Joyce crisis has ‘tarnished’ Nats brand, WA says

Barnaby Joyce has attacked West Australian Nationals for withdrawing support for his leadership.

WA Nationals leader Mia Davies. Picture: Colin Murty

Barnaby Joyce has attacked West Australian Nationals for withdrawing support for his leadership amid signs of a deepening trauma within the party organisation and growing frustration among Coalition MPs at his refusal to resign.

West Australian Nationals leader Mia Davies yesterday said Mr Joyce’s leadership was “no longer tenable” and the party brand was tarnished over the political crisis triggered by the Deputy Prime Minister’s affair with former staffer Vikki Campion.

A challenge to Mr Joyce’s leadership can be brought on only by a formal no-confidence or spill motion — which can be moved any time between now and next week — but party insiders yesterday said talk of a showdown was cooling ahead of parliament resuming next week.

The first formal declaration against Mr Joyce by a state division followed an emergency hook-up on Monday of Nationals officials from WA, Victoria, Queensland and NSW, with a defiant Mr Joyce arguing he would resist attempts to oust him as party leader.

Queensland Liberal National Party president Gary Spence also sounded the alarm over the impasse and hoped Nationals MPs would bring the matter to a definitive conclusion. “Mr Joyce is on leave this week, but the matter does need to be resolved quickly,” Mr Spence told The Australian. “We look forward to seeing what might happen when Mr Joyce returns to work next week.”

Nationals MPs yesterday expressed concern that Mr Joyce’s campaign to retain the party leadership had seen him needlessly escalate the political crisis by making provocative public statements.

Mr Joyce, who retains support in the Nationals partyroom, has been put on notice by colleagues who say any further reports of inappropriate behaviour will doom his hold on the top job.

“Absent any further revelations, it’s anticipated he will remain leader but over a much divided and diminished partyroom,” a Nationals MP told The Australian. “The man is a great politician, but he’s not a great man or a great leader and he’s brought us to this position.”

Another Nationals MP said the best outcome would be for Mr Joyce to resign, warning any attempt to blast him out could have disastrous consequences, particularly if he used his position on the back bench to cross the floor and speak against government policy.

“He could turn into a wrecking ball on the back bench, but it’s a continual death of a thousand cuts if he stays where he is,” the MP said.

The 16 Nationals MPs in the lower house will attend a party-room meeting on Monday, but the party’s five senators — Nationals deputy leader Bridget McKenzie, Resources Minister Matt Canavan, Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion, Barry O’Sullivan and John Williams — are not required to turn up because of budget estimates hearings.

In a blunt statement issued in response to Ms Davies, Mr Joyce yesterday dismissed the relevance of the West Australian party to federal deliberations and warned she was out of step with national sentiment.

The Australian understands Mr Joyce met with Ms Davies and other West Australian Nationals in Canberra last week.

“You don’t have a federal member of parliament in the National Party of Australia, your last member spending their time almost exclusively as an independent and only once or twice coming to the National Party room meetings,” Mr Joyce said. “I also note, you are not in a coalition in Western Australia and the WA Nats pride themselves on their ferocious independence. Therefore I find it surprising that a federal issue has so much momentum in the west when people in the east in the National Party have, in the majority, a different view — and to be quite frank, vastly more skin in the game.”

Ms Davies said: “I have no need to respond to the comments.’’

Additional reporting: Andrew Burrell, Andrew Clennell