Nationals to contest party leadership

The former Deputy-Prime Minister will battle to secure his leadership position within the National Party as sitting MPs consider challenging him for the role.

Despite independent candidates successfully weaponising his unpopularity amongst inner-city voters, Barnaby Joyce said his role as deputy prime minister under the Liberal-National coalition did not cost them the election.

“People are not that stupid… they know whether they’re voting for a Nationals candidate or Liberals candidate… there were a lot of other issues at play,” he said.

One of the issues was the coalition’s net-zero emissions target being declared “dead” by a senior Nationals figure, former National Party leader Michael McCormack said.

“Some of the language around net zero was damaging,” he said. “In the midst of an election campaign that was already very closely contested, I know it didn’t help.”

Mr Joyce’s leadership of the junior coalition party, and that of his deputy David Littleproud, will be spilled at a meeting of Nationals MPs next week.

Mr McCormack would not be drawn on whether he would have another crack at party leadership.

Asked if it was likely the party would re-elect Mr Joyce as leader, Mr McCormack said it was a matter for the party room.

“There are very much some rusted on people who would be inclined that way but other moderates who may think we have to learn from the lessons of the election and take heed,” he said.

The Nationals held all of its lower house seats at the election and six MPs achieved swings to them, including Anne Webster in Mallee and Darren Chester in Gippsland.

But Mr Chester said Mr Joyce could hardly take credit for the wins, given those seats were secured under different party leadership.

“It’s a bit spurious to simply point to the scoreboard and say we held our seats when most of those seats came on board during the period of Warren Truss’ leadership and then Michael McCormack held them,” he said.

Mr Chester said he was considering a tilt at the leadership at next week’s meeting,

– BY MAEVE BANNISTER/ AAP