Barnaby Joyce under fire after quitting Nationals
Barnaby Joyce has been scolded by former colleagues after announcing his resignation from the Nationals on the final sitting day of parliament for the year.
Nationals past and present have lashed Barnaby Joyce’s decision to quit the regional party, with one former senator warning he will make a “political enemy” if he joins One Nation.
“Barnaby, after 20 years of political friendship if you join One Nation, then you will make me a political enemy,” ex-NSW senator John ‘Wacka’ Williams texted Mr Joyce on Thursday.
“I’ll have to hold you in the same regard as (former Nationals MP turned independent) Tony Windsor. Your call.”
Michael McCormack, who once ousted Mr Joyce as National Party leader, took slightly softer line, but still said he was “gutted”.
“To quote that famous political philosopher, Admiral Yamamoto, I feel as though we have woken a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve,” Mr McCormack told Sky News.
“This cannot end well for Barnaby, nor for the Nationals.
“And I do thank Barnaby for what he has done for regional people – I earnestly and honestly do.
“He has made a great contribution.
“I am absolutely gutted that he has walked away from the party which gave him the great honour and privilege of not just leading us once or twice, but thrice … through trials and tribulations.”
He said the party’s supporters would “be shattered too”.
Nationals leader David Littleproud said in a statement Mr Joyce’s decision to leave was “disappointing” and “breaks the contract he made with the people of New England at the 2025 federal election”.
“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,” Mr Littleproud said.
“The Nationals supported Barnaby through the tough times, including during his darkest moments.”
He said he had encouraged Mr Joyce to “stay in our party room” but Mr Joyce “made it clear … he wanted time and space to consider his future” after he called out Mr Littleproud for only have a “92 second” phone call with him about his future.
“I respected that request but made sure my public statements reflected my desire for him to stay,” Mr Littleproud said.
“Barnaby has chosen to walk away from The Nationals’ team – a strong team that fights for regional Australia and delivers genuine solutions for regional Australians in government.
“The Nationals will continue to fight for regional Australia and work as a team to get things done for local communities.”
‘Asked to leave’
Announcing his resignation on the final sitting day, Mr Joyce told the Lower House he was “asked to leave” the Coalition twice by former Liberal leader Peter Dutton, but that his falling out with Mr Littleproud finally pushed him to quit.
A former deputy prime minister, Mr Joyce was booted from his shadow cabinet position after the election in a move Mr Littleproud put down to “generational change”.
Both the phrase and the demotion ruffled Mr Joyce’s feathers and left him to lead a crusade against net zero from the backbench, undermining Sussan Ley and Mr Littleproud’s shared vision of a wholesale post-vote review.
Tensions boiled over in October when Mr Joyce announced he would not run for his seat of New England at the next election and flagged he might not sit in the Nationals party room, sparking speculation he could defect to the crossbench.
Mr Joyce singled out Mr Littleproud’s claim that his backbench banishment was a matter of “generational change”.
“Now, in the past, I’ve been asked to leave twice by Peter Dutton, and I suppose the last change, when they talk about generational change, it’s pretty clear what people want,” Mr Joyce told the chamber.
“One of the biggest things, though … is that after five weeks, I announced this about five weeks ago, apart from a 92-second phone conversation with the leader, I’ve had no communication with either leader of the National Party or the deputy leader of the National Party to try and resolve this, and that’s disappointing.
“So after 30 years with the National Party, I’m resigning from the party, and that really leaves me with a heavy heart, and I apologise for all the hurt that will cause other people, I really do, but it’s not the most important thing.”
NewsWire understands MPs and senators were privately pleading with him not to quit.
No decision on One Nation
Mr Joyce has played into rumours of a move to One Nation since announcing his plan to resign.
He made headlines earlier this week by having dinner with leader Pauline Hanson.
In a snap press conference after his resignation just before question time, Mr Joyce said he was “strongly considering” joining One Nation but had not yet decided.
As for the seat of New England, he said he was not turning the seat “into an independent seat”.
“I’m handing it over,” Mr Joyce said, adding that the “membership of the National Party are wonderful people”.
“That’s what hurts me so much,” he said.
“I mean, walking away and apart from the party in Canberra is easy. Walking away from membership is very, very, very hard.”
Asked whether he feared for the future of the Coalition, Mr Joyce said politics was “changing everywhere”, and singled out hard-right populist figures internationally, including Nigel Farage in the UK, Marine Le Pen in France, the “MAGA movement within the Republican Party”.
He said he expected it to be “really hard for the Coalition to win the next election”.
“I hope they do, but I think it’s going to be really difficult from where they are, and therefore in the house, especially if you sort of on the outer, you’re not just relevant … you’re a discordant voice at the best,” Mr Joyce said.
Senator Hanson has made regular overtures to Mr Joyce, who she said was better aligned with One Nation, culminating in a steak dinner in her office on Monday night.
Mr Joyce has been adamant since October that he would not recontest his NSW seat of New England at the next election due in 2028.
As late as Wednesday, Mr Littleproud was urging Mr Joyce to stay in the party.
“We’ve given him that to work through where he wants to be,” he told Sky News.
“We want him back into our party room because that’s the contract that he and the people of New England signed, that he was a National Party member, and we hope that he comes back in (so) he can make a contribution.”
Senator Hanson stirred further controversy this week by donning a burqa in the Senate.
The widely condemned act resulted in her suspension from the Senate for seven days.
‘Man of action’
Earlier on Thursday, Nationals Senate Leader Bridget McKenzie said Mr Joyce would trash his legacy if he went to One Nation.
“Barnaby didn’t get into politics to be part of a protest party,” she told Sky News.
“He has done some significant things in his 20 years, he’s built highways, he’s kicked Pistol and Boo out, he’s reformed our biosecurity laws, he made changes to the Competition Act to actually protect small business.
“So he’s actually done serious things, and his legacy is significant.
“That will be trashed if he goes to One Nation, and I think that’s … the question he’s going to have to ask himself: does he want to be part of a party of government?”
Senator McKenzie said she thought Mr Joyce would get frustrated by being unable to move the needle on national issues.
“One Nation has a lot to say on issues of concern to many Australians, but they are unable to achieve anything,” she said.
“And knowing Barnaby, he’s a man of action, and he likes to get stuff done, so I hope he stays in a party of government.”
‘Always an issue’
Former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who was at Parliament House on Thursday for his portrait unveiling, was asked about Mr Joyce’s anticipated defection.
Speaking to reporters, he said there was a “fundamental problem” in the Coalition where a growing majority “think the object of politics is to win the approval” of conservative commentators.
He said it was an issue when he was leader but that “it’s just got worse and worse and worse”.
“And so they’re running on culture war issues, on reality denial,” Mr Turnbull said, adding that it was “very sad”.
“You can see from the electoral results, and you can see from the polling, it doesn’t work, right?”
Mr Joyce was deputy prime minister under Mr Turnbull, but that relationship was fractured after Mr Turnbull introduced the infamous “bonk ban” after Mr Joyce’s extramarital affair was revealed.
Originally published as Barnaby Joyce under fire after quitting Nationals
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