Category Archives: Barnaby Joyce

Barnaby Joyce says future Taiwan visits should include officials or even ministers

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Former deputy prime minister thinks it ‘could be smart’ for future delegations to be widened, despite risk of angering China

Future Australian parliamentary visits to Taiwan should include government officials or even ministers, Barnaby Joyce has said after meeting with Taiwan’s president.

Joyce, the former deputy prime minister and former deputy chair of the national security committee, is among a cross-party group of federal politicians visiting Taiwan this week.

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Barnaby Joyce called on to apologise for Nazi Germany comparisons over Indigenous voice

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Nationals MP said he was concerned about the government wanting to ‘reinsert racial distinctions’ into the constitution

Barnaby Joyce has been accused of making “ahistorical comparisons to Nazi Germany” in an interview about the Indigenous voice to parliament, with Labor MP Josh Burns calling on the former deputy prime minister to apologise.

Joyce stood by his comments, made in a Sky News interview, saying he was concerned about the government wanting to “reinsert racial distinctions” into the constitution. But a leading civil rights and Holocaust expert chided the National party MP for his remarks.

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Barnaby Joyce: the most perplexing contradictions in his account of the Morrison ministry scandal

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Repeated questioning of Nationals leader over when he knew about Morrison taking on resources portfolio provided confusing results

Barnaby Joyce was asked on Sunday what he knew, didn’t know and didn’t want to know about Scott Morrison’s additional powers.

The answers were hard to follow, to say the least. The former deputy prime minister said he kinda knew Morrison had appointed himself as resources minister and taken over the decision of the controversial Pep-11 gas licence off the NSW coast, but he also didn’t know.

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Barnaby Joyce says Scott Morrison never explicitly said he was also resources minister despite using special powers

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Former Nationals leader says he did not want to ‘go into bat’ on the increased powers out of concern Nationals may lose previously negotiated gains

Barnaby Joyce said Scott Morrison never explicitly told him he had sworn himself in as resources minister despite the former prime minister exercising special powers associated with the role, as prime minister Anthony Albanese said his predecessor’s actions could be subject to further inquiries.

In a testy interview, Joyce also told ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday that he did not want to “go into bat” on the apparent increased powers because he believed the Nationals risked losing previously negotiated gains.

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Joyce says Qantas ‘not good enough’ in apology over airport chaos – as it happened

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Morrison didn’t call finance minister to apologise, Maiden says

There’s been an interesting point from Samantha Maiden on the ABC Insiders panel about the timeline of events between former PM Scott Morrison and his former finance minister Mathias Cormann.

Scott Morrison is really good at painting word images, right, and if you listened to that press conference this week, would you not get the impression that he called Mathias Cormann to apologise and he had called Josh? Would that be the impression you were left with?

That’s not what happened. What happened was Mathias Cormann calls Morrison on the weekend. He picks up The Weekend Australian, he reads the article, he comes to the international language of WTF and goes: “What happened here?”

Clearly you need to look at the response of all governments.

Primarily, it will be about the federal government. That’s what we have responsibility for, but the interaction between the levels of government of course, were critical to the response to the Covid pandemic.

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Dungowan Dam likely dead in the water after Infrastructure Australia deems proposal low priority

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Costs of dam project championed by Barnaby Joyce to secure water for Tamworth ‘far outweigh the benefits’, assessment says

The proposal to build a new Dungowan Dam in Barnaby Joyce’s seat of New England at a cost of $1.27bn appears to be dead after Infrastructure Australia delivered a scathing assessment.

The project, which was promoted by the former National party leader as a way to secure the water supply for Tamworth, in New South Wales, had originally been costed at $433m, with the Morrison government promising to contribute $242m.

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Anthony Albanese seeks legal advice over reports Scott Morrison secretly swore himself into ministry roles

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Reports claim former prime minister’s senior cabinet colleagues were unaware he allegedly swore himself into three ministry positions

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is seeking legal advice over reports his predecessor Scott Morrison secretly swore himself into three ministry positions while in government, a fact that was allegedly concealed even from senior cabinet colleagues.

Morrison’s deputy PM Barnaby Joyce described the reportedly secretive arrangements, allegedly made without the input of the governor general, as “very bad practice”, while Labor minister Bill Shorten questioned whether the former leader had a “messianic complex”.

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Peter Dutton sidelines Scott Morrison allies in shadow cabinet as Nationals take six spots

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Angus Taylor becomes shadow treasurer, but Alex Hawke gets no position in a shadow cabinet with 10 women

Allies of Scott Morrison have been dumped from the shadow cabinet and senior conservatives promoted in a reshuffle stamping Peter Dutton’s mark on the Liberal party.

Dutton and the Nationals leader, David Littleproud, announced the shadow ministry in Brisbane on Sunday, revealing it will include 10 women, with six Nationals in cabinet.

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Australia news live updates: Pacific countries reject China’s proposed security deal; vote counting continues with Labor one seat from majority

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China confirms Pacific-wide deal with 10 nations shelved; David Littleproud elected new National party leader with Peter Dutton to lead Liberals; seats of Gilmore, Deakin and Macnamara remain in the balance; Covid booster eligibility expanded as nation records 10 Covid deaths. Follow all the day’s developments

Anthony Albanese has wasted no time attending the theatre as prime minister.

He’s also been taking the C1 plated car for a spin through Sydney’s inner west.

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David Littleproud to run against Barnaby Joyce for National party leadership

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It is now a three-person race to lead the Coalition’s junior partner with the deputy leader joining Darren Chester in announcing intention to nominate

David Littleproud will run against Barnaby Joyce for leadership of the National party.

The high-profile deputy leader announced on Saturday he’d told Joyce of his decision to nominate.

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‘Time for change’: Darren Chester confirms he will challenge Barnaby Joyce for Nationals leadership

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Former veterans affairs minister says ‘it’s important we listen to the message we received over the weekend from the Australian people’

Nationals MP Darren Chester has confirmed he will run for the party’s leadership in a ballot next week, setting up an explosive showdown with his rival Barnaby Joyce - a man Chester once described as “incoherent”.

The Nine newspapers reported Chester saying it was “time for a change” in the party, and that the Nationals needed to “take some responsibility for the Liberal losses in the city”.

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Nationals could dump Barnaby Joyce over net zero stance with Peter Dutton set to lead Liberals

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Sussan Ley or Jane Hume likely to be deputy Liberal leader as Coalition continues to grapple with election fallout

The National party will spill its leadership positions next Monday as the Liberals debate whether Peter Dutton’s deputy should be Jane Hume or Sussan Ley.

As the Coalition continues to grapple with the fallout from Saturday’s election rout amid conflicting views about how to reposition in response, Anthony Albanese was sworn in as Australia’s 31st prime minister before leaving for Tokyo and his first meeting with Joe Biden and key regional allies.

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Government claims of 7% real wage rise since in office disputed – as it happened

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Katy Gallagher disputes prime minister’s claims on real wage growth; nation records at least 53 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

National party deputy leader, David Littleproud was feeling upbeat this morning while speaking to ABC Breakfast TV:

We have achieved a lot together, in fact we have done more than any other nation in the world if you look at an economic and health front. We should be proud but we need to shift gears and make sure we look after those cost of living inflation pressures and who is best to handle that and to drive the economy and to guide the economy. I think that’s where the Australian people are looking at it when the opposition won’t tell them how much of their money they’re going to spend, they’re taking them as mugs. We got to be open and honest and transparent.

We think an upward surprise of 1% q/q growth in [today’s] WPI could be enough to get the RBA over the line for 40 basis points, though if it comes in at our forecast of 0.8% q/q that prospect will recede.

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Federal election 2022 live: Morrison pressed on protections for gay students; Albanese says Labor will match Coalition’s IVF policy

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Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese will square off in second leaders’ debate to be broadcast on Channel Nine; prime minister questioned on religious discrimination act; Opposition leader says Labor will match Coalition’s $53m IVF pledge; NSW records six Covid deaths, Victoria four, Qld two and WA one. Follow all the day’s news

Plibersek is asked about the proposed stage three tax cuts that Labor has supported and which will lead to superannuation changes that will benefit men. She says it is something Labor will look at in government.

What makes a difference to the superannuation pay gap: when we invest more than $95bn, when we make child care cheaper, that allows those women who have been locked out of work, because it is too expensive – they actually lose money by working day four or day five in a week. They can earn more, have less time out of paid work, they can contribute to their own superannuation when they get back to work more easily.

As for the paid parental leave superannuation, it is something that we would look at in government. It is something that we would love to do when we can afford to.

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New Murray-Darling Basin Authority boss fails to mention environment in all-staff memo

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Staff raise concerns after incoming chief executive Andrew McConville emphasises agricultural outcomes in introductory letter

The new chief executive of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, Andrew McConville, has caused consternation after sending an all-staff memo outlining his approach to the job which failed to mention the regulator’s environmental role.

A former chief executive of the Australian Petroleum Producers & Exporters Association (APPEA), McConville was appointed to the top job at the MDBA by the Morrison government just days before the federal election was called.

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Trent Zimmerman says moderate MPs ‘prevailed’ over Barnaby Joyce on net zero emissions

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Liberal MP tells North Sydney candidates debate that moderates won commitment despite opposition from Nationals

Liberal party MP Trent Zimmerman says he and fellow moderate MPs “prevailed” over the deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce, in securing a net zero climate target, saying the Nationals leader was opposed to the policy.

Zimmerman, a key Liberal party moderate facing a serious challenge to hang on to the North Sydney electorate from the independent Kylea Tink, told a Sky News debate on Thursday that he would push for “stronger” emissions targets if the Coalition was re-elected.

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Barnaby Joyce refuses to use term energy ‘transition’ because it ‘equals unemployment’

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Deputy prime minister made comments in coal community of Gladstone in Queensland as Scott Morrison makes $300m NT energy and jobs announcement

Deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce believes a “transition” from coal to cleaner energy “equals unemployment” in the regions, declaring the Coalition would not use the term during the election.

The Nationals leader has also backed the government’s clean energy fund to support coal, and for other government infrastructure funds to finance the construction of coal-fired power stations, but not for the building of cleaner hydrogen plants.

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Barnaby Joyce wrongly claims $1.5bn funding for second Darwin port has already been legislated

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Bill that includes Northern Territory infrastructure funding did not pass before parliament was dissolved

Deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce has wrongly claimed that an infrastructure package that includes funding for a second port in Darwin has already been legislated, despite the budget bills lapsing when parliament was dissolved on Monday.

Speaking in the Northern Territory on Tuesday, where the Coalition is targeting two Labor-held seats, Joyce was talking up the government’s regional funding commitments, including $2.6bn allocated to the NT through a regional development plan announced on budget night.

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Australia anxious to show it didn’t ‘drop the ball’ on Pacific after China and Solomon Islands deal

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Canberra must walk a delicate line when responding to challenges presented by Beijing and Solomons’ security agreement

As China makes progress on a security deal with Solomon Islands, the Australian government is anxious not to be seen to have “dropped the ball” in the Pacific region. That would be a tad embarrassing, given it has spent the past few years sounding the alarm about security threats from China while also trumpeting its own “Pacific Step-Up”.

The deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce, has been one of the ministers on the defensive after leaked documents revealed the draft agreement between China and the Pacific island nation.

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Barnaby Joyce’s drought envoy texts to Scott Morrison should be released, information watchdog rules

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It is the second ruling of its type this week after the prime minister’s office also ordered a search for text messages from QAnon supporter Tim Stewart

The prime minister’s office has been ordered to search for text messages from Barnaby Joyce to Scott Morrison reporting on his work as drought envoy, in the second ruling this week on freedom of information battles involving Morrison’s phone.

On Wednesday, the information watchdog ordered the PMO search Morrison’s phone for text messages from his friend – the prominent QAnon supporter Tim Stewart – after the PMO refused a request made by Guardian Australia.

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