Barnaby Joyce reveals he considered quitting politics amid High Court citizenship saga

ONE Nation’s Pauline Hanson has revealed how Barnaby Joyce will have ‘a little bit of luck’ going his way now that her party won’t stand in his way.

Barnaby Joyce out the front of the old closed down butchers shop in Bendemeer in the New England. Picture: Peter Lorimer

ONE Nation leader Pauline Hanson has revealed her party will not be fielding a candidate in the New England by-election.

The announcement, made via Twitter gives Barnaby Joyce a clear run at regaining his seat, now that Tony Windsor and the Shooters Fishers and Farmers party announced they would not contest the seat.

Senator Hanson said Mr Joyce had “a little bit of luck” go his way.

One Nation, New England by-election announcement. -PH #auspol pic.twitter.com/Wd6ODLTSUU

— Pauline Hanson (@PaulineHansonOz) October 30, 2017

The news comes after Acting Prime Minister Julie Bishop admitted there may be a few of Mr Joyce’s ministerial decisions that are now vulnerable to legal challenge after he was disqualified from Parliament by the High Court.

Ms Bishop told reporters in Perth Attorney-General George Brandis was seeking legal advice on those decisions.

It comes after Labor released legal advice it obtained that more than 100 decisions made by Mr Joyce and ousted Deputy Nationals leader Fiona Nash could be open to a legal challenge.

Ms Bishop rejected Labor’s claims about the scale of the matter, saying most of the decisions were not made solely by Mr Joyce.

“Cabinet has made the majority of the decisions,” she said.

“Appointments, for example, made by the Governor-General and executive council were signed off by the Governor-General on advice by the Cabinet.

“There may be a few decisions - the Attorney-General has said that we’ll look at those.

“But the vast majority of decisions are made by Cabinet.”

Former Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce on the campaign hustings has a surprise meeting with an old friend Mrs Jill Skewes. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/The Australian

Meanwhile, the former Deputy Prime Minister has revealed he considered quitting politics this year as the crisis over his dual citizenship heated up.

“In any of these decisions, it is an alternative that you have to consider, otherwise you ... don’t have a balanced approach,” Mr Joyce told a local Tamworth radio station today as he begins campaigning in earnest to win back the seat of New England.

He will face a by-election on December 2.

It’s expected Mr Joyce will win after his main challenger, former independent MP Tony Windsor, announced he would not be running.

The Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party has also now ruled out running a candidate.

Speaking to the ABC from the electorate today, Mr Joyce also hit back at Labor Party claims that dozens of his decisions as a minister could be open to a legal challenge.

The High Court handed down its landmark decision on Friday, which saw five federal MPs ruled ineligible from parliament for dual citizenship. Picture: Kym Smith

He claimed any challengers would have a tough time establishing a case as some of the decisions Labor highlighted were not solely his, but made by the full cabinet.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions has already confirmed to The Daily Telegraph it is seeking legal advice on whether it can challenge a vote on the Fair Work Commission’s decision to cut Sunday penalty rates.

ACTU boss told the publication Mr Joyce’s “illegitimate” vote gave the Coalition the one vote it needed to stop Bill Shorten’s bid to reverse the penalty rates decision in the lower house in July.

Senior Turnbull Government Minister Simon Birmingham said today he was expecting legal challenges over Mr Joyce’s decisions after the High Court’s decision on Friday.

The Education Minister told Adelaide radio FiveAA this morning he had no doubt the Labor Party would “egg on” political activists such as GetUp! to launch a case.

“I’ve got no doubt the Labor Party, organisations like GetUp! will want to egg on legal challenges to administrative type decisions, not necessarily decisions of the Parliament, but administrative decisions made by the Minister of the day,” he said.

“I doubt that there’ll end up being a problem there either and it will just be a case of them, yet again, seeking to play more politics with this situation.”

Constitutional expert George Williams has also said there was a risk that some of Mr Joyce’s decisions could be open to challenge, but it would only be those made after his bombshell announcement in August that he might be a New Zealand citizen.

Former Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce on the campaign trail in Bundameer, north of Tamworth. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/The Australian

“I think it’s unlikely the High Court would strike down decisions before these issues arose,” the University of NSW Dean of Law told the ABC this morning.

But he said there was a genuine uncertainty over any call made after it was clear Mr Joyce’s eligibility would be tested by the High Court.

“That’s why standing down is the wisest course,” he said.

Asked whether he should have stepped down, Mr Joyce said he had strong advice that he would not be ruled ineligible.

He has also sent a public warning to Liberal backbenchers who have anonymously criticised the Nationals in the media over their citizenship woes, saying his party was the reason the Coalition was in government.

“I just get annoyed when people off-the-record — because it’s always off-the-record — start making comments about the National Party,” he said.

“We won the last election because the National Party didn’t go backwards, we actually went forwards.

“We held all our seats and won one.

“I just think that people should be reminded of that and if they really have a strong view of something, put your name to it.”

The former Deputy Prime Minister has told The Australian if he wins the by-election, he will lobby for a referendum to be held on changing the Constitution to simplify the eligibility requirements for MPs regarding citizenship.

It could be held at the time of the next federal election and also ask the public other key questions, including whether Australia should become a republic and whether indigenous Australians should be recognised in the Constitution, he said.