Posted inLetters

Letter: Barnaby Joyce is Playing Politics with Your Future

Denise McHugh, Hillgrove

Re: Joyce concedes Net Zero stance is just politics as new parliament begins

Barnaby Joyce’s recent remarks on Sunrise reveal a troubling admission: he has finally said the quiet part out loud. His stance on net zero emissions—and by extension, energy prices, jobs, and the future of our regions—isn’t about what’s best for Australia. It’s about finding a “point of division” to keep himself politically relevant.

Think about what that really means. Joyce admits he’s willing to abandon policies he agreed with just to pick a fight with Labor. He’s not offering solutions. He’s not even pretending to lead. He’s deliberately stoking conflict to distract from the fact that the Coalition has no serious plan for Australia’s energy future or the cost-of-living pressures hurting everyday families.

And who pays the price for this cynical game? We do. 

New England voters should be furious. His purported private members bill is an attention seeking farce.

Our communities have lived through record droughts, catastrophic fires, and floods—all made worse by a changing climate. Farmers are struggling. Power prices in the bush remain high. Renewable energy could bring thousands of jobs and investment to regional Australia, yet Joyce wants to turn his back on these opportunities just to score a cheap headline.

He claims to care about pensions and power prices, yet opposing net zero will do the exact opposite—locking us into volatile fossil fuel markets and scaring off the very industries that could bring down bills and create new income streams for rural areas.

Joyce is treating the wellbeing of the people of New England as a political pawn.

This isn’t leadership. It’s cowardice wrapped in populism. It’s a betrayal of the trust New England voters placed in him. While Labor focuses on practical reforms—reducing student debt, improving childcare, protecting workers’ wages—Joyce is busy trying to manufacture a culture war.

The truth is simple: Barnaby Joyce would rather see New England fall behind than admit that a clean energy future is inevitable and beneficial all because Labor says it will.

If you live in New England, you should be asking yourself:

  • Why is my MP fighting against policies that would make my life better?
  • Why is he more interested in dividing Australians than helping them?
  • And why should he keep his seat if he’s openly admitting he’s in this for the politics, not the people?

New England deserves better than a politician who puts his own survival above the future of his community.

What a joke!! The frightening thing is…. He doesn’t seem to think there is something wrong with this….. Seriously!


Got something on your mind? Go on then, engage. Submit your opinion piece, letter to the editor, or Quick Word now.

Share

Leave a comment

Engage respectfully! Posting defamatory or offensive content may get you banned. See our full Terms of Engagement for details.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *