Australia will have a new deputy prime minister after Barnaby Joyce won a leadership contest on Monday (Jun 21) in the government’s junior coalition partner the National party. A well-known character in Australian politics, Mr Joyce previously led the National Party from 2016 to 2018 but was forced to resign after public pressure over his extra-marital affair with a staffer.
Joyce, a climate sceptic, has long harboured ambitions of returning as the leader of the National party, a position he finally secured when he defeated incumbent Michael McCormack in a vote of the party’s 21 federal lawmakers. “Barnaby Joyce has been elected leader of the National party at a federal level and will therefore be going through the various situations that he has to go through,” Damian Drum, a whip in National party, told reporters in Canberra. McCormack declined to answer questions adding only: “That’s democracy”. Mr Joyce defeated Michael McCormack in a party vote on Monday. It follows growing concern from some National MPs over their party’s influence in climate policy. The party, which represents farmers and rural voters, has 21 members in the governing centre-right coalition. Over the past week, National party members voiced opposition to indications from the government that it is moving towards a 2050 net zero carbon emissions target.
