Barnaby Joyce’s exit marks a turning point for New England

Barnaby Joyce has confirmed he won’t recontest his seat of New England at the next federal election. He’ll finish his term in Parliament but has left everyone guessing about what comes next.

Since his announcement, Joyce has faced repeated questions about conversations with the far-right leader Pauline Hanson. He’s refused to go into detail, but one thing is clear: he hasn’t denied the speculation altogether. And perhaps that’s not so surprising.

A new Redbridge poll shows One Nation’s primary vote has more than doubled since May, rising from six to fourteen per cent. It’s a clear signal that many voters are disillusioned – fed up with the infighting, the inaction and the lack of direction from the major conservative parties.

The Coalition is in the midst of an identity crisis: short on policy, long on division. That disillusionment is pushing some voters further right, drawn to One Nation’s loud but hollow rhetoric on immigration and climate.

Joyce has cited his opposition to net zero as a key reason for his split with the Nationals leader David Littleproud. But with the party seemingly likely to drop the policy altogether, it raises more questions than it answers. He’s also hinted that he no longer feels valued or welcome in the party room – a sign of deeper fractures within the Coalition.

The dysfunction was on full display last week when Liberal Senator Jane Hume joked that she’d “have to speak a lot slower” if she joined the Nationals. It was a tone-deaf remark that underscored just how out of touch the Coalition partner has become with the people it claims to represent.

Joyce’s stance on climate also puts him at odds with many in regional Australia. He’s long argued that net zero divides the bush, yet it’s rural and regional communities already bearing the brunt of climate change: droughts, floods, fires and unpredictable weather. Many are also leading the way on solutions.

A 2023 Farmers for Climate Action poll found 70 per cent of people living in renewable energy zones support new energy projects on farmland. The idea that country people oppose renewables simply isn’t true. Many see them as an opportunity to create jobs, build industries and strengthen local economies.

Joyce’s continued climate scepticism is increasingly out of step with that reality. As Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen put it recently, “The real betrayal of rural Australia is denying the reality of climate change, because it’s rural Australians who pay the price when disasters strike.”

Joyce is right about one thing: it is time for change. But that change isn’t One Nation, and it isn’t more of the same from the old Nationals either.

New England deserves leadership that listens, unites and delivers, leadership that looks forward, not back.

Barnaby Joyce’s departure leaves a void, but it also leaves an opportunity. For too long, regional Australia has been taken for granted. The question now isn’t whether change is coming, but what kind of change we want.

Because real leadership doesn’t divide. It builds. And it’s time regional Australia had more of it.

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