Derryn Hinch (Victoria, Derryn Hinch's Justice Party) Share this | Hansard source

The weakness in the opposition's argument here is that we all have stood here at various times, including senators from the Labor Party, and said that Barnaby Joyce should not have voted because he was under a cloud and that Senator Nash should not vote because she was under a cloud, and praised Senator Canavan when he stood down from his portfolio and said he wouldn't vote—all of those things. The bottom line here is that Jacqui Lambie is not a senator anymore. She resigned. And she was a one-man band. It is the same as if I had resigned. I doubt whether you'd give me that sort of credibility. She is not a senator. She was not legally elected as a senator and, therefore, what she feels and what she thinks should not apply in this chamber anymore. It's cruel. I'm very fond of Senator Lambie, as I said in my tribute to her, but the bottom line here is that Jacqui Lambie is not Senator Jacqui Lambie and she should have no say and no power in this chamber.