Jacqui Lambie

Senator Jacqui Lambie
Leader of the Jacqui Lambie Network
Incumbent
Assumed office 14 May 2015
Preceded by	Party created
Senator for Tasmania
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 July 2014
Personal details
Born	(1971-02-26) 26 February 1971 Ulverstone, Tasmania
Political party	Jacqui Lambie Network Previous affiliations; Liberal (before 2011) Palmer United (2013–14) Independent (2012-13; 2014–15)
Children	2
Residence	Burnie, Tasmania
Education	Devonport High School (attended)
Occupation	Soldier Military policewoman Labourer
Profession	Politician
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Website	Official website
Military service
Allegiance	Commonwealth of Australia
Service/branch	Australian Army
Years of service	1989–2000
Rank	Corporal
Unit	Transport Corps (1990–95) Military Police (1995–2000)

Jacquiline Louise "Jacqui" Lambie (born 26 February 1971) is an Australian politician. She was elected as a Senator for Tasmania at the 2013 federal election representing the Palmer United Party. Her term began in July 2014. In November 2014, Lambie resigned from the Palmer United Party to sit in the Senate as an independent. In May 2015, she formed the Jacqui Lambie Network political party, established with Lambie as its leader.

Early life

Lambie was born in the town of Ulverstone in north-western Tasmania. Her parents separated when she was 13, and she was raised in a public housing estate in Devonport, attending Devonport High School until she left at Year 11. She took a year off before deciding to apply to join the army.

Military career, 1989–2006

Australian Army (1989–2000)

Lambie enlisted in the Australian Army in 1989, where she served for over ten years, first in the transport corps, and subsequently as a military policewoman. She achieved the rank of corporal.

During a field exercise in July 1997, Lambie suffered injuries that resulted in severe back pain. After physical therapy and medical interventions, she was unable to regain operational fitness and was discharged for medical reasons (thoracic pain) in 2000. She has since been an advocate for veterans with the Returned and Services League of Australia and involved in fund raising with the Burnie Chamber of Commerce, the Country Women's Association and Rotary.

Dispute with the Department of Veterans' Affairs (2000–2006)

The Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) initially rejected her application for compensation, but subsequently approved it and put her on a military disability pension. She later applied for compensation for depression related to her back pain, which was also initially rejected. The DVA hired a private investigation firm to conduct five hours of surveillance on her activities within her home. On the basis of this surveillance, the department concluded that she was a malingerer, cancelling her military pension and coverage of her medical care.

Lambie fought the department's conclusion for five years, during which time she was accepted for a Centrelink disability pension. In 2006, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal was about to rule on whether the video evidence was admissible in her case when DVA abandoned its use of the video and accepted that Lambie was entitled to compensation. The tribunal's deputy president, Justice Christopher Wright, concluded that "it is likely that even greater improvement would have been achieved a long time ago if her medical treatments, which were initially funded by the respondent, had not been terminated in 2001".

Political career, 2008–present

Early political career (2008–2012)

Lambie's political involvement began in 2008 when she began working for Tasmanian Labor senator Nick Sherry.

In November 2011, she joined the Liberal Party of Australia and later decided to run for preselection for the Division of Braddon. However she subsequently left the Liberal Party, saying that the Liberals are a "boys' club", and she joined to "infiltrate" them to see what she could learn about politics.

In 2012, Lambie sold her house to help fund her run as an independent, before turning to the newly formed Palmer United Party founded by billionaire Clive Palmer – as she said "I just didn't have the money like the big players did for advertising."

Senate (2013–present)

In the 2013 federal election, Lambie won Tasmania's sixth Senate seat as a candidate for the Palmer United Party, receiving 6.58% of first preference votes. She has credited the final result of her win to "the big man upstairs" – referring not to Palmer, but to God: "Once it gets to that point, it's up to God upstairs. There's not much else I can do about it."

On 24 November 2014, Senator Lambie resigned from the Palmer United Party, announcing that she would remain in the Senate as an independent. Lambie's resignation followed several weeks of disagreements with party leader Clive Palmer.

Jacqui Lambie Network (2015–present)

File:Jacqui Lambie Network logo.jpg

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Main article: Jacqui Lambie Network

In April 2015 Lambie applied to register a political party called the Jacqui Lambie Network.

In May 2015 the party was registered with the Australian Electoral Commission, with Lambie as its leader. The party plans to run candidates in federal and state elections, in all houses.

Political views

The Greens

In October 2013 she criticised the Australian Greens, accusing them of having "destroyed all hope in Tasmania" and saying that the party should be subject to a Senate inquiry over the state's high unemployment rate. In July 2015 she likened The Greens to ISIL in that "both those groups would like us to go back and live in the dark ages ... They'd like us to go live back in caves with candles and eat tofu."

National service

Lambie has made comments suggesting her support for potential reintroduction of national service, stating:

"Maybe it is time we placed national service back on the agenda but reconfigured to suit today's conditions … It's time to teach [our youth] some respect, loyalty and honour."

Same-sex marriage

She has also stated that she opposes same-sex marriage:

"… where we are not prepared to compromise is the word 'marriage'. We believe this sacred word is used for a commitment between a man and a woman … We are not prepared to compromise or question that of a higher power … the word marriage belongs to Australian grassroots, morals and those of the church."

Tony Abbott

In June 2014 Lambie referred to the then Prime Minister Tony Abbott as a "bare-faced, uncaring liar".

China and Indonesia

In August 2014, she expressed her belief that China could invade Australia: "If anybody thinks that we should have a national security and defence policy, which ignores the threat of a Chinese Communist invasion – you're delusional and got rocks in your head ... The Communist Chinese military capacity and level of threat to the western world democracies is at an unprecedented and historical high." Her comments incurred a rebuke from the Premier of Tasmania Will Hodgman. She later added Indonesia as a potential military threat.

In October 2015 she declared her opposition to the China–Australia Free Trade Agreement, since she considers the Chinese government to be "push[ing] totalitarian ideologies", "anti-democratic" and "a bully, thief, liar and international human rights abuser".

Burqa ban and Sharia law

In September, Lambie announced plans to introduce a private member's bill aimed at banning the burqa in Australia. However, constitutional expert Professor George Williams described the law as "unworkable, it would frankly be a bit silly". She also attacked supporters of Islamic sharia law, describing them as "maniacs and depraved humans" who will not stop committing "cold-blooded butchery and rapes until every woman in Australia wears a burka". However, when asked to explain her understanding of sharia law in an interview, she was unable to and instead said "it obviously involves terrorism". According to ABC political reporter Andrew Greene, some commentators described the interview as a "train wreck".

Vladimir Putin

In October 2014, Lambie stated in a radio interview with ABC Radio National that she liked Vladimir Putin, saying:

"I think he has very strong leadership. He has great values. He's certainly doing his bit to stamp out terrorism and I guess you've got to pay the man for that."

Support for the death penalty

In February 2015, Lambie called for the reintroduction of the death penalty in Australia for citizens who leave the country to become foreign fighters:

"What I want to know is why haven't these extraordinary charges been laid against terrorism supporters… If they're going to be serious, Australia should bring back the death penalty for those found guilty of treason."

Raising alleged abuse within the army

In February 2016, Lambie raised the matter of former soldiers who claim to have suffered abuse, calling for an inquiry into cover-ups and Lieutenant General David Morrison's involvement.

Personal life

Lambie is single, and has two sons. She lives in the city of Burnie, on the North Coast of Tasmania. She has jokingly described her perfect man as having "heaps of cash" and "a package between their legs". Her comments were met with much ire, and she later declared it to be her most embarrassing moment.

In her maiden speech to Parliament in 2014, Lambie stated that, through her mother's family, she shares "blood, culture, and history" with Aboriginal Australians, as a descendant of Mannalargenna, an Aboriginal Tasmanian leader.

She describes herself as "a Catholic; I'm religious" — citing it as a reason for rejecting an invitation to visit a Sydney mosque.

In August 2015, she went public with her 21-year-old son's battle with methamphetamine, known as "ice" in Australia.

External links

• Summary of parliamentary voting for Senator Jacqui Lambie on TheyVoteForYou.org.au
• Senator Jacqui Lambie profile, Parliament of Australia website.