Barnaby Joyce quits the Nationals
Parliament rogue Barnaby Joyce has quit the Nationals in a fiery speech criticising the lack of engagement from party leader David Littleproud as one former colleague claimed the ex-deputy prime minister left because he couldn’t be leader.
Barnaby Joyce has officially quit the Nationals Party, accusing party leader David Littleproud of only giving him a 90-second conversation after he first flagged he was contemplating a defection to One Nation.
He will now sit on the crossbench as an independent and it’s expected he will run as a NSW One Nation senator in the 2028 election.
Speaking in the House of Representatives, Mr Joyce said he had been placed in the “ejection seat”.
“Now in the past, I’ve been asked to leave twice by Peter Dutton… I suppose… when they talk about generational change, it’s pretty clear what people want,” he told the parliament on Thursday.
“Apart from a 90-second phone conversation with the leader, I’ve had no communication with either leader of the National Party or the deputy leader of the National Party to try and resolve this, and that’s disappointing,” he said.
“So after 30 years with the national party, I am resigning from the party, and that really leaves me with a heavy heart, and I apologise for all the hurt that that will cause other people.”
In a fiery speech, Mr Joyce urged further action on the cost-of-living crisis, staffing regional hospitals, and raged against renewable projects, which he called “intermittent power precincts and swindle factories”.
Speaking later, Mr Joyce said he had yet to decide whether he would join One Nation, despite previous comments suggesting he was considering the move.
“Walking away in part from the party in Canberra is easy. Walking away from the membership is very, very, very hard.
“It’s just quite obvious, when they talk about generational change, that’s code for get out of here,” he said.
Mr Littleproud said Mr Joyce’s resignation was “disappointing,” and said it broke the “contract he made with the people of New England at the 2025 Federal Election”.
“It is disappointing for the people of New England and disappointing for the loyal National Party members who tirelessly volunteered over the past two decades to support his political ambitions,” he said.
“The Nationals supported Barnaby through the tough times, including during his darkest moments.”
Alluding to the phone call in Mr Joyce’s speech, Mr Littleproud said Mr Joyce had “made it clear to me he wanted time and space to consider his future and asked me to respect that”.
“I respected that request but made sure my public statements reflected my desire for him to stay.”
Deputy party leader Kevin Hogan said Mr Joyce had been “transparent” with his intentions.
“He’s leaving because he’s not sitting where he wants to sit in that chamber and that’s that,” he said.
Senate leader Bridget McKenzie said “going to a protest party is not the answer to the problems facing our country”.
“(I’m) disappointed but not surprised. I hope Barnaby has the time now to think through his next steps,” she said.
Nationals senator and former staffer for Mr Joyce Matt Canavan held out hope the party could convince him to return.
“It is a shame a storeyed former leader has left in this fashion but we are here to make Australia better, not make friends,” he said in a statement.
However, privately one MP lashed Mr Joyce as “poisonous”.
“I think the party will function better without him,” they said.
“It’s not that we want to always agree, it’s not about agreeing but if he wasn’t the captain of the ship, he wanted to sink it.”
Labor capitalised on the attack during question time, jumping on the Coalition being reduced from 42 seats to 41.
“They’re on 42 now they’re at 41. We’ll see if we can get them into single figures by 10 past three,” said Anthony Albanese, while the Labor benches roared into laughs and cheers.
Housing Minister Clare O’Neil also had a dig: “We have seen something extraordinary happen today, which is the member for New England calling it quits, and when Barnaby thinks there’s too much drama … you know, the wheels are really gone”.
Earlier on Thursday, Ms McKenzie said Mr Joyce’s legacy would be “trashed” if he did defect to One Nation.
“He’s actually done serious things and his legacy is significant but that will be trashed if he goes to One Nation and I think that’s the big difference and that’s the question he’s going to have to ask himself,” she told Sky News.
“Does he want to be part of a party of government to get things done ... or join a protest party where you won’t be able to do that type of thing?”
Another Nationals MP lashed Mr Joyce’s actions as “Barnaby being Barnaby”.
“I think he is the type of guy, and he has a type of personality where if he isn’t the captain of the ship. He will sink the ship,” they said, adding that he had “undermined” former leaders Warren Truss and Michael McCormack.
“There’s a track record of this… and it’s not about policy. He’s tried to say it’s net zero but it wasn’t because we were undergoing a process which he was well aware of.”
Mr Joyce, who entered parliament as the MP for New England in 2013 made the brief statement in the House of Representatives on Thursday.
The former Nationals leader was seen having dinner with One Nation leader Pauline Hanson on Monday, where she cooked him a wagyu steak on her parliament office sandwich press.
Earlier this week, Mr Littleproud dismissed the dinner between Mr Joyce and Ms Hanson stating the One Nation veteran was “one of the few Australians that can probably afford wagyu steak”.
“I’m not interested in dress-ups and cook-ups. I’m worried about Australians being able to afford dinner tonight,” Littleproud told reporters in Canberra.
“What The National Party and I am worried about are the millions of Australians that last night struggled to put a sausage on the plate. Not a wagyu.”
Previously, Mr Joyce confirmed he would not be recontesting his New England seat at the next federal election.
One of Mr Joyce’s supporters, Flynn MP Colin Boyce said he’s had many conversations with his Nationals colleague and urged him to remain in the party.
“I have done everything I possibly can to try and reconcile the relationship between the National Party leadership in Barnaby. It remains to be seen exactly where Barnaby is going to go in the future,” he said.
“Obviously that decision lies with Barnaby. There’s lots of speculation out there and we’ll wait and see what happens during the day.”
Mr Joyce also defended Ms Hanson’s decision to wear a burqa, a religious garment worn by some Muslim women, into the Senate chamber.
The move was highly criticised and resulted in Ms Hanson being suspended from the chamber for the final Canberra sitting week.
“It is free for people to make a political statement and it is free for others to interpret it as they wish,” he said.
Originally published as Barnaby Joyce quits the Nationals
