Overview
- Standing with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday, Tammy Tyrrell said she was joining Labor and declared she was "very proud to be a Labor girl."
- Her move takes Labor to 30 of the Senate’s 76 seats, which strengthens the government’s hand but still leaves it nine votes short of the 39 needed to pass laws on its own.
- She won her seat in 2022 with the Jacqui Lambie Network, left in 2024 to sit as an independent, and says she has often backed Labor in Senate votes after being courted for about two years.
- Tyrrell plans to seek re‑election in 2028 on Labor’s ticket, a path analysts say could be tough as she vies for a winnable spot against established figures such as Helen Polley in the party’s Right.
- Coalition senators said the shift was about "saving her job," and observers note her past stands on vaping rules, cannabis legalisation, and NDIS changes will now play out inside Labor’s party room.