Nationals leader David Littleproud is confident other MPs won’t follow the lead of Barnaby Joyce and step away from the party amid internal tensions within the coalition.
The former deputy prime minister announced he would quit the party, citing an irreparably broken relationship with the Nationals, and would not recontest his NSW seat of New England at the next election.
The move has prompted speculation the maverick MP will defect to Pauline Hanson’s One Nation.
The Nationals leader has made a pitch to Mr Joyce calling for him to stick with the party, but downplayed suggestions other members of his team could be inspired by the potential defection.
“The people that have joined the National Party have joined because of our values, our beliefs and we proved that at the last election by holding onto all of our seats and nearly winning a new one,” he told Nine’s Today program.
“We’ve led on many debates, but we do that, and sometimes not as quick as some would like, but we do that when we draw on the collective and we have sensible policies that are drawn from the collective of our party room.”
There have been tensions within the coalition over its future direction after suffering the worst election loss in its 81-year history.
Debate over climate policy has also raged within the coalition, with MPs such as Mr Joyce calling for the net-zero emissions target to be dumped.
Mr Littleproud said he would reach out to Mr Joyce, to say the former party leader still had a constructive role to play in its future direction.
“We’ll be talking to Barnaby. We want to make sure that his contribution is a valued one within our party room, as everybody’s is,” he said.
“It’s the collective of the National Party that determines the policy settings and sometimes our policies take a little bit longer.”
Mr Joyce said his relationship with the Nationals had broken down when he was demoted to the backbench following the last election.
“I am free to now consider all options as to what I do next,” he said in a letter to branch members.
“The atmospherics in the party room, where I am seated in the far corner of the coalition in the chamber, means I am seen and now turning into a discordant note.
“That is not who I want to be.”
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