Joyce makes switch to One Nation as Hanson travels to Tamworth for announcement

Barnaby Joyce has confirmed he is joining One Nation and will run for the Senate in NSW at the next election, appearing on a Tamworth radio station with party leader Pauline Hanson to make the announcement.

Speaking for several minutes, Joyce said he saw Hanson as a “fellow traveller” and that he was keen to move on from the speculation after months of obfuscation. He will remain the member for the northern NSW seat of New England before aiming to move back to the Senate at an election due by 2028.

“Pauline made an offer to me to come to One Nation and I have taken that up,” Joyce said on 88.9fm Tamworth Radio. “Now I’m really going to focus back on the Australian people. There will be some hurt in this decision and I understand that.”

Hanson said she was emotional that Joyce had decided to join the party she started in the 1990s, and he had a lot to offer the populist right-wing party.

“With his knowledge and experience in many areas, especially economics as well and the rural sector … I think he has a lot to offer,” she said, describing Joyce as a “front-row forward” and not a bench player.

“One Nation’s support is growing across the country. Voters are looking for leadership on the issues which matter to them, like getting rid of net zero and Labor’s record immigration. Voters know exactly where I stand on these issues, and in recent weeks I think Mr Joyce has been very clear where he stands too.”

Joyce started his federal parliamentary career in the Senate for Queensland, and had been dangling the prospect of defecting to One Nation for weeks since this masthead reported in early October that he was in negotiations with Hanson. Hanson at points denied there had been a succession plan locked in, but Joyce intends to lead the party when Hanson retires at some point, putting more pressure on the Coalition.

On the final parliamentary day of the year, Joyce announced he was quitting the Nationals, which he led twice, and would sit on the crossbench for the remainder of the term.

He talked up One Nation’s prospects and said he would like to become a senator, as Hanson has offered him a NSW Senate position, but stopped short of announcing his move to One Nation, saying he was still assessing his options.

Hanson, whose party rose to a record 14 per cent primary vote, according to this masthead’s Resolve Strategic Monitor this month, was spotted at Tamworth airport leaving a flight from Brisbane on Sunday night.

Nationals leader David Littleproud issued a scathing statement on Monday pushing back against Joyce’s claims that he had been poorly treated by the party.

“The Nationals supported Barnaby through many difficult times, including during his darkest moments,” Littleproud said, referring to Joyce’s scandals including the “bonk ban” issued after he left his wife for a staffer, and the time he was filmed supine on a Canberra street swearing into his mobile.

“Barnaby has chosen to turn his back on the Nationals and on his electorate and instead join a party of protest which is never able to achieve anything other than headlines.

“I have never had a personal issue or problem with Barnaby Joyce. This issue is about Barnaby wanting to be the leader of a party.”

Former Nationals leader Michael McCormack was also scathing of Joyce’s move.

“Our party has given him a great honour and privilege to lead not only the Nationals but also to serve as the deputy prime minister of the country. To walk away from the party that gave you that honour, I think is incredibly disappointing,” McCormack told the ABC on Monday morning.

In Joyce’s resignation speech in the House of Representatives last month, he said he wanted to continue fighting against climate change orthodoxy in a “better position than the ejection chair of the backbench of the Coalition in opposition”, admitting in a subsequent press conference that he was seeking more relevance.

Asked about One Nation surging in the polls, at a press conference shortly after his resignation, Joyce said there were new winds behind populist movements such as those spearheaded by Donald Trump, Nigel Farage in the UK and Marine Le Pen in France, arguing media fragmentation was creating opportunities for new movements.

His resignation came days after Hanson received bipartisan condemnation for wearing a burqa into the Senate, sparking renewed allegations of racism against the Queensland senator. Joyce and Hanson shared a steak dinner in her office, which she cooked on a sandwich press.

Joyce’s resignation also provoked fury from his long-time Nationals colleagues, including Bridget McKenzie, Matt Canavan and McCormack.

Despite the ongoing rumour and speculation that has dogged the Coalition and sparked claims of selfishness, Joyce has claimed he did not want to create a circus.

This masthead reported last month that Hanson may have misused her expenses to attend a court hearing in Sydney where she was found guilty of racially offending Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi. Hanson has appealed the finding.

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