her state's politicians for allegedly refusing to act.

A Department of Education spokesman told the Mercury “all reports of alleged sexual assault were treated extremely seriously and there were a number of supports available to students, families and the wider school community”.

“Reports of sexual assault at school, or instances where alleged sexual assault occurs outside of school but impacts school students, are managed on a case-by-case basis to ensure appropriate support is provided,” he said.

“This process is guided by with the school and department constructing a care team to support the child and family with regular meetings.

“The department also works with other agencies such as Tasmania Police.

The spokesman said the department had established the Office of Safeguarding Children and Young people to make its systems, policies, processes and procedures stronger.

“It is important that the community has full confidence in DoE as a child safe organisation,” he said.

Originally published as Jaquie Lambie blows up during TV interview over alleged sexual abuse at Tasmania school