Barnaby Joyce warns enemies not to write him off as Nationals leader

The Nationals leadership aspirant has issued a warning to his enemies, but he’s maintained he’s not trying to garner support as yet.

Nationals leader Michael McCormack, left, shakes hands with Drought Envoy Barnaby Joyce at the National Drought Summit in Canberra today. Picture: AAP

Nationals leadership aspirant Barnaby Joyce has warned his enemies against “ruling a line” under his political career but reaffirmed he is not ringing colleagues to try and garner support.

Mr Joyce, who Scott Morrison appointed as his special drought envoy, said it would be “ridiculous” to say he didn’t want the party’s top job if it was given to him.

The Australian revealed the Nationals would wait for a “trigger” before moving against Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack but an immediate move against the leader was ruled out by all Nationals MPs amid speculation of a spill as soon as this week.

“I was elected the deputy prime minister of Australia and it’s ridiculous to say you wouldn’t accept the job if it was given to you, of course you would. Then people ask ‘are you ringing around getting numbers’, no I’m not,” Mr Joyce told ABC radio.

“I can’t stand this that people try to intimidate you into ruling a line under your own career. I’m not going to let that happen. If people think the reward for them basically back briefing and creeping around the joint is I rule a line under my own career, I won’t do that.”

Mr Joyce was forced to quit as Nationals leader in February in the wake of a sexual harassment claim made against him and following revelations he had an affair with his former staffer Vikki Campion, who is now his partner and mother of his first son.

The National Party’s eight-month investigation into the sexual harassment claim by rural leader and former West Australian of the Year Catherine Mariott was wound down without a finding.

Mr Joyce claimed people had been trying to “sully” his reputation and were throwing around “innuendo” to try and damage him but insisted there was “nothing to find” in the sexual harassment complaint.

“It doesn’t work like that. If I can’t prove that you’ve robbed a bank, doesn’t mean it’s a fact that maybe you did,” he said.

“There are a lot of people who want to rule me out of politics predominantly from a side that would benefit if I wasn’t in politics. They don’t try to rule you out because you’re ineffective, they try to rule you out because you’re effective and they don’t want you to be a part of the political game.

“Beat me on policy, don’t beat me on innuendo.”

Ms Marriott said in September she was “extremely disappointed” the investigation had been unable to make a determination about her complaint despite it finding she was “forthright, believable, open and genuinely upset” by the alleged incident.