Barnaby Joyce has signalled a new period of instability within the Morrison government and further undermining of climate action by taking back the leadership of the parliamentary National Party from Michael McCormack in a partyroom ballot this morning.
McCormack left the meeting saying that the result was democracy in action.
The former — and now reelected — leader left the job, and the deputy prime ministership, in February 2018 after detailed allegations of sexual harassment emerged about the high-profile figure. Those allegations have never been resolved, despite a Nationals investigation of them. He denies them. The complainant, who wished the matter to remain confidential, was outed by party figures to News Corp at the time.
Joyce is an ardent climate denialist who has long attacked all forms of climate action, and his return signals that he will lead the Nationals against any efforts by moderate Liberals to move forward on climate — and may even seek to stymie action by state governments, such as that of his home state of NSW, which have embraced investment in renewable energy. Instead he and his supporters want federal subsidies for new coal-fired power plants.
Joyce’s victory — announced this morning by party whip Damian Drum as evidence the Nationals were the most democratic party in Australia — may lead to defections from the Nationals, with some long-term opponents flagging they will not tolerate his return to the party leadership.
There will certainly be a reshuffle. Veteran Affairs Minister Darren Chester, already forced out of the ministry once by Joyce, is likely to be the first target.
In his previous stint as leader, Joyce inflicted immense harm on the Turnbull government, first after being ousted from Parliament for failing to meet citizenship requirements (after mocking MPs and senators in other parties who had also been ousted), and then the circumstances of his departure.
An extramarital affair with a staffer showed up the hypocrisy of Joyce — an avowed Catholic who wore his social conservatism with pride — and caused deep embarrassment to Turnbull, whose political recovery from a difficult 2017 was derailed by the affair and the sexual harassment allegations.
It remains now to be seen if Joyce does to Morrison what he did to Turnbull: impede meaningful climate action and inflict serious political harm.
Will be pretty hard to impede meaningful climate action from the Morrison government. There isn’t any
Although it does emphasise just how crazy the Nationals have become. In that, Morrison mouthing a few weasel words on emissions reduction, was apparently a bridge too far for them. It seems that they’ve been grievously offended by any concession to the 21st century, and have now adopted the position, that Australia should permanently remain in the 1950s.
If Barnaby Joyce is the best the National Party can offer the country as leader, then God help us. His last tenure was a disgrace and there’s every chance this will be worse. His record on adaption to climate change, mining, agriculture, animal cruelty is atrocious. Surely there is some one else in the parliamentary party who could make a more credible leader. Perhaps we are to be doomed along with the Nats.
I presume that’s a rhetorical statement. You know he is.
You left water off your list. His time as minister for water resulted in a Four Corners program that was strident in its condemnation. And Margaret Simons, who has written widely on the problems of the Murray-Darling basin, also criticised his performance in the water portfolio.
During his time in opposition in 2011-12, Joyce used to schedule meetings in MDB towns just ahead of scheduled community meetings with the Murray Darling Commission. He was essentially fomenting discontent, offered no solutions, was incapable of seeing water as a shared resource requiring compromise on all sides, but most of all promoted the idea that ‘environmental flows’ were just theft from irrigators. Wrecked the Basin Plan before it started, a man as destructive in his politics as Abbott.
He won’t impede meaningful action on climate, as SQoMo has no intention of doing anything.
How can anyone take Scotty “Wot-I-sed-woz” Morrison seriously, about anything – beyond self-preservation – and Crikey’s run a series on his mendacity.
Probably easier to run a series on when he told the truth, but maybe not a series, one brief article would cover it… maybe just a sentence would do.
“Schemo doesn’t.”
SQomo! What a delightful new nickname and so apt!
Who would have imagined we’d ever see the National Party support recycling?
Well when you have nothing but a bunch of useless rorters in a party (make that in both L/NP parties) you have no choice. Hopefully this is the end of both.
Pity its not composting they support.
The idiot is dead. Long live the idiot!
And there’s plenty more where they came from.
ReJoyce that it is Barnyard – as dumb as dirt and proud of it.
Far more dangerous is the ostentatiously ‘loyal’ Proudfoot, biding his time until the Rootbeeter has done so much damage that he will conscripted to replace him.
He is smart, determined and so very focused – his media training to blather & run out the clock without saying anything unintended is a far greater danger, to man & beast than Barnaby Rudge.