Tammy Tyrrell denies leaving Jacqui Lambie Network because of plans to take party national
Independent Tasmanian senator Tammy Tyrrell has fired back at her former boss, denying that she left the Jacqui Lambie Network because of plans to take the party national.
Tasmania
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Independent Tasmanian senator Tammy Tyrrell has denied that she left the Jacqui Lambie Network (JLN) as a result of plans to take the party national, asserting that the sole reason she walked away was because her former boss told her to “go it alone”.
Senator Tyrrell, who was once Senator Lambie’s office manager, resigned from the JLN in March, saying it had “become clear” to her that she no longer had the confidence of the network to “be able to represent it in the Senate”.
She said at the time that Senator Lambie had not forced her out but had “suggested that I go it alone”.
But in an ABC Radio interview on Thursday, Senator Lambie said she had last year told senior people involved with the party that they should withdraw from the network if they didn’t agree with her plan to “go bigger” and run candidates across the country.
“And that goes for Tammy as well, that [anyone that] did not want to go bigger and did not want to do that, then please think about that and leave. I don’t expect you to stay,” she said.
On Thursday evening, Senator Tyrrell released a statement, responding to Senator Lambie’s comments.
“I definitely think the Jacqui Lambie Network going national is a mistake. I represent Tasmania because that’s who elected me, and that’s who trusted me with their vote. It’s who I’m focused on delivering for,” she said.
“But that’s not why I resigned. I resigned because Jacqui told me to leave. She told me, in her own words, to go it alone.
“She might not remember saying it but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. We worked together for eight years. When someone you’ve been that close to for eight years tells you they want you to ‘go it alone’, what do you do?”
Senator Tyrrell went on to say that the JLN was “supposed to be a partnership, not a party”.
“When I realised I was in a partnership with someone who didn’t want me there, I pulled the pin. When your partner wants you gone, you don’t really have a choice,” she said.
After her resignation from the JLN, Senator Tyrrell said she had stepped away after the shadowy JLN board told her she hadn’t been representing the party “how they thought I should”.
The JLN plans to run federal candidates in NSW, Queensland, and South Australia at the next election, due in 2025.
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