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Victorian Nationals sought disaffiliation from federal party over Barnaby Joyce

The party’s Victorian leader and deputy have moved to disaffiliate from its federal counterpart after Barnaby Joyce regained the top job.

Federal National Party leader Barnaby Joyce. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman
Federal National Party leader Barnaby Joyce. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Victorian Nationals leader Peter Walsh and his deputy Steph Ryan have unsuccessfully attempted to disaffiliate the state party from its federal counterpart in protest at Barnaby Joyce regaining the top job.

Senior Nationals sources have confirmed the Victorian leadership team moved the disaffiliation motion during a party board of management meeting last Friday, but did not receive sufficient support for it to pass.

At a Nationals state council meeting the following day, grassroots party members supported a motion asking state party president Neil Pankhurst to write to Mr Joyce to congratulate him on becoming federal leader, as well as to former leader Michael McCormack to thank him for his work.

Contacted by The Australian on Thursday, Mr Walsh refused to discuss the disaffiliation motion, saying it was not appropriate for him to go into “internal party matters”. However, he said he had engaged in a “very frank discussion” with Mr Joyce on Saturday, highlighting climate change policy as a particular bone of contention.

“We believe that our Victorian communities want their governments, both state and federal, to do more on climate change, not to take the extreme position where we turn the lights out, but to have a constructive discussion about the transition of our energy supplies and how we reduce our impact on the Earth we live on,” he said.

“Since Barnaby went back into the leadership I’ve had a very frank discussion with him about the policy differences on climate change.

“Every time one of the northern NSW or Queensland Nats opens their mouth, it does the Nationals brand damage in Victoria.”

Victorian Nationals leader Peter Walsh. Picture: Andy Rogers
Victorian Nationals leader Peter Walsh. Picture: Andy Rogers
Deputy Victorian Nats leader Steph Ryan.
Deputy Victorian Nats leader Steph Ryan.

Asked how Mr Joyce had responded, Mr Walsh said there had been a mutual agreement to “work through those issues”.

Mr Joyce was forced to resign as Nationals leader in 2018 after he was the subject of a sexual harassment claim, following revelations of his affair with his former staffer and now partner Vikki Campion.

Mr Walsh said he had made it clear to Mr Joyce that “My issues with you are not around your personal life”.

“It’s around policy, and good outcomes for Victoria,” he said. “I don’t condone Barnaby’s history at all by saying that. He did say after four years on the backbench he’s come back a better person. It’s now up to him to prove that to all those people who’ve been concerned about his behaviours.”

Ms Ryan did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

Last week she said outside state parliament that she believed Mr Joyce’s “previous actions” should have disqualified him from returning to the leadership.

“I’ve never made any secret of the fact that I think Barnaby Joyce’s previous actions didn’t really make him eligible for the top job,” she said.

“Barnaby Joyce now needs to demonstrate why he should be back where he is.”

Victorian Nationals sources said much of the disappointment at Mr Joyce regaining the leadership related to the manner in which it had occurred.

“We’ve had 100 years where we haven’t rolled a leader,” one senior Victorian National said.

Others said there was anger with Victorian Senator Bridget McKenzie, who was seen to have regained her cabinet position at the expense of dumped veterans affairs minister and Gippsland MP Darren Chester.

In an opinion piece for the Herald Sun on Thursday, Mr Chester argued that the party was facing an internal battle “between 1950 and 2050” over climate change policy, praising Mr Walsh and Ms Ryan for “demonstrating a more balanced approach that our Canberra leadership would be wise to follow”.

Senator McKenzie declined to comment when asked about the disaffiliation motion, saying internal party issues were a matter for Mr Pankhurst as president.

Mr Pankhurst said he had “no comment to make on internal party meetings”. On behalf of the party he had written to Mr Joyce to congratulate him and “committing to working with him”, and to Mr McCormack “thanking him for his tireless work”.

Mr Joyce did not respond to a request for comment.

Read related topics:Barnaby JoyceThe Nationals

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/victorian-nationals-sought-disaffiliation-from-federal-party-over-barnaby-joyce/news-story/cf2e614aa1f979907a1b6ae28f4e75e8