Barnaby Joyce announces defection to One Nation
Maverick MP Barnaby Joyce will join Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party.
After weeks of speculation, the New England MP and former deputy prime minister has confirmed he will switch to the far-right party after previously representing the National Party.
He will sit in the House of Representatives for the remainder of the parliamentary term as a One Nation MP, before leading the party’s membership in the NSW Senate.
“For a long time, I have been absolutely of the view that my best choice was to stand for One Nation as a NSW Senator,” Mr Joyce said on social media on Monday.
“I will let the voters be the final arbiters of this decision.”
Mr Joyce announced his withdrawal from the National Elections on the last sitting day of the year in November, citing a breakdown in relations with party leaders and being relegated to second place after the May election.
At the time, he did not say what his next political move would be.
Speculation about a move to One Nation has increased after Mr Joyce was seen dining with Senator Hanson in Parliament House, munching on wagyu beef cooked in a sandwich press.
Senator Hanson said he was delighted to have the MP join the party.
“Mr Joyce is strengthening One Nation’s position in parliament, just as many Australians are strengthening our position in the polls,” he said in a statement.
“I have always been very upfront about wanting Mr. Joyce to join our team and have always made it clear that it was his decision.”
Mr Joyce will be the first One Nation member to sit in the lower house since Senator Hanson in the late 1990s.
Latest polls show that the number of people planning to put One Nation first on the ballot is at an all-time high; Polls show support for the party is between 14 and 18 percent.
A recent Resolve poll found 29 per cent of voters would be more likely to support the party if it was led by Mr Joyce.
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