Barnaby waves bye to Nats as he exits stage far-right
Dominic Giannini |
Disappointed Nationals have lashed Barnaby Joyce’s decision to leave the party he previously led as he flirts with joining One Nation in the Senate.
The twice-deputy prime minister cited an irreparable breakdown in his relationship with Nationals leader David Littleproud.
Mr Joyce had already announced he wouldn’t recontest his seat of New England at the 2028 election.
“After 30 years with the National Party, I’m resigning from the party and that really leaves me with a heavy heart,” he told the lower house in a 90-second statement on Thursday.
Mr Littleproud said the decision was disheartening after the party had supported Mr Joyce through his darkest moments.
“It is disappointing for the people of New England and disappointing for the loyal National Party members who tirelessly volunteered over the past two decades to support his political ambitions,” he said in a statement.
Mr Littleproud vowed to continue the fight for regional Australia, saying the Nationals would get on with their campaign to abandon a net-zero emissions target.
Mr Joyce said he was “strongly considering” a move to One Nation and jumping to the Senate, where he would have more of a chance to push for change.
Labor holds a commanding majority in the house but is in minority in the Senate, where the Greens hold the balance of power.
Mr Joyce said the Senate make-up could change at the next election, giving minor parties more power, especially as One Nation soars in the polls.
“I think that it’d be really hard for the coalition to win the next election … and therefore in the house, especially if you’re sort of on the outer, you’re not relevant,” Mr Joyce told reporters after his statement in the chamber.
“In the Senate, you’ve got more capacity in the committee system, and also the numbers I reckon in the Senate will be tighter after the election.”
Former opposition leader Peter Dutton, who lost his seat at May’s federal election, had also pushed him to resign twice, Mr Joyce said.
“You get to a point where you think, ‘am I just going to continue on being the discordant note, or am I going to get out?'”
Aside from a 90-second conversation with Mr Littleproud, neither the Nationals leader nor deputy leader made any attempts to resolve the issue, Mr Joyce claimed.
Mr Littleproud had publicly stated he hoped his predecessor would remain in the party.
He said Mr Joyce had requested time and space to make his decision.
“I respected that request but made sure my public statements reflected my desire for him to stay,” Mr Littleproud said in his statement.
There’s no love lost between the pair after Mr Littleproud dumped Mr Joyce from his shadow cabinet after the election loss, citing the need for renewal.
Mr Joyce said he had to find a more effective way to stand up for regional Australians, but hadn’t made up his mind on whether to join One Nation.
He hasn’t sat in the Nationals’ party room since announcing in October he wouldn’t recontest his seat.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson stirred controversy on Monday by wearing a burqa in the Senate as she tried to push a private member’s bill to ban the religious garment.
Her stunt and comments about the burqa were widely condemned, and she was subsequently censured and barred from the chamber for seven sitting days.
Hours later, Senator Hanson hosted Mr Joyce for dinner in her office, with photos then circulated of the firebrand senator cooking steaks on a sandwich press.
Mr Joyce’s Nationals’ colleagues had worked for weeks to convince their former leader to stay in the party.
His colleagues say leaving would ruin the legacy he built with the party.
AAP
