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One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has travelled to the hometown of Barnaby Joyce in regional NSW as speculation mounts he will formally announce his switch to the populist-right party.
Joyce has been dangling the prospect of defecting to One Nation for weeks since this masthead reported in early October that he was in negotiations with Hanson.
On the final parliamentary day of the year, Joyce announced he was quitting the Nationals, which he led twice, and would sit on the crossbench for the remainder of the term.
He talked up One Nation’s prospects and said he would like to become a senator, as Hanson has offered him with a NSW senate position, but stopped short of announcing his move to One Nation, declaring he was still assessing his options.
But Hanson’s appearance at Tamworth airport is a sign that an announcement of his move is imminent. Hanson, whose party rose to a record 14 per cent primary vote according to this masthead’s Resolve Strategic Monitor, was spotted at Tamworth airport departing a link flight from Brisbane on Sunday night, according to sources who spotted her at the airport.
Joyce and Hanson’s office were contacted for comment.
In Joyce’s resignation speech in the House of Representatives last month, he said he wanted to continue fighting against climate change orthodoxy in a “better position than the ejection chair of the backbench of the Coalition in opposition”, admitting in a subsequent press conference that he was seeking more relevance.
Asked about One Nation surging in the polls at a press conference shortly after his resignation, Joyce said there were new winds behind populist movements such as those spearheaded by Donald Trump, Nigel Farage in the UK and Marine Le Pen in France, declaring the fragmentation of media was creating opportunities for new movements.
His resignation came days after Hanson received bipartisan condemnation for wearing a burqa into the Senate, sparking renewed allegations of racism against the Queensland senator. Joyce and Hanson shared a steak dinner in her office, which she cooked on a sandwich press.
Joyce’s resignation also provoked fury from his long-time Nationals colleagues including Bridget McKenzie, Matt Canavan and Michael McCormack.
