Barnaby Joyce under pressure to leave Parliament as Nationals search for New England candidate

BARNABY Joyce says he has no intention of quitting politics as reports emerged that senior Nationals are searching for a candidate to replace him in the seat of New England.

BARNABY Joyce says he has no intention of quitting politics as reports emerged that senior National Party members were searching for a replacement for his seat of New England.

It comes as the fallout from his $150,000 interview on Sunday night with partner Vikki Campion continues.

Mr Joyce, who is currently on personal leave until June 15, moved to quash speculation about his political future today after The Australian reported former Nationals leader John Anderson had been approached by at least two senior Nationals figures about challenging Mr Joyce for preselection in New England.

“Of course I am running again, the first people I would tell if I wasn’t would be the electorate,” Mr Joyce told Sky News in a statement.

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Vikki Campion and Barnaby Joyce during their first interview since the birth of their baby — interviewed on Channel 7’s Sunday Night program. Source: Channel 7

“I’m still working for New England. I’m having meetings in the electorate today,” he said.

“I am disapointed to hear some people speaking about me not contesting the next election.”

Mr Anderson, who served as John Howard’s Deputy Prime Minister before resigning from Parliament in 2007, has confirmed he has been approached by several Nationals figures.

But the 61-year-old told The Australian he thought those who approached him were just “joshing around”.

“I’ve not regarded any of those as serious proposals, nor would I see them as serious proposals,” he said.

Mr Anderson however said he would urge Mr Joyce to consider his political future for the sake of his baby son.

“I would gently encourage Barnaby and Vikki to think very carefully about (Sebastian’s) best interests, to the point of considering whether they are properly served while his father is in public life,” Mr Anderson told the publication.

“Barnaby himself told us in the interview how tough it is to maintain a stable family environment when you are a member of federal parliament.”

Former Deputy Prime Minister and Nationals leader John Anderson. Picture: Andy Rogers

It’s understood there is a growing view within the party following Mr Joyce’s interview with Channel 7’s Sunday Night program that he should leave parliament.

A number of Nationals sources told The Australian if Mr Joyce was to stay, there was a “good” chance the party would lose the seat.

Sources have also reportedly confirmed Mr ­Anderson has privately expressed interest in replacing Mr Joyce.

Publicly, Mr Anderson refused to rule out a second run for federal politics, but said: “I cannot see the circumstances where I would run again”.

Nationals frontbencher Darren Chester today downplayed the chances of Mr Anderson returning.

“I don’t think John’s making a comeback,” he told Sky News.

“John left Parliament the best part of a decade ago. He’s got a very full and happy life in the work he’s doing in the communities.”

Mr Chester did not reject reports however that Mr Joyce was under pressure to quit.

“Every member of Parliament as we get towards the end of an electoral or parliamentary term considers their future, whether they think they’ve got good career prospects ahead of them, whether they can still contribute to the Parliament, whether they think they can still make a difference in their community,” he said.

Darren Chester at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: Kym Smith

Asked whether there was a view within The Nationals that Mr Joyce had let the team down with his comments on Sunday, Mr Chester said their focus was on the electorate.

Nationals MPs have publicly rejected Mr Joyce’s bombshell claims with Ms Campion on Sunday that members of the party pressured her to abort their child.

Mr Joyce labelled the individuals who asked her to terminante the pregnancy the “scum of the earth” on Sunday night.

Today, Mr Chester said: “I don’t think it helps in any form to have name calling in public life.”

“I simply ignored the comments. I didn’t even watch the program on Sunday night.”

He said the issue should have been dealt with privately if Mr Joyce had been pressured but said he had no knowledged of the matter.

Mr Chester added that he was surprised to hear Mr Joyce knew immediately that he would lose his job as Deputy Prime Minister when Ms Campion fell pregnant.

“Only because Barnaby received incredibly loyalty and support and teamwork from the National Party team during his time as leader,” he said.

He added: “Quite frankly, we’ve moved on as a party.”

Nationals MP Ken O’Dowd said Mr Joyce’s accusations that a handful of Nationals were “scumbags” was not “healthy” for the party going forward.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack rejected Mr Joyce’s claim there was political pressure on the couple yesterday, saying his colleagues were some of the “finest people”.

Read more at The Australian

Originally published as Barnaby Joyce under pressure to leave Parliament as Nationals search for New England candidate