Canavan hopes to woo Joyce back to the Nationals
National senator Matt Canavan hopes Barnaby Joyce will “see the light” and return to the party to continue his fight against net zero.
The maverick MP, now an independent, announced last week that he was resigning from the Nationals “with regret” after 30 years.
Trump, a two-time deputy prime minister, had previously announced that he would not run again for the New England seat in the 2028 elections.
Mr Joyce described an irreparable breakdown in his relationship with leader David Littleproud and expressed disappointment that the party’s commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 had been abandoned.
His countrymen’s colleagues have worked for weeks to persuade their former leader to stay in the party and it appears the fight is not over for Senator Canavan, who said Mr Joyce would be a “prodigal son” if he returned.
“I’m traveling to New England in the next few days, so maybe I can catch up with Barnaby,” the vocal net zero critic said in Canberra on Friday.
“He hasn’t signed for another team, so I’m hoping he’ll come back, see the light and come back to his natural home, the National Party.”
Mr Joyce said he was “strongly considering” switching to One Nation and was jumping to the Senate, where he would have the chance to press harder for change.
The maverick MP said he was open to a tussle with the far-right party in the Senate after dining in her office with leader Pauline Hanson, who wooed him with sandwich press-fried wagyu beef.
Senator Canavan said Mr Joyce “has a lot of work to do in the future, particularly dismantling this zero-zero scam”.
“I will continue to do my best to persuade him to rejoin our team… I am already feeding the calves,” he said.
Mr Littleproud previously said the decision was disheartening after the party supported Mr Joyce in his darkest moments.
“This is disappointing for the people of New England, and it is disappointing for the loyal National Party members who have volunteered tirelessly to support his political ambitions over the last two decades,” he said in a statement.
