Senate: PUP voting split possible as Jacqui Lambie says she would cross floor to protect Tasmania's interests

Updated

On day one of the new Senate there was already signs of a potential voting split in the key balance of power bloc, the Palmer United Party (PUP).

Tasmanian PUP Senator Jacqui Lambie has told the ABC she will vote against the party line to protect her state's interests.

She says she "hopes" the three PUP Senators will vote as one but she "can't promise that".

"I don't have a crystal ball so I can't see into the future," she said.

"But like I've made quite clear if it's not going to suit my Tasmania then I'll be crossing the floor. That's just the way it is. I have to put Tasmania first."

PUP holds three crucial Senate seats in a micro-party cross bench of eight, and has signed an agreement with Australian Motoring Enthusiasts Party (AMEP) Senator Ricky Muir that will bolster its power.

If Labor and the Greens oppose legislation, the Coalition will need the support of six of those eight crossbench Senators.

But Senator Lambie, who quit the Liberal Party after failing to win preselection for the Lower House seat of Braddon, has accused Prime Minister Tony Abbott of avoiding her.

She says she has found him "disrespectful".

"I don't think Tony is a very good leader. I don't think that he displays the leadership qualities required for a PM," she said.

"He concerns me that he's supposed to be the Minister for Women and if he doesn't know by now that us women aren't falling for that, it's not going to work like that.

"We're all going to be in the same building now so there's no more avoiding Jacqui Lambie full stop!"

But the PUP senators are poised to help fulfil Mr Abbott's core election promise - to axe the "toxic" carbon tax - when a vote is expected to go before the Senate later this month.

The Prime Minister is optimistic - though cautiously so.

"I don't take anything for granted and I don't count my chickens prematurely but nevertheless I think the public are entitled to expect the carbon tax to go in the next week or so," Mr Abbott told AM.

Key staff head to 'Senate kindie'

Senator Lambie will be sworn in next Monday morning, along with 11 other Upper House newcomers.

But some Senators and their key staff have already begun making their way to Canberra where they will attend orientation - dubbed by the Tasmanian as "Senate kindie" - this Thursday and Friday.

Another Senator working to get his message out early is NSW Liberal Democrat David Leyonhjelm, who says his party's main goal for his six-year term will be to encourage a culture of less government interference and spending.

He has pointed to that ethos in defending his party's decision to accept donations from tobacco companies.

And has called for current restrictions on smoking to be lifted.

"The Government doesn't know what's good for people - it's just made up of politicians like me and public servants, who aren't the smartest people in the world," he said.

"And in any case, people have a right to make up their own mind, decide for themselves, and the Government should respect that."

But he has rejected the idea of him giving up his wage as a Senator.

"If I said I don't want to be paid, or my party handed back the electoral funding, it wouldn't change the system," he said.

"I've likened it to peeing in a wetsuit: it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, but nobody notices."

Greens Senator cycles from Melbourne to Canberra

The Greens are also welcoming a new Senator from Victoria, boosting their numbers in the Upper House from nine to 10 MPs.

And in keeping with her party's ethos, Senator Janet Rice has chosen to cycle all the way from inner city Melbourne to Canberra - a journey that took two weeks.

She says she heard many concerns about the Coalition's budget measures on her "listening tour" through regional Victoria.

"In the words of Gary who ran the General Store in Harcourt.. he said 'it's going to hurt!'," she said.

"It was a huge worry for people."

Topics: federal-parliament, clive-palmer, government-and-politics, political-parties, australia, tas

First posted