The Tasmanian independent senator Jacqui Lambie is seeking to start her own political party, four months after she quit Palmer United.
The Australian Electoral Commission announced on Tuesday that it had received an application to register the Jacqui Lambie Network.
Lambie said cuts to foreign aid and opposition to Sharia law would be in the party’s policy platform, and she would soon release an e-book compilation of her Senate speeches.
The party’s proposed constitution says the JLN aims to promote Tasmanian candidates to the House of Representatives or the Senate. It may also run candidates in Tasmanian state elections.
The party will focus on speaking up for Tasmanian issues but it has kept open the option of running candidates in other states and territories.
The constitution suggests parliamentary members of the party have the right “to vote according to their conscience”. Lambie said this would be the case for “all moral and ethical issues”.
The fact that Lambie is already in the Senate spares the party from having to prove it has at least 500 members to obtain registration. The membership requirement does not apply if a party has at least one member in the Commonwealth parliament.
Lambie said the JLN would be guided by a number of core beliefs, including members putting their state first in all decisions the made; a special interest in defence force members and veterans; and support for special economic zones.
But the party was “opposed to Sharia law being imposed in Australia either formally or informally and will promote a policy of undivided loyalty to the Australian constitution and people”.
It would also “support the proper regulation of Halal and other food certification systems” and would push for a halving of the foreign aid budget in order to boost higher education funding.
“In the near future I will launch an online book, which contains the majority of my parliamentary speeches to date,” she said.
“This will provide further detailed information on the policies that I will take to the Australian people.”
Lambie said the creation of the party would give people the opportunity to vote “above the line” when they marked their ballot papers.
Independent candidates appear “below the line” on Senate ballot papers, where voters are required to number every square. It is much simpler to vote above the line.
People can lodge objections to the party’s registration by 30 April. Grounds for objecting include the party not meeting the eligibility criteria, using a prohibited name or errors in the application.
The JLN’s proposed constitution includes a rule requiring the party to be renamed if Lambie “ceases to be a member of the party, other than as a result of death or legal incapacity”.
