Nationals hit out at Joyce as rebel MP digs in and refuses to reveal future

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Barnaby Joyce is refusing to clarify his political allegiances as senior Nationals called on the MP to end the damaging speculation sparked by his refusal to attend a party room meeting on Monday and decide quickly whether he would remain with the junior Coalition partner.

Joyce skipped the meeting on Monday, but declared he would continue to sit with his colleagues in Parliament itself. The opposition’s net zero emissions policy was discussed in the meeting, as Joyce again declared his disdain for the 2050 climate target and argued it had fuelled his discontent within the party.

Party leader David Littleproud said Joyce was welcome back in the party room, but the response was less tolerant from former leader Michael McCormack and Nationals federal president Kay Hull.

This masthead revealed nearly two weeks ago that Joyce was in advanced talks with Senator Pauline Hanson about defecting to One Nation. Such a move would have significant ramifications for the Nationals, who would lose one of their best retail politicians, a two-time former leader and powerhouse fundraiser.

Joyce has suggested that this current term of parliament will be his last representing the seat of New England, but has left the door open to a return to the Senate – possibly with One Nation.

Asked on Monday if he was trying to “have his cake and eat it too” by not attending party meetings but still sitting with his Nationals colleagues, Joyce said no and pointed out that other current Nationals MPs, including Darren Chester and Kevin Hogan, had previously spent time on the crossbench.

“I don’t think so at all,” he said.

“My position is quite clear, I have thought about this for a long period of time, I have seen the suffering of small business, I’ve seen pensioners put into their car because they can’t afford their power bill and I’ve seen the beneficiaries of this [net zero], and the beneficiaries are billionaires.”

Speaking to Sky News earlier on Monday morning, Joyce doubled down on his decision to skip the party meeting and said: “What I’m doing is really focusing on the policy agenda”.

“Net zero is devastating for regional people ... my position is adamantly against net zero, not an amelioration of net zero, or sort of a refinement of net zero, or an amendment of net zero. I want to get rid of net zero,” Joyce said.

“The importance of the party room and the history of it was mentioned,” McCormack told this masthead. “The fact that we have gotten where we are because we’ve stuck together and been a team.”

McCormack had teamed up with Joyce on his push to ditch the net zero target earlier this year, but was critical of his colleague for abandoning the party room.

“If you’re a member of the Nats and you haven’t resigned from the Nats, then your obligation is to be in the Nats room,” McCormack told this masthead.

“The fact that we have gotten where we are because we’ve stuck together and been a team.”

Joyce held two doorstop interviews with reporters in Canberra on Monday and multiple TV interviews. Hull called Joyce’s running media commentary “unhelpful”.

“Barnaby has said he will continue to represent his constituency as a National, but he will not sit in the Nationals party room nor the Coalition party room,” she said.

“It would be very helpful now if we could just move on and let things lie.”

Hull said the precedent of MPs Chester, Hogan and Llew O’Brien, meant there was a way back for Joyce.

“Those three MPs are all now sitting in the party room and contributing significantly. Sometimes you just need to take a breath,” she said.

The NSW MP remained tight-lipped on his future political plans and refused to concede an answer on whether he would stay with the Nationals if they agreed to abandon net zero.

Littleproud said Joyce was still a member of the Nationals and “I made it very clear he’s welcomed back into our party room”.

“What we’ve got to do is continue to create an environment where Barnaby feels welcome and wants to come back and can contribute,” Littleproud told Sky News.