Tammy Tyrrell (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Hansard source

At home, we've all seen the news: the member for Braddon in the other place wants the member for Bass out of the party. Allegedly, the member for Braddon issued an ultimatum to the Tasmanian Liberals, saying it would be either him or her at the next election. Where do the people of Bass fit into this? Why is it up to someone from a different electorate to decide who represents Bass? Apparently, voters don't matter. Apparently, the Liberal Party is a broad church until the factional heavies decide this church is getting too broad for its own good. Voters are supposed to decide on their MPs, not the parties. Ending the career of your own colleague because you don't like being asked questions in the media about them is a pretty weird way to help your constituents. I'm pleased to see that the member for Bass has ignored the threat from her party's warrior and put her hand up for preselection yet again, not necessarily because I'll vote for her but because it shouldn't be up to someone in a different electorate to decide if she's my representative. That's the worst thing about it—while the two federal Liberal members of the lower house are fighting about who stays in the Liberal Party, who's actually fighting for the north of Tasmania? We deserve representatives who are focused on us—not themselves, not their party, not each other. This is what voters hate about major parties: they're focused on themselves. They're treating politics like a sport. Politicians are focused on who they sit next to instead of who they represent. The people chosen to run at elections are the people who play the games and pull the right strings in the party, not necessarily the ones best for the job. I'm happy for the people of Braddon to decide who becomes the member for Braddon. I just wish the member for Braddon were happy for the people of Bass to do the same.