Moderate Liberals have hailed Barnaby Joyce’s planned departure from the Coalition after blaming the former Nationals leader’s brand of populist politics for costing them votes in an election where many lost their seats.
This masthead revealed last week that Joyce was in advanced talks with One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, and the New England MP has since confirmed he would not contest his seat at the election due in 2028, paving the way for him to run for the minor party in the Senate.
Barnaby Joyce and Liberal Andrew Hastie in parliament in September.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Jason Falinski, a former Liberal MP for Mackellar on Sydney’s northern beaches, said it would be “positive” for the Liberals if Joyce were to represent One Nation.
“He costs us votes in 2022,” said Falinski, who lost his seat in that election to pro-climate action independent Sophie Scamps and who also served as a Liberal Party NSW state president.
During the 2022 campaign, Joyce featured prominently in campaign material used by third-party climate organisations.
Tens of thousands of wheelie bin stickers featuring Scott Morrison holding a lump of coal in parliament, while Joyce admired the rock, were sold while prominent Nationals MP Matt Canavan claimed net zero was “dead” during the campaign.
Joyce wrote to branch members on the weekend claiming he had no choice but to stand down at the next election and quit the Nationals partyroom, due to a personality clash with Nationals leader David Littleproud, his relegation from shadow ministry to the “far corners” of parliament’s backbench and his opposition to net zero. The Nationals are reviewing their commitment to net zero emissions but are widely expected to dump their formal support of the target.
Joyce dodged questions about his move to One Nation in a round of media interviews on Monday, refusing to rule out the move and describing Hanson’s party as doing a “good job” as opposed to the Nationals.
He said he had spoken to Hanson and declared that, on climate policy, “One Nation is not barking mad like others are”. Joyce refused to say whether he had spoken to other Nationals MPs about swapping to the minor party.
Falinski said Joyce had hurt the Liberals. “His constant undermining of net zero … and some of his media appearances convinced a number of people to not vote for the Liberals,” Falinski said.
Some of the advertising showing Joyce and Morrison before the 2022 election.Credit: Wolter Peeters
“[Joyce] will appeal to a section of the Australian electorate but it’s not the part of the electorate that we need to win back.”
Joyce was Nationals leader when the Coalition, under former Prime Minister Scott Morrison, committed to a policy of reaching net zero emissions by 2050, as part of Australia’s commitment to the Paris Agreement on climate change.
However, since the Coalition’s landslide election loss in May, Joyce has campaigned against climate action and renewable energy.
Former Reid MP Fiona Martin, a member of the Liberals’ diminished moderate faction who lost her seat to Labor’s Sally Sitou in 2022, said it was “insane to fight against net zero”.
“There are so many problems with Labor’s plan for the transition for them [the Coalition] to focus on, without taking away the aspiration people have for it to work,” she said.
Former Bennelong MP John Alexander, who retired in 2022 and whose seat of Bennelong was then lost to Labor’s Jerome Laxale, said the Liberals needed a comprehensive policy response to climate change and not just “chase a ‘we are out of Paris’ headline”.
“If you’re going to move on from the current policy of net zero by 2050 you have to have that backed up by third-party experts, don’t do it just because it’s a ‘left-wing ideology’,” he said.
He said on 2GB that the issue had been forced on him when this masthead broke the story on Friday afternoon, forcing him “rip the band-aid off”.
“Once I’m out of the Nationals, I’m a free agent. I can do whatever I wish then,” he said.
Joyce said he retained his membership of the Nationals but gave conflicting answers to Sky News when asked if he would continue to sit in the Nationals party room in parliament.
“I won’t be involved with the National party at a political level in Canberra,” Joyce said, before adding, “I will make my mind up as I go along, leave that one with me.”
Littleproud on Monday said he bore no animosity to Joyce but insisted the New England MP must accept the fact he has been shunted to the backbench.
“You have to accept the decision of the leader and who’s in the shadow cabinet,” Littleproud told Sky News.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley confirmed she had spoken with Joyce but would not provide any details of the conversation and said his departure was a matter for the National Party.
“It was just a check in between two people who’ve been collegiate over many years,” Ley said.
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