Ex-Jacqui Lambie Network member Tammy Tyrrell says she made the decision to split from the Senator Lambie’s party after being told by the JLN board that she “wasn’t representing the network how they thought I should” — but who is on the board remains unclear.
Senator Tyrrell announced she would quit the JLN late last month to go independent, saying party founder Jacqui Lambie had “suggested that I go it alone”.
She said at the time it was clear the party “does not have confidence in my ability to contribute” to its ongoing success, but stressed she had not been kicked out of the party.
In her first interview since the split, Senator Tyrrell told ABC Radio Hobart the board had delivered her no specific feedback, but “just didn’t feel like I was representing it in the manner that they wanted”.
“I don’t think I did let them down, I think I was representing the people of Tasmania in a very positive light, and because I am hyper-focused on Tasmania itself, I was doing all the right things,” she said.
“But when you’re in a marriage where somebody’s already left, you don’t want to be in there just for looks.
“You actually want to break out and do the right thing by the family in general, which Tasmania is my family.”
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Who is on the JLN board?
Senator Lambie did not answer questions about the make-up of the unelected board, or why she recommended that Senator Tyrrell go out alone.
The Jacqui Lambie Network website has no record about who is on its board, but does have multiple calls for “greater transparency” from politicians.
“Transparency is a big problem across the board,” the JLN website states.
“It’s only with independents and micro parties (like the JLN) that we can force the major parties to be honest with the Tasmanian people.”
Senator Tyrrell was also tight-lipped about the board.
“I don’t tell secrets and I don’t tell lies,” she said during her radio interview.
“The board is a group of people that have the interest of the Jacqui Lambie Network at heart, and they want to build and grow.
“They’re all good people, they range from professionals in law, all the way through to IT and tech and they’ve got people that have come from the community.”
The board’s president is Tasmanian farmer and lawyer Glynn Williams.
In 2023, the full bench of the Supreme Court found he had committed professional misconduct in his handling of a marital dispute.
Mr Williams was contacted for comment.
Calls for greater transparency
Labor Clark MP Ella Haddad said the interview “didn’t give Tasmanians very much information about why it is that Tammy has been made to walk away from the Jacqui Lambie Network”.
“I think it is important that the Jacqui Lambie Network explain what their party structures and what influence they might be having on the three Jacqui Lambie Network members who’ve been elected to the state parliament here in Tasmania,” she said.
“Because it doesn’t seem like that’s a very transparent way to operate.”
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