Jacqui Lambie has apologised to Qantas staff, admitting she “blew her stack” at the airline’s lounge.
The Tasmanian Senator confirmed that she had been banned from the national airline for six months after going on a “rant” a few months ago.
The politician told Today she deserves the ban.
“I deserve everything that I got from Qantas,” Ms Lambie told Today.
“That ban will stay. I deserve every bit of that ban, and once again I’m profusely apologetic to those staff members that were involved.
“I’ve tried to apologise to those staff members. I’ve even written a letter myself apologising for that a few months ago.”
Today host Ally Langdon questioned the Senator for further details.
“What happened exactly?” she asked.
Senator Lambie said that she went “on a rant” after “a long few weeks in parliament”.
“It’s just been a really, really long year,” Senator Lambie said.
“Basically I just blew my stack and unfortunately there was a couple of Qantas staff members that wore that.
“They should never have wore that and it was really unfair of me to do that to them. So once again, I’m extremely apologetic for my behaviour for that few minutes.”
Lambie also spoke to Sydney Morning Herald’s CBD column, saying she issued an apology to staff but she would like to do so again.
“It was the end of a long week in Canberra. I’d backed into a car that morning, got a speeding ticket on the way to work, and my flight home was delayed.”
The senator said she wasn’t in her usual frame of mind due to taking pain medication for an old back injury. “It was a bad day for me. But it was worse for the poor Qantas staff who had to stand and take my rant. It was totally uncalled for and totally unacceptable behaviour on my part. I have apologised to the staff for my actions, and I’d like to do so again.
“I’ll take whatever punishment Qantas throws at me. I’ve done the crime and I’ll do the time, because that’s what I deserve.”
