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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Independent Tasmanian senator Tammy Tyrrell has made a surprise switch to the Labor Party.<\/p>\n Tyrrell is the second senator to join Labor in 12 months, swelling the government\u2019s ranks in the Senate to 30. She was elected under the Jacqui Lambie Network banner, but became an independent in 2024 after falling out<\/a> with the party\u2019s leader.<\/p>\n Prime Minister Anthony Albanese praised Tyrrell during a surprise press conference late on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n \u201cTammy has successfully participated in the Senate and been a good faith negotiator, making a difference for Tasmania as an independent,\u201d Albanese said. \u201cPeople across Tasmania know her as a fighter.\u201d<\/p>\n Tyrrell said she would make no apologies for joining Labor and confirmed she would run for Labor at the next election.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a good fit. I have supported Labor very regularly over the last four years, but I\u2019ve also pushed back,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI will still do that, but I will do it respectfully and calmly within caucus. I\u2019m very proud to be a Labor girl.\u201d<\/p>\n She told The Conversation last year<\/a> that it was \u201camazing being an independent\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt means that I can say and do what my community wants me to in their voice without having to agree to broad-sweeping politics or legislative ideas that I don\u2019t agree with fundamentally,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Related Article Asked on Thursday about her opposition to Labor\u2019s landmark teen social media ban<\/a>, Tyrrell said the move marked a fresh start, but would not say she supported the policy.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe that children should have an education so that they are safer, be it driving a car, learning to swim,\u201d Tyrrell said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are times when I have not agreed in the past, but this is a fresh start moving forward. I\u2019ll do all that I can to make sure that Labor and I do good work.\u201d<\/p>\n Tyrrell is the second senator to switch to the Albanese government following the defection of Dorinda Cox from the Greens in June last year, citing a loss of confidence in the minor party.<\/p>\n Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Senator](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/f6def451f79df65144ca39c1e2405de9505daffe.jpeg\")
Senator Tammy Tyrrell, left, standing alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday. Dominic Lorrimer<\/p>\n![\"Senators](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8878265fb6adae4e3010253236f7ffc215334f86.jpeg\")
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Brittany Busch<\/a> is a federal politics reporter for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":669660,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-669659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=669659"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669659\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/669660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=669659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=669659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=669659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}