Nationals leader resigns after weeks of turmoil – as it happened
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Version 0 of 1. Well, what a day. Joyce, despite insisting he could ride this crisis out, has finally fallen on his sword. Many commentators had deemed this outcome as inevitable. Joyce could have saved the Coalition a great deal of damage had his decision come earlier. Instead, the public spat consumed the Nationals and brought them to blows with their Liberal partners. The internal brawl did little to inspire confidence and robbed Malcolm Turnbull of any oxygen. It’s not over yet, though. On Monday, the Nationals will hold a party room meeting, where Joyce will formally resign and a replacement elected. Michael McCormack has been tipped as the frontrunner. Bridget McKenzie is expected to stay on as deputy. That’s where we’ll leave our live coverage. Our political editor Katharine Murphy will analyse the ramifications of Joyce’s decision in a piece that’s not too far away. Until then, you can catch up the day’s events in our main news piece, by my colleagues Paul Karp and Gareth Hutchens. Thanks for sticking with me. Until next time. We mentioned a little earlier that Darren Chester had ruled himself out of the leadership race. He’s now released a full statement. Chester says the party had been distracted for the past two weeks and it was now the time for unity. He said in the interests of a “smooth transition”, he was ruling himself out of the race and supporting Michael McCormack and the current deputy leader, Bridget McKenzie. My statement recognising outstanding achievements of Barnaby Joyce and announcing I won’t be contesting The Nationals leadership #auspol pic.twitter.com/lPoJAMu9eZ Farmers for Climate Action have jumped on the leadership change, and sought to pressure any new Nationals leader to commit to action on climate change. A spokesperson for the group told the Guardian they will be airing an ad they recently made over the weekend. And after the new leader is announced next week, they will target them by airing the ad in their electorate. In an email to supporters this afternoon, the group said: Not too long ago, climate change was the elephant in the room in rural Australia. It’s well known that Barnaby Joyce and his ‘$100 roast’ scare campaign was a key reason for this. But now, things are rapidly changing in rural & regional politics. On Monday there will be a new leader of the Nationals. With your help, we can make climate change the first thing on their agenda. The group is trying to fundraise to buy more ad space. You can watch it here: Sky News has reported that Darren Chester has ruled himself out of the leadership race. No real surprise there. He was considered a long shot. Chester, the former transport minister, was unceremoniously dumped from cabinet late last year and now sits on the backbench. Sky has reported that Chester will back Michael McCormack, boosting his prospects. The tributes to Joyce keep coming from his fellow Nationals. The agriculture minister, David Littleproud, said he had been the “best Nationals leader and deputy prime minister in living memory”. High praise indeed. Littleproud’s name is floating around as a potential replacement for Joyce, although he’s only been in parliament since late 2016. Littleproud’s statement makes no mention of his leadership aspirations or lack thereof. He says: Barnaby Joyce has been the best Nationals leader and deputy prime minister in living memory. Joyce led the Nationals into the 2016 election campaign, when the party took all before it, holding all its seats against the swing and gaining the extra seat of Murray. Joyce has been one of the great communicators of our time. He fought for the people who live on dirt roads, the people in the brick and tile houses and for better opportunities for all. Joyce has always been a powerful advocate for rural, regional and remote Australia and will continue to be. Just before his appearance on Sky, Nationals senator John “Wacka” Williams was on Sydney’s 2GB radio. He gave a bit more detail on his conversation with Joyce last night. Joyce told him the Daily Telegraph would be running a “crazy story” today that the National Party had received a sexual harassment complaint against him, and he was concerned it was all hurting the party and the government too much. “I read the story this morning,” Williams said. “I sent him a text and said look, if I was you I’d stand down … then he rang me back and we had a chat.” He said he didn’t try to convince Joyce to remain as the party leader because he understood why Joyce would want to step aside. But he said Joyce was “very cranky” that a woman had made a sexual harassment allegation against him when she hadn’t even gone to the police. “I said to him look you know, they throw so much mud some sticks, people they’ll allege this and allege that, and people get the wrong impression of so-and-so. “I’m glad he stood down … he’s been a great leader that’s achieved so much for regional Australia, but he’s also a human being, he’s got a personal life to have as well, and I think he’ll have a lot of pressure off him and he can do his job as the member for New England. “I did say to him ‘You’re not going to stand down as a member for New England?’ and he said ‘No way, that’s my passion, helping the people here’.” Williams said he didn’t know any details of the sexual harassment allegation. “I think he needs a breather,” Williams said. The NSW Nationals senator, John Williams, reveals that he spoke to Joyce last night. He said the resignation was not a surprise. Williams insists it was Joyce’s decision to resign. It wasn’t a surprise. I spoke to Barnaby last night and he said look things are just not backing off, there’s a story coming out today. Williams says Michael McCormack would make a good Nationals leader. Asked whether Joyce could come back, Williams says he won’t rule anything out after the last two weeks in politics. The Nationals president, Larry Anthony, said the party greeted the news of Joyce’s departure with “a heavy heart”. Anthony said he understood and respected Joyce’s decision, and said the Nationals’ thoughts and support were with the former deputy prime minister and “those closest to him”. Barnaby will continue to be a huge asset for the party as the Member for New England. The Nationals have a strong history of almost 100 years of delivering for regional communities and standing up for local issues. The party room will meet on Monday to elect a new leader that will take our team forward and continue the Nationals’ strong representation of regional Australia. Fellow National and resources minister, Matt Canavan, has issued a statement praising Joyce’s “courage” as leader. Joyce was so courageous, Canavan says, that he would often ignore the advice of his advisers and take stances that were “too courageous”. Pistol and Boo, anyone? Here’s Canavan’s full statement: Barnaby Joyce leaves as Nationals leader with a long list of accomplishments. As leader and before, he helped pull the Nationals back from the grave. Just a decade ago it was commonly accepted that the Nats would have to merge with the Libs to survive. Within a decade the Nats helped save a Coalition government from a first term defeat, in part due to Barnaby’s strong leadership. Barnaby has more courage than most. He often took up arguments or causes that many seasoned politicians, or advisers, would caution as being “too courageous”. Barnaby often defied their warnings and proved that courage is an essential ingredient towards the recipe of success. He did so to protect the interests of working people and small businesses in the bush. People who did not have a voice and often worked with very little, asked for less and struggled through drought, flood and price changes. He fearlessly defended the wealth-producing industries of Australia, such as farming, mining, forestry, fishing and manufacturing. Our wealth-producing industries find themselves under a coordinated and undue attack by the many, who ironically owe their comfortable 21st century existence to the comparable few who work in the sun and subject their fortunes to the whims of international markets and finance. I am sure Barnaby will continue that fight, as will the Nationals party. Now more than ever there is a need for a party to fight for those who produce the wealth that maintains our prosperity and builds our future. It is true that I consider Barnaby a mate. None of my mates are perfect, nor am I. Barnaby has made mistakes but I am sure he will recover, learn and be a better person from them. He now has a new partner and a new child to care for and that is much more important than any of his achievements in public life. I also express my regret about the impact this has had on Natalie and Barnaby’s four daughters. They are a beautiful family. Nat is a remarkable woman of strength, character and good cheer. All of their girls are bright, vivacious and full of life. I am sure they will thrive beyond these difficult times. The Nationals party is at its strongest when we work together as a team. I look forward to our Nationals team continuing to fight and deliver for the people of regional and rural Australia. We’ve got a full report up on Joyce’s resignation here. Do have a read. The opposition leader, Bill Shorten, is out and about. The script writes itself for Labor, really. Shorten says: There is no question the relationship between the Liberals and the Nationals is fundamentally damaged, irreparably. That the deputy prime minister didn’t ring the prime minister to tell him he was going to resign shows you the fictional make-up they had last weekend was just a hoax. They both said after their meeting last Saturday that everything was fine. They were clearly lying and now the fact that the deputy prime minister has resigned and not even told the prime minister shows you there is deep division at the heart of this chaotic government. So, who’ll be our next deputy prime minister? The field is hardly stacked with household names. A promotion to deputy prime minister would be of meteoric proportions for some of these Nationals, many of whom are still in junior ministry positions. But hey, things can’t get much worse, right? Right? 2. David Gillespie, the assistant minister for children and families 3. David Littleproud, the agriculture minister. Only elected in 2016. 4. Darren Chester, backbencher and former transport minister. Chester is an unlikely contender, given he was dumped from cabinet late last year. 5. Matt Canavan, resources minister and senator. Similarly considered an outside chance. Acting Nationals leader, Bridget McKenzie, has issued a statement that is glowing in its praise of Joyce. McKenzie said there “is no stronger advocate for regional Australia”. He has re-energised and grown the party since taking over the leadership in late 2016, she says, and always led from the front. His decision to stand aside is the right decision for the National party, the nation and most importantly his family. Barnaby has always remained focused on the people in the regions and in ensuring Coalition government policy always has the best interests of rural Australia in mind. His dedication was pivotal in returning the Coalition in the 2016 election. He has a proven record of delivering for our party and a vision to grow regional and rural communities. The images from Armidale are trickling in. A rather helpful offer to Joyce from Netflix. I’m sure he’ll be stoked. @Barnaby_Joyce Hey mate, hear you're going to have some time off. We'll send you some Nitflux. So, what did we learn from Barnaby Joyce’s press conference? Let’s recap: Joyce will resign as deputy prime minister and Nationals leader. He will stay on as member for New England. Joyce has referred a complaint of sexual harassment made against him to police. He says it is false and wants it properly investigated. He said the allegation was the final straw in a saga that has stretched over two weeks. Joyce said he could not possibly get up to speak at the dispatch box while that allegation was being investigated. Joyce has slammed the media’s intrusion into the life of his partner, Vikki Campion. He said he thought Australia was better than that. Not one of the “litany” of allegations against him have been proved, he said. Joyce has promised he will not snipe from the backbench. He’s writing a book and is expecting a baby, so has plenty to keep him occupied, he said. He wants his decision to act as a “circuit breaker” to end the public discussion about the saga. Malcolm Turnbull has just issued a statement on Joyce’s resignation. He thanked Joyce for his service and said the Coalition partnership was “undiminished”. John McVeigh – the Queensland LNP MP who is currently regional development minister – will fill Joyce’s infrastructure and transport portfolio until the Nationals sort themselves out internally. Here’s Turnbull’s formal statement in full: The Hon Barnaby Joyce MP has announced that he will resign as deputy prime minister and minister for infrastructure and transport, effective 8am on Monday. I thank Barnaby for his service as deputy prime minister and in his various ministerial roles in which he has been a fierce advocate for rural and regional Australia. The Coalition between the Liberals and the Nationals is Australia’s most successful political partnership, having endured for more than 95 years. This partnership is undiminished and will continue to deliver opportunity and security for all Australians. Pending the Nationals’ election of a new leader and consequent ministerial changes, the Hon John McVeigh MP will act as minister for infrastructure and transport. If you’re wondering who the Weatherboard Nine are, we have the answer. Viewers at home may have been wondering at a bizarre phrase the outgoing deputy PM seemed to throw out there at the end of his press conference. When asked what his legacy was, Joyce seemed to say: “I fought for the person in the Weatherboard Nine.” We can calm the speculation. He was saying “weatherboard and iron”. Here’s the proof. In this SMH interview from October 28 last year, Joyce was directly quoted as saying he wanted to “to give greater economic and personal advancement to the people in the weatherboard and iron in the regional towns.” He continued: “I didn’t give a toss for where power comes from, but one of the greatest afflictions for people in the weatherboard and iron is they can’t afford power.” Here’s the official Nationals account repeating it: .@Barnaby_Joyce "The people in weatherboard and iron in regional towns are becoming poorer if we don't deal with the power issue." #auspol And a video where you can watch him say it himself, and spark the same confusion in the comments: Barnaby’s opening remarks, before he got to the weird bit about the “Weatherboard Nine” pic.twitter.com/2kcngAwYX6 Joyce clearly intends to be using the phrase as a metaphor for the rural poor, a figure of speech known as synecdoche, where a part of something (in this case the materials of cheap housing) is made to represent the whole. Liberal MP Tony Pasin says the press conference was clearly difficult for Joyce. Pasin said he was shocked to watch it. “It’s obviously a shock,” Pasin told Sky News. “Watching that press conference, make no mistake, that was a difficult exercise for Barnaby.” He said the saga has been an ordeal and he’s glad it’s come to a head. Pasin gives us some clue as to who may put their hand up for the Nationals leadership, now that Joyce is gone. He says the field will be similar to the field that stood for the deputy leader position in December. That field included resources minister, Matt Canavan. |