‘It’ll end in tears’: former One Nation MP warns Joyce
An outspoken MP who has fallen out with Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party is warning maverick mainstay Barnaby Joyce not to jump ship.
Mr Joyce, the former deputy prime minister, says his “unexceptional” relationship with National Party leader David Littleproud contributed to his plan to leave the junior coalition party and all roads point to him joining One Nation.
Skeptics include NSW MP Rod Roberts, who aired scathing allegations of fraud against Senator Hanson’s party under parliamentary privilege in 2023.
“Barnaby is big enough and ugly enough to make his own decisions,” he told AAP.
“It will end in tears”
The former senior police officer was elected to the NSW upper house on a One Nation ticket and said he still supported the party’s political position.
But he continues to criticize the inner workings of the business.
Among the accusations he made in parliament was that the party’s federal leadership had misused NSW election funds “in excess of six figures”.
“The internal governance and inner workings of the party is what is preventing the party from progressing towards becoming a major force in Australian politics,” the now-independent MP said.
“They never seem to get their house in order…we’ve seen this happen at the state level.”
Mr Roberts left the party four years later in August 2023, saying the party had acted “illegally and immorally”.
Senator Hanson, who inflamed anti-Muslim and anti-Asian sentiments during his political tenure, denied the allegations at the time.
He said the party’s finances in NSW and nationally were subject to regular audits by chartered accountants and state and federal election commissions.
Rumors that Mr Joyce will join One Nation have fueled the political news cycle as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese prepares for his highly anticipated meeting with Donald Trump.
Mr Joyce revealed that he spoke to Senator Hanson on Sunday night.
“I called him last night because I see them (the media) talking about us, it would be better if we talk to each other instead of talking through the media,” he said.
“There was nothing locked, nothing… let’s take it down a step.
“I did not join One Nation.”
NSW Nationals MP Kevin Anderson, who represents Tamworth, described Mr Joyce as a great advocate for the New England region but said he would not be caught up in “irreconcilable differences”.
“You have a better chance of picking the winner of the 2025 Melbourne Cup than choosing which way Barnaby Joyce goes,” he told AAP.
“So it’s just a matter of waiting and seeing what his next move is.”
Nearly one in 16 NSW voters placed One Nation at the top of the Senate list in the May election; This is similar to the right-wing populist party’s play in the 2023 state elections.
However, according to recent polls, immigration debates and discontent with the coalition have led to an increase in party support.
The October Resolve poll found one in seven voters in NSW backed One Nation at the federal level, a figure that exceeded votes in Queensland for the third month in a row.
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