A close confidant of maverick Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie says she has outplayed Clive Palmer by becoming an independent and it proves she should not be underestimated.

Tasmanian Poppy Growers Association president Glynn Williams is a friend of Senator Lambie and was in Canberra watching on as she quit the Palmer United Party (PUP) last week.

Senator Lambie was an independent before the 2013 election but joined the PUP after she ran out of money.

Mr Williams said Senator Lambie was able to use Mr Palmer's profile and deep pockets to build a strong personal brand before quitting, effectively outplaying him.

"Jacqui's far more astute than people might give her credit for," he told the ABC's 7.30 program.

"You should never underestimate someone because they speak a bit differently or they might seem to have come from a different social class, because Tasmanians aren't like that.

"Outsiders would do that at their peril.

"You should never underestimate Jacqui's determination, resolve and her ability to analyse things."

Senator Lambie's disintegrating relationship with Mr Palmer became obvious in their disagreement over pay for the Australian Defence Force and the subsequent public slanging match between the two.

She retreated to her home of Burnie in north-west Tasmania, where locals urged her to break free of the PUP.

Burnie once thrived on the back of a pulp-and-paper mill, but now has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country and intergenerational poverty is widespread.

According to Mr Williams, people there identify with Senator Lambie because she is a single mother who has spoken openly about struggling to pay the bills.

"To many people she is the outsider but then, to a very large percentage of Tasmanians in particular, they're looking to her as someone who speaks and thinks about things in a way that they want recognised," he said.

Williams 'always expected' Lambie to become independent

Mr Williams was once a political rival of Senator Lambie, with both vying unsuccessfully for pre-selection in the Tasmanian seat of Braddon for the Liberal Party.

Glynn Williams (centre), with Jacqui Lambie and her chief of staff Rob Messenger on the day she quit the PUP.

The two have remained close, with Mr Williams even sitting in on a recent meeting with Environment Minister Greg Hunt.

"The fact she's an independent is something I always expected because she is her own person and she has some particularly passionate views," he said.

"She's going to be nervous at times, but that's the part about her that makes her human."

But he said he thought the senator would find it difficult without the support of a party.

"It is a big ask for independents to be across everything when you've got on the TV, for instance, flashing up very obscure pieces of legislation that most Australians would have never thought about," he said.

Lambie would not have been elected without Palmer: Morgan

Kevin Morgan campaigned alongside Senator Lambie as the PUP's Tasmanian leader.

He is bitterly disappointed about the split and said without Mr Palmer, Senator Lambie would not be in parliament.

"Would Jacqui Lambie have got elected on her own? I don't believe she would," he told 7.30.

"I don't believe Jacqui would have even been at the election without Clive Palmer and the Palmer United Party."

Since the split Mr Palmer has accused Senator Lambie of not bringing any proposals to the party room that would benefit Tasmania.

He also questioned whether she had committed welfare fraud by claiming a disability pension and also being paid by PUP as an organiser while she waited to take up her Senate seat.

Senator Lambie has denied both claims.

Mr Morgan said she was letting down Tasmanians.

"I believe that Jacqui is thinking more about Jacqui Lambie than she is about Tasmania," he said.

"You can't sit in the party room and just say 'I've done 255 media releases' and not bring a policy to the table.

"Tasmania needs people that are clearly driven to bring benefit to the state - for Jacqui to do that, she has to bring policy to the table."

Devonport locals divided on Lambie

On the streets of the seaside town of Devonport, where Senator Lambie was born, the former military policewoman is a divisive figure.

"I think it's a really poor impression of Tasmania and Tasmanians [she gives], that we're all backwater bogans," one woman told 7.30.

Another woman who supports her hardline stance fighting for an increase in defence said she was worried becoming independent would reduce her impact.

"When she's with Clive Palmer there's a group of them and they've got more effect, but I don't know how much effect she'll have as an individual," she said.

But a local man said the criticism is unwarranted.

"Everyone is knocking her but I struggle with that, because if someone wants to do something for our state, I'm all for her," he said.

A recent editorial in the local north-west Tasmanian newspaper, The Advocate, called on her to stop chasing headlines and achieve concrete outcomes for Tasmania.

Dairy farmer Garry Carpenter said that represented a growing feeling amongst the community.

"There's no harm in being out in front and centre for the first few months and she's done that," he said.

"Now it's time to do some work. People are wanting some concrete stuff on the ground and getting things done and Jacqui needs to be doing that."

Mr Morgan is warning his former ally if she does not do that, Tasmanians will turn against her.

"If she's not careful the sympathy vote will soon move the other way if she doesn't deliver," he said.

"At the moment what support she does have is more she's different, she's out there trying to do things.

"But she's not delivering and until she delivers and shows that she's going to deliver for Tasmania, she's on a recipe heading one way."