Complaint Filed Against Tasmanian Electoral Commission Over Jacqui Lambie Network Records

On July 28th, 2024, I submitted a formal request to the Tasmanian Electoral Commission (TEC) to inspect the memberships and constitutions of registered political parties, including the Jacqui Lambie Network (JLN).

In the same email chain, I asked whether the TEC had conducted a review or audit of registered political parties, specifically whether such reviews extended beyond membership lists to include constitutional documents and governance compliance. The response focused solely on membership audits under sections 54 and 58, providing no indication that the TEC had verified or reviewed the accuracy of the Jacqui Lambie Network’s constitutional documents or management structure.

This exchange underscores a key concern: while the TEC appears to have audited membership numbers, it has not demonstrated equivalent oversight of constitutional compliance or internal governance updates, despite clear public evidence of leadership changes within the party.

When I inspected the party register in August 2025, the Tasmanian Electoral Commission (TEC) listed Glynn Francis Moate Williams as the Registered Officer of the Jacqui Lambie Network (JLN), despite the fact that Jacqui Lambie had publicly confirmed, in media interviews, that both Williams and Tammy Tyrrell had resigned from the party in 2024.

The register I viewed was dated 14 September 2023 and signed by Electoral Commissioner Andrew Hawkey. Even nearly two years later, there had been no update lodged to reflect those departures or to identify the party’s current office holders.

Senator Tammy Tyrrell, elected under the Jacqui Lambie Network in 2022, resigned from the party on 28 March 2024 to sit as an independent. Glynn Williams, identified as the JLN Board President in April 2024, got the boot from the party in August 2024.

More than a year later, on September 23rd, 2025, I repeated that request, seeking to verify whether the JLN had complied with its obligations under the Electoral Act 2004.

Section 244C of the Electoral Act 2004 (Tas) establishes a clear transitional requirement for registered political parties to maintain current and valid constitutional documents with the Tasmanian Electoral Commission (TEC).

This provision ensures that all existing parties were required to supply their constitutions to the TEC within six months of the section coming into effect, thereby setting a benchmark timeframe for compliance.

This provision ensures that all existing parties were required to supply their constitutions to the TEC within six months of the section coming into effect, thereby setting a benchmark timeframe for compliance.

If a party has undergone leadership changes, resignations, or amendments to its governing rules and fails to notify the TEC within a comparable period, it raises legitimate questions about ongoing compliance and whether the Commission is enforcing its own standards of currency and transparency.

The Jacqui Lambie Network’s constitution, as held on file with the Tasmanian Electoral Commission and updated on 23 September 2025, identifies the party’s management committee under clause 9.4 as comprising:

• Jacqui Lambie – Convener

• Karen Philpott – Secretary and Treasurer

• Glynn Williams – Chief Officer

• Tammy Tyrrell – Officer

  
  

Media coverage in The Advocate has since described Glynn Williams as a former JLN board president but does not refer to him as the current registered officer. Despite those public statements, the constitution available on the TEC register as of October 2025 still lists both Glynn Williams and Tammy Tyrrell as members of the management committee, indicating that the JLN’s registered documents have not been updated to reflect their public resignations or the party’s claimed internal changes.

On 15 October 2025, I lodged a formal complaint with the Tasmanian Integrity Commission requesting that it investigate the Tasmanian Electoral Commission’s handling of the Jacqui Lambie Network’s registration and its apparent failure to ensure the accuracy of the party’s constitutional records.

Is it a coincidence that Jacqui Lambie has gone on leave until 2026, just as questions are being raised about the Jacqui Lambie Network’s constitution and the accuracy of its registration?