Barnaby Joyce told to shut up by NSW Nationals leader John Barilaro

NSW Nationals leader John Barilaro has hit out at Barnaby Joyce, urging the federal party to stop navel gazing.

PM Scott Morrison at the Sir Robert Menzies lecture in Melbourne. Picture: Aaron Francis

NSW Nationals leader John Barilaro has hit out at Barnaby Joyce, urging the federal Nationals to “shut up” and stop navel gazing.

The Deputy Premier said the internal brawl and leadership speculation would hurt the regional party in the NSW poll.

Barnaby Joyce. Picture: Andy Rogers

NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro. Picture: AAP

“We went through all this last year with the leadership spill in the Liberal Party, we know that damages election hopes for us in the state, we saw that in the Wagga by-election,” Mr Barilaro said.

“My message to my federal colleagues is, you know, shut up. Simple. Stop navel gazing. Stop talking about yourselves.

“We have been through this journey for a long time. People are sick to death of governments that are only focused on their internal ambitions and their own internal issues. The public want governments and politicians that are focused on them.”

Shades of Menzies as PM lauds Coalition

Earlier, Prime Minister Scott Morrison invoked Liberal Party founder Robert Menzies to talk up the “Coalition partnership”, after Mr Joyce declared the Liberal Party and Nationals were not “married”.

The Prime Minister also gave a special mention to Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack in a speech at the Sir Robert Menzies Lecture in Melbourne.

Mr Joyce is positioning for the Nationals leadership post election and has left open the door to divorcing the party from the Coalition agreement.

“Can I start by particularly welcoming Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack,” Mr Morrison said.

“No one knew better than Sir Robert Menzies the importance of the Coalition partnership to deliver good government to Australia.

“No one knew that better than Robert Menzies and in fact when he went to Albury and the other places he went, he would speak it. That was the key to good government we had with our partnership what was then the Country Party, today the National Party.”

Mr Morrison said he had a relationship of “shared values” with Mr McCormack, in a similar vein to Mr Menzies and John “Black Jack” McEwen.

“In the same way that Ming and Blackjack work so well together, overall all of those years, I can tell you that ScoMo and Big Mac (McCormack) over here are doing exactly the same thing. It’s a strong bond. And that’s a partnership that is important for our nation and for all the things we hold dear,” he said.

‘Joyce out of step with party’

Deputy Nationals leader Bridget McKenzie slammed Mr Joyce, declaring Australians were frustrated the former deputy prime minister was “not focused on their needs and issues”.

The Victorian senator and Sports Minister said Mr Joyce’s call for a taxpayer-subsidised coal-fired power station in central Queensland was “very different to what the party room is saying”.

Deputy Nationals Leader Bridget McKenzie. Picture: AAP

Coal war: Barnaby Joyce sparks showdown with Liberal Party

She accused Mr Joyce of conflating the issues of leadership with energy policy and gave her full backing to party leader Michael McCormack.

“I think Australia is frustrated that there is a politician out there who is not focused on their needs and issues,” Senator McKenzie said.

“It is really clear when you are out on the ground talking to communities, as I have been … power prices is one of the number one issues. Cost of living is really biting out there and we need to make sure our policies address that and not be talking about ourselves.

“Michael McCormack is our leader. We all back him to the hilt. He will be leading us to the federal election. He has delivered in spades as leader of the National Party.”

Senator McKenzie said the government should take a “technology neutral approach” to energy and coal should only receive backing if it stacks up financially.

“What Barnaby Joyce is saying publicly is very different to what the party room is saying. What we are agreed on is that we do need to back a neutral approach, a technology neutral approach to getting reliable, baseload power into our energy system.

“Technology neutral power generation means coal, gas, wind, water, solar.

“We are on about reliable power generation and increasing competition in the grid. That includes coal where it stacks up financially to do so.”

Human Services Minister Michael Keenan said he did not think the Coalition parties would divorce after the election.

“The Coalition parties work best in Coalition and history gives you ample examples of that,” Mr Keenan said.

“In Western Australia we don’t have those formal arrangements and quite frankly the conservative forces, the Liberal forces, the National forces are weaker for it in WA. And federally I don’t think we will be repeating that mistake.”

Liberal National MP Luke Howarth, who represents the marginal outer Brisbane seat of Petrie, attacked Mr Joyce as a “NSW backbencher”.

“I have been focused on what the people in my electorate of Petrie are talking to me about. Whether it is infrastructure, jobs or crime. I haven’t been paying too much attention to what backbenchers in NSW are saying,” Mr Howarth told Sky News.

“Michael McCormack is the leader of the Nationals and it is pretty clear he will remain the leader of the Nationals and take us to the next election with Scott Morrison as prime minister.

“I would say to all my Coalition colleagues: we all need to be focused on what is important to people in our electorates. They are certainly not talking about party leadership to me.”

Liberal Wentworth candidate Dave Sharma said coal played an important part in Australia’s baseload power generation “at the moment”.

“But it is clear that a transition is underway to more renewable sources of energy in our mix and coal’s importance in our energy mix will diminish over time,” Mr Sharma told Sky News.

“And I don’t think that is a bad thing, it is not a good thing. It is just the nature of market forces out there and the government’s job is really about smoothing out that transition and making sure it happens without putting upwards pressure on prices and maintaining reliability in the grid.”

Liberal MP Tim Wilson said the private sector would fund the construction of a new coal-fired power station if the project stacked up.

“I’m not a fan of the government getting involved and building new coal-fired power stations. I don’t believe that is Coalition policy or ever has been,” Mr Wilson told ABC radio.

Mr Wilson said he did not think the Coalition parties would divorce over energy policy, as threatened by Mr Joyce and other Nationals MPs.

“The Coalition agreement holds together because we have, between the Liberal and National parties, broadly common values,” Mr Wilson said.

“We have got the same fundamental principles, which is we want to grow the economy.

“People in the city want people in the country to do well. And people in the country want people in the city to do well. But we have to do it together.”