RK Crosby is right to swat away the breathless nonsense about some grand “Joyce for PM” masterplan in her New England Times piece, “Conspiracy theory of Joyce for PM gains momentum” (Feb 5, 2026). But while the theory is laughable, the conduct isn’t.
What Joyce has actually done is far more straightforward — and far more damaging. He has walked away from the party New England voters elected him under and rebranded himself as a One Nation frontman. That’s not strategy. That’s opportunism. It’s a politician clinging to relevance by jumping into the loudest vehicle available. Even now, he frames his future in terms of personal positioning rather than service, saying his “plan” is to run for the NSW Senate but that he “doesn’t want to rule things out” — the language of a man shopping for his next gig, not one focused on delivering for the electorate he’s supposed to represent.
The hypocrisy is breathtaking. Joyce spent years denigrating One Nation and Pauline Hanson as political wreckers — warning voters about their lack of seriousness, their culture-war theatrics and their habit of blowing things up without offering solutions. He dismissed them as unserious, unfit for government and corrosive to the national interest. Now, apparently, they are fit company. The only thing that has changed is Joyce’s own career prospects.
For decades, Joyce sold himself to New England as a Nationals MP fighting for regional communities from within a party that — for all its flaws — sat inside a Coalition capable of winning government and shaping policy. Now he’s chosen to hitch his personal brand to a protest outfit that specialises in noise, grievance and permanent opposition. That is not “standing up for the bush”. It’s swapping influence for irrelevance — and calling it principle.
Let’s be blunt: One Nation is not a governing project — it’s a permanent protest vehicle. It is a megaphone for resentment. It does not have a coherent economic program for regional Australia. It does not have credible policies on energy, infrastructure, health, education or foreign relations. What it does have is outrage, culture wars and a leader whose own record shows contempt for the basics of parliamentary responsibility.
Pauline Hanson’s parliamentary attendance has been consistently appalling. She routinely misses large chunks of sitting weeks and is a regular no-show at Senate estimates — the very forums where governments are held to account and where regional issues can be pressed in detail. Even in the very first sitting week of the current parliament, she missed three days instead swanning around Adelaide promoting Cory Bernardi of all people — a political ‘Lazarus’ if there ever was one. That is the “model of leadership” Joyce has chosen to align himself with. Not turning up to do the work is not rebellious. It is negligent.
And this is where Joyce’s decision becomes indefensible for the people of New England.
He wasn’t elected to be a travelling salesman for Pauline Hanson. He was elected to deliver outcomes for his electorate. By defecting to One Nation, he has chosen spectacle over service. He has deliberately weakened his own capacity to achieve anything tangible for his constituents. You don’t improve roads, hospitals, telecommunications or regional jobs by shouting from the sidelines. You do it by being in a party that can actually negotiate, legislate and govern.
The irony is brutal. Joyce built his career railing against “Canberra games”. Yet this is the most Canberra game of all: torching your own credibility to stay in the headlines.
As for the Prime Ministerial fantasy? The only people seriously entertaining it are those who confuse noise with competence. Joyce couldn’t hold his own party together when he led it. He left behind division, instability and a trail of burnt relationships. The idea that he is now some unifying national figure-in-waiting would be funny if it weren’t so insulting to voters’ intelligence.
New England should see this for what it is: not bravery, not principle, not a fresh vision for the region — but a political midlife crisis played out on the national stage.
Voting for Joyce federally as a One Nation candidate would not be a protest vote. It would be a vote to deliberately downgrade your own representation. It would mean choosing noise over outcomes, grievance over governance, and personal ego over regional interests.
New England deserves better than being used as a backdrop for Barnaby Joyce’s next act.
Denise McHugh is an experienced educator in Tamworth. She is Chair of the NSW ALP Education and Skills Committee and Deputy President of the Independent Education Union (IEU).
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