Independent JLN Senator for Tasmania Jacqui Lambie has issued a reply to a Letter to the Editor published today in the Advocate Newspaper, which challenged the Senator to name “a single achievement that you have enacted for the benefit of Tasmania.”
“Dear Editor,
All my opponents and their supporters – for obvious political reasons – have tried to down play, cover-up, and lie about the positive things I’ve been able to deliver for ordinary Tasmanians over the last couple of years.
It’s clear they want the State’s House of Review, the Senate, to become a rubber stamp of the Lower House. In desperation, they deliberately twist history and make out that Senate consultation with the community was chaos.
They also conveniently forget the Liberals’ many broken promises. And the fact I helped protect Tasmania from unnecessary family heartache and cuts embedded in Abbot’s first horror budget that was supposed to fix a “Budget Emergency”. Of course, few would forget that the Liberals were forced to admit that their “Budget Emergency” never existed.
However with regard to my achievements, the six following facts speak for themselves:
1) My vote blocked the Government’s attempt to change our higher education system and allow $100,000 degrees to be forced on Tasmanian uni students.
2) I arranged a meeting with the PM and the head of Tasmania’s paper manufacturer Norse Skog, which resulted (after some political pressure) in an extra $200M being injected into the Tasmania Freight Equalisation Scheme.
3) And as a member of PUP, despite being ordered not to support changes the RET scheme – I resigned and became an independent – so I could support changes to the RET scheme.
Subsequently my vote and support for changes to RET meant that Tasmania’s heavy manufacturers – or five biggest employers – had an unfair extra mainland annual tax of about $20M, lifted.
This meant that 10,000 direct and indirect Tasmanian heavy manufacturing jobs were no longer at risk of being lost due to high energy costs.
4) My vote blocked the Government’s changes to Coastal Shipping laws, which would have allowed overseas workers to replace at least 400 Tasmanian maritime workers.
5) In the history of Parliament, I was one of the few independents whose private member’s bill linking our Diggers’ pay rises to the CPI or politicians wages (whichever was higher) – passed the Senate – giving hope for a fair Defence pay system.
6) Separately, I used my vote to force the Liberal Government into a famous backflip on Defence pay, which saw an extra $200M boost in Diggers’ wages.
If Tasmanians want the balance of power in the next Parliament – then please support JLN.”
Sincerely, Senator Jacqui Lambie
Rob Messenger for Senator Jacqui Lambie Senator for Tasmania
