‘Irreparably broken’: Barnaby Joyce to exit Nationals

Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce has left the party, citing a breakdown in relations with the party leadership.

The high-profile New England lawmaker will not be able to keep his seat in the next election.

Still plans to see out the rest of the semester.

“My relationship with the leaders of the National Party in Canberra has unfortunately broken down as irreparably as some marital distress,” the former deputy prime minister wrote in a letter to branch members.

The firebrand MP’s reported plans to defect to Pauline Hanson’s One Nation were not confirmed in the statement but his options were kept open.

“I am now free to consider all options on what to do next,” he said.

Mr Joyce was ousted from the party’s front bench by current leader David Littleproud earlier this year.

He has been an outspoken critic of net-zero emissions reduction targets and called on the federal coalition to abandon them.

His party’s ongoing support for reducing Australia’s emissions to net zero by 2050 has been marked as a sticking point.

“Our position to continue to support net zero with enormous division and to continue to create hatred for my constituents, small businesses, the environment, the poor, the defense of Australia and among lifelong friends in my community makes it untenable to continue this policy in the National Party Room in Canberra.”

The departure comes after Liberal leadership candidate Andrew Hastie left the Coalition frontbencher after criticizing his party’s stance on net zero.

The fact that the national leadership instructed Mr Joyce not to campaign outside his own electorate during the last federal election was also criticized by the senior MP.