New Tasmanian senator to meet PM next week

Incoming senator Steve Martin will spend the weekend finding a Canberra flat and sifting through legislation before being sworn in on Monday.

Tasmanian Senator-elect Steve Martin poses for photos in Canberra.

Steve Martin (File). Source: AAP

Tasmanian mayor Steve Martin will sit down with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in Canberra next week after entering parliament as a senator.

The High Court has ordered Mr Martin be elected as a senator for Tasmania to fill the vacancy left by Jacqui Lambie, after she was disqualified over dual citizenship.

The order was made on Friday morning despite Mr Martin being unceremoniously dumped by the Jacqui Lambie Network this week.

The incoming senator has been approached by the prime minister's office and will be arranging a meeting later next week.

"My first priority is to find an apartment up here to bunk down in and to try and get across some legislation and the proceedings of the Senate itself," he told AAP in Canberra on Friday.

In a letter released to media on Wednesday, Ms Lambie said Mr Martin had been sacked after breaking the values of "mateship, respect and integrity".

But Justice Geoffrey Nettle said Ms Lambie should have brought forward any challenge to Mr Martin's election much earlier.

The senator-elect said while his expulsion was not yet official, as far as he was concerned, the door to the party had been slammed shut.

Mr Martin hopes to follow in the footsteps of the late Brian Harradine, a tough and wily independent known for using his position to leverage funding for Tasmania.

"I'll be dealing with each issue on its merits and where we can get a win for Tasmania, I'm certainly willing to compromise and to wheel and deal and to hustle," he said.

"And if I'm good enough to shine Brian Harradine's boots, well, I'll be more than happy."

Mr Martin said he would probably fall to the right-of-centre politically, with passion for strengthening communities, education and lifelong learning.

Asked whether he would be inclined to join a voting bloc of conservative senators Cory Bernardi, David Leyonhjelm and Fraser Anning, Mr Martin said it was far too early to rule anything in or out.

"On issues where there's like-mindedness, I'll be open to any discussion," he said.

"I'm a new senator, I want to get my feet wet, and I want to be considered and consistent in my approach."

The High Court also ordered that former Liberal minister Richard Colbeck replace the party's ousted speaker Stephen Parry, who was disqualified over dual citizenship.

Mr Martin and Mr Colbeck will be sworn in to the Senate in Canberra on Monday.

Earlier this week, the High Court found Mr Martin's job as mayor of Devonport was not a barrier to him entering federal parliament.


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Source: AAP


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