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Jacqui Lambie may be out of Parliament, but she certainly isn't out of politics.
A week after bidding an emotional farewell to the Senate, the brash Tasmanian is back out on the streets campaigning, with plans for both federal and state Parliament.
"It's really important that people see that I'm still upright, I'm still standing," she said.
"I've got my boots back out and I'm going back to get that bloody seat that I had taken off me."
The former senator said she was expecting more members of Parliament to be caught up in the dual citizenship saga and is preparing for an early election.
One of the MPs under a cloud is Labor's Justine Keay, who is the Lower House member in Ms Lambie's local seat of Braddon.
While she had said she would consider running if there was a by-election, Ms Lambie is now ruling that out.
"I have taken that off the white board," she said.
"I would not have as much speaking time in the floor on the Lower House as what I would in the Senate.
"The best thing I can do for Tasmania is go back for my Senate seat."
Ms Lambie's Senate career was brought to a sudden stop when she confirmed she was a dual citizen.
Her Scottish-born father, Tom Lambie, teared up while describing how heartbroken he was watching his daughter resign.
"That was a bit hard, because I completely broke down. Very hard. Because she's worked so hard for this," he said.
But he believes she will be back in Canberra soon.
"She's made me so proud," he said.
"You can't keep a Lambie down."
Jacqui Lambie Network prepares candidates
It's not just a return to Canberra she's chasing — she also wants to hold balance of power in the Tasmanian state Parliament.
The Jacqui Lambie Network (JLN) will be running 15 candidates in the upcoming state election, which is expected in March.
"A lot of people out there are sick of it, whether it's federal or state," Ms Lambie said.
"I think the standard of politics right across the board is really probably at its lowest point it's been in years.
"I think it's about time they had a bloody shake-up."
She unveiled her candidates for the seat of Braddon, which includes country singer Gina Timms, former Tasmanian Poppy Association president Glynn Williams, local veterinary nurse Roz Flanagan, former soldier Colin Smith and aged care worker Tim Lovell.
Residents in Ms Lambie's hometown of Burnie warmly welcomed the team as it campaigned on the main street, with promotional billboards going up before the end of the year.
"I think it's possible that the Lambie Network could win a seat in one of its stronger areas, like probably Braddon," election analyst Kevin Bonham said.
However, he warned Tasmania's electoral system, where multiple candidates from every party run in each seat, would make it difficult for the JLN candidates to get elected.
"It's different to if Lambie herself was on the ballot paper and that will be the challenge — trying to build enough support for them to be competitive," he said.
But Ms Lambie said she was hoping to get two or three people elected.
"What we're hoping to achieve is having that balance of power and really putting the pressure on both of the major parties in Tasmania and hopefully that will lift the standard of politics in Tasmania," she said.
Lambie dismisses disunity concerns
While the candidates are running under the Lambie banner, she sees her role as more of a facilitator or mentor.
"I've got a choice: I can either sit here and give them some rope and give them some room to move, or I can sit there and dictate, and I don't want to dictate," Ms Lambie said.
"What I find is if you're not being told what to do by a leader, is that you grow quicker and you come up with better solutions.
"Members will work together to come up with party policies, but they will be allowed to vote against them if they think it is a matter of conscience.
"There's nothing wrong with having a little bit of independence, because there's nothing stopping you from working together across the table."
She described the team as "like-minded people" and said she wasn't concerned the set up would lead to party disunity.
Glynn Williams, who has previously stood for Liberal pre-selection, agreed and said the JLN candidates worked well together.
"We need a different style of representation," he said.
"It's not so much being worn down by dogma or precedent, it's about fresh ideas.
"There's an authenticity here that I haven't experienced in political parties in the past."
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-elections, federal-government, federal-parliament, state-parliament, minor-parties, tas, burnie-7320, australia