Barnaby Joyce should “consider what the National Party gave him”, says colleague Michael McCormack, as speculation grows that the New England MP will leave the party to join One Nation on Thursday afternoon.
Nationals and One Nation sources expect an announcement from former Deputy Prime Minister Joyce, after weeks of speculation he was planning to make the move. It has been speculated that Joyce may make his announcement during a section for brief constituency statements, before Question Time in Parliament.
Joyce has said in recent days that he hopes to have more to say about his political future by the end of the week. Joyce did not respond to calls or texts, while One Nation’s Pauline Hanson and spokespeople for Nationals leader David Littleproud declined to comment.
Joyce’s one-time leadership rival McCormack said on Thursday he would be disappointed if the New England MP left the party, and revealed he had made a big last-ditch appeal for him to stay in the tent.
McCormack said, “I spent an hour with him yesterday. I told him my feelings. He knows my feelings.”
“We have a good relationship, and I just hope he really considers what the National Party has given him, the rare honor of being deputy prime minister, and see what happens.”
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Several National sources were resigned to Joyce leaving the party and said they expected news today. Some said he would be happy to draw a line under the long-running political saga, after weeks of speculation and a public courtship between Joyce and Hanson, including their Sandwich Press steak dinner on Monday.
Some Nationals will be relieved to see Joyce go, but others believe his potential defection would be a major blow to National’s hopes of retaining regional seats against the growing One Nation vote.
On Sky News, Nationals senator Matt Canavan – Joyce’s friend and former chief of staff – claimed on Tuesday that the saga has dragged on “longer than the days of our lives” and said people are “sick and tired of this”.
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“Do you really want to go and join the circus? Or do you want to be on a real team that’s really focused on making change?” He said.
McCormack said Joyce had done “great work and many, many good things for regional Australia” during his tenure in Parliament. Asked whether Joyce’s defection would be a betrayal of the Nationals, McCormack replied: “That’s not the case at the moment, because he’s still with the National Party, and he’ll remain so as long as he’s no longer with the National Party.
“He remains in the green and gold at the (Nationals) party. Of course, he is not going to be in the party room at the moment, but look, we will see what happens.”
Asked what it would be like if Joyce appeared in One Nation’s orange, McCormack joked: “At least it wouldn’t be teal.”
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