Barnaby Joyce defects to One Nation

Barnaby Joyce has joined One Nation, continuing a political career defined by betrayal, ambition and self-interest, writes Ross Jones.

THE GRAVY TRAIN that is One Nation just got an extra baggage car.

On 8 November 2025, Barnaby Joyce, former Nationals Leader, Australia’s former Deputy PM and the country’s highest profile drunk, announced he had defected from the Nationals and joined James Ashby’s One Nation.

The member for New England’s website claimed:

‘There has been no more considered and serious decision than the one I make today to join One Nation.’

“Considered” and “serious” are not words usually associated with Joyce.

Barnaby’s lunatic crusade of Net Zero relevance

Barnaby’s delusional huffing and puffing over Net Zero is once again front and centre, starting with the Murdoch gutter press (naturally) and culminating with ABC’s 7.30.

“Perfidious” and “intemperate” are way more common.

Like it or not, New Englanders are now represented by Pauline Hanson’s One Nation (PHON) until at least May 2028.

‘Download your New England Barnaby Joyce Rainfall Chart now.’

That’s not a typo. In October 2025, Hanson held a press conference to announce she intended to drop Pauline Hanson from the party name to better reflect the party’s new alleged premier league status. As of mid-December 2025, Pauline Hanson’s name remained loud and proud on the party’s website.

Joyce can look forward to a rosy future.

A couple of years as an MP with zero responsibility. Then he’s planning to chuck that in for a NSW Senate seat for One Nation. Six years. Sweet.

That’s if things go well (see James Ashby, Pauline Hanson).

Right now, there is mood PHON is on the rise.

The polls look good, showing PHON at 14% nationally, so for Barnaby, with his old powerbase in tatters and his eye on the NSW Senate, it must have been a no-brainer.

Additionally, he has his very good friend, Gina Rinehart. And with Gina around, life is sometimes wild!

Gina is also close to Senator Jacinta Price – rumoured to soon defect from Opposition Leader Sussan Ley’s leftard Liberal Party to join PHON – and is wagyu cosy with the folks at PHON head office.

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It is a circle familiar with the luxury interior of Gina’s private jet.

This nest of traitors – Ashby betrayed Peter Slipper, Joyce betrayed his wife, Price betrayed First Nations people, Hanson, well, talk with former One Nation office bearers – will be the Entente Terrible of 2026.

It’s unclear whether Barnaby writes his own media releases, but his resignation statement reads like PHONglish.

This, for instance:

‘Currently at our centre we have eviscerated our energy platform on a ludicrous quest to change the weather.’

Pure PHON.

Despite the currently auspicious poll omens, two years is a long time in politics.

The PHON member for New England has a track record of shooting close to the foot, so realistically, anything could happen.

Joyce is going to have until May 2028 as a PHON MP, surrounded by a lot of angry locals who worked for and donated heavily to his last election campaign as a National. Barnaby’s election team was vast, with some of their pockets very deep.

All of New England is now PHON land and not everyone’s happy about it. Last time around in 2025, Joyce got 52%, while PHON’s Brent Larkham got 11,387 votes. That was nearly 10%, so they’re happy.

Barnaby Joyce — nuclear energy not as cheap as he thinks it is

Barnaby Joyce jumps on the nuclear energy bandwagon but gets his facts wrong.

The other 90%, not so much.

Comfortingly, Joyce said he would apologise to those he’s hurt.

Barnaby’s likely to be under a bit of pressure over the next two years. Not from his constituents – right now, they are low priority – but from pretty much everywhere else.

As the only lower house PHON MP, Barnaby will be denied much of the perk-related fun of Parliament.

That alone would drive anyone to drink.

Things to look for in the New Year:

Will Price jump ship to PHON? While many in the Liberal Party would be happy to see her go, many in PHON would be unhappy to see her arrive.
Will Barnaby enter Parliament in a burqua?