Palmer United's Jacqui Lambie has declared she ''won't be scripted'' and that being a senator will not change her in the wake of controversy over comments she made about her ideal man.
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Senator Lambie said on Wednesday that despite criticism that her comments were inappropriate and demeaning, she would not be like other politicians.
On Tuesday, Senator Lambie appeared on a Hobart breakfast program where she was asked about her ideal man.
The PUP Senator for Tasmania replied: ''They must have heaps of cash and they've got to have a package between their legs''.
She also asked a caller into the show who said he was willing to go on a date with her if he was ''well hung''.
Senator Lambie defended her comments on Wednesday telling Fairfax Radio: ''I'm just a normal, average Australian. That's what I am and whether I've got Senator in front or my name or not, that's not going to change.''
The comments were quickly circulated online and Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Commissioner Robin Banks said they should be take seriously.
''Discrimination law is about encouraging all of us to treat each other with respect,'' Ms Banks said.
But while Senator Lambie released a statement on Tuesday afternoon apologising for any offence caused, she was defiant on Wednesday morning.
''I don't regret saying what I said. Like I said, it was a good fun radio show . . . if you can't have a bit of laugh over breakfast, I have to ask where's our Aussie sense of humour going?''
Senator Lambie said that while her office had been receiving some ''disgraceful'' abusive messages from the public after her comments, responses to her had been ''50/50''.
She said some people had said ''good on you for coming out and being normal'', others had said, ''we're not happy with that''.
But the Tasmanian insisted that she was simply ''taking the mickey'' out of her ''non-existent'' love life.
Senator Lambie lamented that the message of the day was supposed to be ''the size of the savings that the PUP had delivered to the average working family . . . not the size of someone's package''.
Nevertheless, she said she would not be using talking points in the future.
''I won't be scripted. I'm sorry, I can't operate like that,'' she said.
She added that she had also had a couple of proposals from overseas.
''You see, it wasn't a waste of time,'' she said.
In a sign that all may not be harmonious in the Palmer United team, Senator Lambie said she had been disappointed that none of her fellow PUPs had come out to support her.
She said she had not been speaking to Clive Palmer.
''I'll be honest, we're all supposed to be part of a team. They seem to have taken a step back. I would expect them to stand by my side," she told 6PR in Perth in a separate interview.
Feminist commentator Eva Cox appeared unfussed by the comments.
''She's not the sort of person you expect great finesse and politeness from,'' Ms Cox told the Launceston Examiner.
''I think men can take care of themselves when we talk about their private parts.
''Maybe it will encourage them to be less frank about their own comments.''
With Georgie Burgess
