For a party that positions itself as the representatives of the oft-forgotten, hard-working regional communities, the Qantas Chairman’s Lounge is a curious place for the Nationals to kick off their election campaign.

Well, that’s what former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce and his Nationals colleague David Gillespie did on Friday. The duo posted videos to Facebook making their cost of living election pitches before Anthony Albanese had even left Government House that morning, as they waited in the Chairman’s Lounge to flee Canberra.