Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie has hit out at conservative Liberal senator Cory Bernardi, describing the South Australian as displaying a "born with a silver spoon up my rear end" attitude and referring to him as an "arsehole".

A self-deprecating Senator Lambie, who appeared on the ABC's Kitchen Cabinet on Thursday night, also called for Tasmania's parliamentary representation to be halved, with the number of Senate seats to be slashed from 12 to six. She joked she had only won her seat because of her extended family - her mother has 19 siblings.

"How do you think I won my seat? We're all related down here in Tasmania," the senator from Burnie joked.

The former soldier, who has openly discussed her battles with depression, a suicide attempt and past addiction to pain killers, proved to be one of host Annabel Crabb's more natural guests, showing off her ball gown collection, which she said she kept to show that women in the military can carry a weapon in the day but still frock up at night.