Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce has formally joined One Nation, after weeks of speculation the ex-Nationals MP was planning a defection.
Mr Joyce, once a leader of the Nationals, announced he was quitting the party in the final sitting week of this year.
Mr Joyce and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson appeared together on Tamworth community radio, where the pair confirmed he would join the party.
“There will be some hurt in this decision, and I understand that,” Mr Joyce said.
“[But] working with people such as Pauline, I think I have a fellow traveller, and I have great respect for the work Pauline has done. She has driven the political agenda, she had made us — when I was with the Coalition — react to where she has gone.
“And that is an incredibly positive thing.”
Senator Hanson said she was “emotional” about Mr Joyce joining, and that she had respect for the New England MP.
In a statement, Mr Joyce added that he no longer felt he could give his “best” within the Nationals.
“Australia has handed away rights we should have kept and taken up obligations we should have left, at a price we cannot pay,” Mr Joyce said.
“We have eviscerated our energy platform on a ludicrous quest to change the weather … [and] we have increased the population through immigration and, by so doing, removed the capacity for Australians to buy a home, have a family and increase our population by our own means.”
As the Coalition tussles over its immigration policy, Mr Joyce added that “a nation can have multiple faiths, race and colour but not multiple cultures”.
In a statement, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson welcomed Mr Joyce to the party.
“I am pleased he’s chosen One Nation, and I welcome his experience, his advice and his determination to get a fair go for farmers and regional Australia. Mr Joyce strengthens One Nation’s position in parliament just as many Australians are strengthening our position in the polls,” Senator Hanson said.
“I look forward to working with Mr Joyce and One Nation’s Senate team as we continue to expose and oppose the Albanese Labor government’s agenda. We won’t stop fighting to end mass immigration, dismantle net zero, and lower the cost of living. We won’t stop fighting for the Australian people who want their country back.”
Mr Joyce’s defection gives One Nation its first lower house seat since 1998, when Senator Hanson lost the seat of Oxley which she had held briefly as an independent and nascent One Nation leader.
The party has gained ground in recent polls at the cost of support to the Coalition, stirring concerns within the opposition about a bleed of voters to One Nation.
Before his departure from the Nationals, Mr Joyce cited frustration with party leader David Littleproud and disagreement over the opposition’s commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 — which was later abandoned.
Despite dumping net zero, Mr Joyce refused to rejoin the party room and ultimately resigned.
In a statement Nationals leader David Littleproud expressed his disappointment that Mr Joyce had joined One Nation.
“It is disappointing for the people of New England and disappointing for the loyal National Party members who worked day and night volunteering to support him,” Mr Littleproud said.
“The Nationals supported Barnaby through many difficult times, including during his darkest moments.
“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.”
While Mr Joyce will remain as the member for New England this term, he has stated his intention at the next federal election to run on One Nation’s Senate ticket for NSW.
Liberal senators Maria Kovacic and Dave Sharma, who will be up for re-election at that poll, could be at risk of losing their seats depending on their order on the Coalition ticket and whether One Nation can win enough votes to take a seat from the opposition.
