The Tasmanian senator's political positions were unpredictable and reactionary. Her crusade against the burqa and sharia law (which she appeared to misunderstand) was flat-out Islamophobic. Her call to follow the Trump example and ban Muslim immigrants was ugly.
But when it came to sticking up for the disadvantaged,Lambie was compelling,because she had lived hard,and she didn't present this hard-living in a palatable,pretty Cinderella-story way. Her son,addicted to meth,was still living the consequences of his disadvantaged upbringing.
She hailed from one of the most economically and socially depressed patches of Australia and none of her baggage was in the safe past.
On the topic of welfare cuts,Lambie used her Senate position to call out every political hypocrite who claimed to care for her battler brethren,while quietly casting their votes against them.