Jacqui Lambie Network Bass candidate Bob Salt stops actively campaigning

The 64-year-old Launceston-born politician said his decision to stop actively campaigning came after his party sent out how-to-vote cards to the public without consulting him beforehand.

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The cards were sent out to each electorate and listed the order in which the network recommended their constituents voted.

In the critical Tasmanian seats of Braddon and Lyons, the party placed Labor above the Liberals. However, in the ultra-marginal seat of Bass, they opted to position Bass Liberal MHR Bridget Archer's name above Labor candidate Ross Hart's.

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"I thought I had an understanding that there would be no preferences announced without my consent," he said.

"At the end of the day, Bass is going to be between Liberal and Labor, and I'm quite happy to say that I like Bridget a lot as a person, but I really think we need a change of government," he said.

"If I had to choose, and someone told me 'no Bob we really need to preference someone,' I would have picked Labor."

A JLN spokesperson said Ms Archer was placed ahead of Mr Hart in their Bass how-to-vote cards because they believed she had done the right thing by standing up to her own party a number of times.

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"It's not to say we think people should vote for her - we think they should vote for us," they said.

"Our how-to-votes are just guides ... that's why we remind people that you're in control of your preferences."

In response to Mr Salt's comments, the JLN spokesperson said "there's no order that works for everyone".

"We've tried to be as collaborative as possible as a small team taking on the major parties with a fraction of the resources," they said.

"We included candidates in that process of collaboration as much as we could, but deadlines are unforgiving things."

Mr Salt, who has been a small business owner for almost 30 years, said he was approached to join the Jacqui Lambie Network last year, and was won over by their "fresh ideas", and ability to stand firm by not "following party lines".

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He hoped to create change in Bass by allocating significant time and effort to community consultation, a method of understanding the wants and needs of the public that he felt was often overlooked.

"We need people to have a voice," he said.

Mr Salt identified the reasons for him attempting to win the Bass seat as wanting to ease the cost of living, provide more support for small businesses, clean the Tamar, and improve manufacturing in the area.

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