Tammy Tyrrell (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is not my first speech. I'll need a teensy little bit more than just a couple of minutes for that. But I couldn't pass up a chance to stand up here and say a big thank you thank all the people who worked so hard to get me into this place. I never thought, in a million years, that I would be a Senator. I'm not a politician. I'm a normal person, a Tasmanian. I'm an Ulvie girl who's lived in the same place on the north-west coast of Tassie for 25 years, with my beautiful partner, Tim, and our silly dog and our boys. And as proud as I am to be here, that's what I'm most proud of.

I love our state. I love who we are as Tasmanians. I cannot wait to bring a little piece of our community up into this place, just like Jacqui does every time she steps in here, because that's what Tasmanians deserve. We need people in parliament who are here for us. People who get us. People who know what it's like to live in a state like ours with all the absolutely amazing, fantastic, gorgeous bits and all the problems too.

So can I please say a big thank you to everyone who got me here. Thank you to the volunteers, the donors, the people who chucked up signs in their front yards and took them down for us after the big day, too. Thank you to Bruce, who brought me soup and went out of his way to get our signs up. Thank you to Sam, who went all the way to Bunnings just to get me a snag. Thank you to Katherine, who stood out in the rain for hours at the pre-poll booth in Burnie. Thank you to Frannie for the banana cake and coffee and all of the good support.

There are so many people who made this happen. But the clock's running down and I can't thank you all. You know who you are. You made this happen. You got us here. Our community, our people. We're breaking into this place because of the work you're doing. And this is just the start.