Barnaby Joyce is to return as Australian deputy prime minister after he was selected as leader of the Nationals, the junior partner in Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s coalition government.
Joyce, 54, was elected leader of the rural-based party during a meeting of its federal lawmakers in Canberra yesterday.
He defeated Michael McCormack, 56, a former journalist and businessman who failed to put his stamp on the leadership after three years in the job.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“The task going ahead first and foremost is to make ourselves a team that is formidable for the next election,” Joyce told reporters after the vote.
He is to be sworn in as the nation’s deputy leader today.
The upheaval likely will not be welcomed by Morrison, who leads the coalition’s senior party, the Liberals, and needs to call an election by May next year. Most polls show that his government is deadlocked with the Labor Party.
The leadership change in the Nationals is likely to trigger a rejig of some Cabinet positions and Joyce said that he would have discussions with Morrison about ministerial roles.
It could also complicate Morrison’s climate change policy. Joyce, a supporter of burning fossil fuels, is unlikely to support any steps to commit to a net-zero emissions target date, even as voters call for stronger action to combat the effects of a warmer planet.
Joyce yesterday declined to outline his position on climate change or other policies, saying that they would be decided by the party’s lawmakers.
Morrison said in a statement that he was looking forward to working with the Nationals’ new leader and continue the Liberals’ seven-decade partnership with the party.
Joyce led the Nationals for two years until February 2018 when he stepped down after it was revealed he an extramarital affair with a former aide.
After the story broke that he was expecting a baby with his new partner, ending his 24-year marriage, then-Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said Joyce made a “shocking error of judgement.”
Since he entered parliament in 2004, Joyce has garnered media headlines for his blunt and often contentious views on issues such as water management, foreign investment and the need for actor Johnny Depp to comply with Australia’s quarantine laws.
He briefly cost the government its lower house majority in 2017 after he was found to also be a citizen of New Zealand, contravening the constitution.
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