Barnaby Joyce has told supporters he intends to quit the Nationals, won’t run for his seat of New England at the next election, and is “free to now consider all options” – heightening speculation he may switch parties in parliament.
It comes one day after Coalition figures said the former Nationals leader was actively considering defecting to One Nation.
The One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson – who was visiting Joyce’s electorate on Saturday for a party event – refused to say whether she had spoken with Joyce about joining her party, but said he would be welcome and was “more aligned with One Nation than what he was with the National party”.
“I’ll encourage him: Barnaby, I’ll open doors for you. Come across to One Nation. I think he’s got a lot to offer in politics,” Hanson said.
Sky News first reported a statement from Joyce, reportedly sent to party members in his local area, that his relationship with the Nationals leadership had broken down and that it had become untenable for him to remain in the party room. It went on to say that Joyce would not stand again for New England, but would stay in parliament – presumably on the crossbench – to complete this term, and was considering his options beyond that.
Guardian Australia has not seen the statement, but a Nationals source verified that Joyce had issued a statement announcing his intention to quit the party. Joyce did not respond to requests for comment. The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, was contacted for comment. It’s unclear if Joyce has spoken to his party’s leadership about his statement on Saturday.
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There was confusion in Nationals ranks on Friday and Saturday about Joyce’s movements.
One Nationals source claimed Joyce had spoken to the party’s national executive to announce his intention to sit on the crossbench; but another senior party source said they had not heard from Joyce directly.
Other Nationals politicians said they had not been informed about any developments regarding Joyce, and had only heard about the potential via media reports.
‘Hope he’s not going to One Nation’
The Nationals senator and shadow minister Bridget McKenzie called Joyce’s announcement “a sad day both for me and for our great party”, but said she believed he “still has much to contribute and I look forward to working with him”.
Fellow National and former leader Michael McCormack said he hadn’t heard from Joyce and wasn’t exactly sure of his intentions. McCormack said he didn’t believe Joyce had made any official announcement to his partyroom colleagues, but told Guardian Australia: “I hope he’s not going to One Nation”.
There is internal speculation inside the Nationals that Joyce could run for the Senate for One Nation at the next federal election. A One Nation spokesperson on Friday and Saturday declined to comment on speculation and widespread media reporting that Joyce had been in discussions to join the party, but did not deny the claims.
Hanson was in Tamworth on Saturday, ahead of a party event in the area. In video of a press conference posted to her Facebook page, she said she didn’t plan on meeting Joyce face-to-face during her visit – saying she thought he was travelling in Queensland – but that she would welcome him to her party.
“I would, no problems. And I made it quite clear last year, I was talking to Barnaby about it,” Hanson said.
“We’re on the same page. Barnaby is actually more aligned with One Nation than what he is with the National party. He’s been shut down in the National party. They put him on the backbench, out of the way.”
Tensions between Joyce and Littleproud have escalated since the 3 May federal election. Joyce was relegated to the backbench and has been agitating on the issue of net zero by 2050 carbon policies, including introducing a private member’s bill to kill the plan.
From the backbench, the New South Wales MP has campaigned furiously against renewable energy projects, even as the Coalition formally reviews its net zero policy. Joyce crossed the floor to bring on debate in the House of Representatives earlier this year.
