Jacqui Lambie’s last man standing in the Tasmanian Parliament has broken his silence on the recent expulsion of his former colleagues, who he believes were “going against their leader too much”.
Andrew Jenner has revealed that while he initially hoped Miriam Beswick and Rebekah Pentland would remain in the Jacqui Lambie Network, he understands why the decision was made to remove them.
“There is a line you can’t cross and I think maybe they crossed that,” he said.
“We were much better as a party, but it didn’t work … we tried. There was too much conflict between them, too much not agreeing on terms.”
“I was fine working with them. It was only those issues, as I said, where I felt they were being more Liberal than JLN.”
Jenner also addressed Michael Ferguson’s recent decision to step down from the infrastructure portfolio, following what he described as a “monumental cock-up” with the new Spirit of Tasmania ferries and infrastructure.
“He would never have done that if it wasn’t for Jacqui and it wasn’t for the JLN. He’d still be in-situ,” Jenner said.
“As to whether he should be Treasurer, Jacqui wants him out. I agree.”
Jenner confirmed he is negotiating a more “flexible” agreement with the state government after Beswick and Pentland secured a new deal earlier this week.
“I’ll be looking to do the agreement that gives me that freedom,” he said.
