{"id":836348,"date":"2026-07-31T20:21:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T20:21:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/836348\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T20:21:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T20:21:14","slug":"is-one-nation-big-enough-for-barnaby-joyce-and-pauline-hanson-rumours-of-internal-ructions-abound-barnaby-joyce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/836348\/","title":{"rendered":"Is One Nation big enough for Barnaby Joyce and Pauline Hanson? Rumours of internal ructions abound | Barnaby Joyce"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the day Barnaby Joyce announced his defection to One Nation<\/a> last December, his former leader at the Nationals and longtime internal rival David Littleproud quickly assigned a motive for the former deputy PM\u2019s switch.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis issue is about Barnaby wanting to be the leader of a party,\u201d Littleproud said, implying Joyce saw a better chance of succeeding Pauline Hanson<\/a> than securing a third stint in charge of the Nationals.<\/p>\n

The prospect of Hanson agreeing to an orderly handover of power to Joyce, as was rumoured at the time, always appeared uncertain given the ambitious and combustible personalities involved.<\/p>\n

Eight months on, it might be even more unlikely \u2013 and not just because Hanson has hinted her daughter, Lee Hanson<\/a>, is the preferred successor.<\/p>\n

Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email<\/a><\/p>\n

Political insiders who speak regularly to Joyce say he is growing increasingly frustrated and uncomfortable as he\u2019s forced to confront One Nation\u2019s more extreme elements, including the conspiratorial views of Queensland senator Malcolm Roberts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There are persistent rumours in Canberra that Joyce has a strained relationship with his only lower house colleague and Farrer MP, David Farley, who already appears to be distancing himself from the One Nation<\/a> brand.<\/p>\n

Remarkably, some Coalition MPs believe Joyce has not shut the door on a return to the Nationals now that one-time ally Matt Canavan has replaced Littleproud as leader \u2013 although he\u2019s unlikely to be welcomed back.<\/p>\n

\"BarnabyBarnaby Joyce suggests One Nation could welcome some refugees while barring other migrants \u2013 video<\/p>\n

\u201cHe went to One Nation to lead the show. But it isn\u2019t a democracy, it is an autocracy,\u201d said one of Joyce\u2019s former colleagues.<\/p>\n

\u201cI suspect he thought that he would be able to temper some of the more extreme views. It is not as easy as he thinks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Pauline and I are great mates\u2019<\/p>\n

Hanson and Joyce have publicly rejected suggestions of a rift after the Nine papers<\/a> reported the One Nation leader\u2019s \u201cfact-finding\u201d trip <\/a>to the UK had exposed cracks in their relationship.<\/p>\n

One rumoured source of disagreement was Hanson\u2019s decision to record a podcast with the far-right UK activist Tommy Robinson, which Joyce was said to believe was unwise.<\/p>\n

\"WillWill Tommy Robinson sink Pauline Hanson? \u2013 Back to Back Barries podcast<\/p>\n

The interview spawned headlines about Hanson lamenting the end of the White Australia policy, which prompted Hanson and Joyce to clarify the party wasn\u2019t indeed advocating a return to the discriminatory regime.<\/p>\n

\u201cPauline and I are great mates. We spoke yesterday, we spoke exactly about what people are trying to do, trying to divide us up,\u201d Joyce said after those reports.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not dumb. We\u2019ve both been around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hanson and Joyce are due to headline a One Nation fundraiser next month in Dubbo, where seats on their respective tables have sold for $1,000 each, and are scheduled to appear at a gun owner event earlier in the day.<\/p>\n

But the public displays of unity obscure an undercurrent of tension between Joyce and his colleagues, according to four associates of the New England MP who spoke to Guardian Australia on the condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n

\u2018Malcolm Roberts has really pissed him off\u2019<\/p>\n

In a local radio interview announcing his defection to One Nation on 8 December, Joyce said he was \u201cphilosophically aligned\u201d with the right-wing populist party.<\/p>\n

The sources say Joyce understands, more so than his new colleagues, that One Nation needs to appeal to a broad cross-section of voters if it wants to translate support in opinion polls into seats in parliament.<\/p>\n

It is for that reason he is said to have become frustrated as intensifying scrutiny from the media and political opponents has put the spotlight on One Nation\u2019s dark and fringe elements.<\/p>\n

Guardian Australia and other media outlets have in recent weeks reported extensively on the extreme views of Malcolm Roberts, including his praise of Vladimir Putin<\/a> and Alex Jones<\/a> \u2013 the conspiracy theorist who claimed the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre in the US was a hoax.<\/p>\n

Roberts has openly promoted right-wing conspiracies for years but it is only now making headlines, and becoming politically dangerous for One Nation, because of Hanson\u2019s surge in the polls.<\/p>\n

Joyce has distanced himself from Roberts\u2019 views during several television interviews in which he\u2019s looked and sounded uncomfortable, including one where he was asked about the suggestion that mass Covid-19 deaths were \u201cstaged\u201d to instil fear in the public.<\/p>\n

\u201cMalcolm Roberts has really pissed him off,\u201d said one source close to Joyce, echoing a widely shared view among the New England MP\u2019s associates.<\/p>\n

In a Substack essay<\/a> published on Wednesday, Roberts rejected the media reports as \u201ctargeted \u2026 erroneous and malicious\u201d and denied his podcast comments amounted to an endorsement of the various conspiracy theories.<\/p>\n

One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts speaks during question time in the Senate. Photograph: AAP<\/p>\n

Roberts is intensely loyal to Hanson after the pair were elected together in 2016, which is said to shield him from internal repercussions.<\/p>\n

The 71-year-old last year won another six years in the Senate but there is speculation he might step down early, potentially creating an opening for Hanson\u2019s high-profile chief adviser, James Ashby, to enter parliament.<\/p>\n

After years cleaning up after Joyce\u2019s missteps, outbursts and scandals, Liberals and Nationals are revelling in the spectacle of him performing the \u201cjanitor\u201d role at One Nation.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/p>\n

Joyce, they joke, looks \u201csane\u201d compared to his new colleagues.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe doesn\u2019t look comfortable at all,\u201d said one Coalition source.<\/p>\n

The sources say Joyce would \u201chate\u201d that Hanson has spoken glowingly about her daughter Lee<\/a> \u2013 who is an adviser to One Nation\u2019s New South Wales senator Sean Bell despite living in Tasmania \u2013 as a future party leader.<\/p>\n

Under One Nation\u2019s constitution, Pauline Hanson gets to hand-pick her successor as president of the party, although it\u2019s unclear if the same rule applies to the leader of the parliamentary team.<\/p>\n

The leadership question will linger between now and the next election as both Joyce and Hanson weigh up whether to contest seats in the upper or lower house.<\/p>\n

\u2018They don\u2019t get along\u2019<\/p>\n

If Joyce seems out of step with One Nation on certain issues, his lower house colleague appears to be running a completely different race.<\/p>\n

On 21 July, David Farley<\/a> posted to social media about a meeting with parents regarding the potential closure of a tiny school outside Deniliquin in his southern New South Wales electorate. The post itself was unexceptional, the sort of content any politician uses to promote their grassroots engagement with constituents.<\/p>\n

But it stands in stark contrast to the social media activity of his One Nation colleagues, whose accounts are vehicles for waging the party\u2019s favoured culture wars.<\/p>\n

Farley\u2019s Facebook page uses mostly blue or green branding \u2013 rather than the distinctive orange of One Nation.<\/p>\n

One Nation member for Farrer David Farley is escorted by Barnaby Joyce to be sworn-in in the House of Representatives. Photograph: Lukas Coch\/AAP<\/p>\n

The branding choice has not gone unnoticed by his political opponents, who interpret it as part of a deliberate strategy to pre-position himself to eventually quit One Nation.<\/p>\n

Farley has been viewed as potential flight risk since before he won the Farrer byelection, having previously tried to run for Labor <\/a>and supported Climate 200-backed independent Michelle Milthorpe.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is not a raging far-right lunatic. Look at his social media \u2013 he\u2019s divorcing himself from national issues,\u201d said one MP.<\/p>\n

Political and industry leaders who have dealt with Farley and Joyce in Canberra detect a fractious relationship between the two men.<\/p>\n

One source said the animosity dates back more than a decade, when Farley regularly crossed paths with Joyce as a leader in the agriculture sector.<\/p>\n

\"BarnabyBarnaby bends the media cycle \u2013 Back to Back Barries podcast<\/p>\n

\u201cFarley hates Joyce. (He) Never rated him while he was a senior figure in the agriculture industry,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

But Farley strongly rejected that characterisation.<\/p>\n

\u201cPure rubbish and speculation,\u201d he said via text message.<\/p>\n

During his time leading the nation\u2019s largest cattle enterprise, Australian Agricultural Company, Farley accused Joyce of spreading \u201cxenophobic rhetoric\u201d<\/a> about foreign investment in comments that resurfaced during the Farrer byelection campaign.<\/p>\n

The tension is visible in parliament, according to MPs who observe them in the chamber.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone who watches the body language between Farley and Joyce [in the chamber] can see that they don\u2019t get along,\u201d said an MP.<\/p>\n

Guardian Australia approached Joyce for comment but was told he was overseas.<\/p>\n

Asked about his relationship with Joyce, Farley said via text that he had known Joyce for 30 years but was unable to talk until after deadline.<\/p>\n

One Nation\u2019s six members have largely been apart during the federal parliament\u2019s five-week winter break.<\/p>\n

They will be re-united on 11 August \u2013 whether they like it or not.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On the day Barnaby Joyce announced his defection to One Nation last December, his former leader at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":836349,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-836348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=836348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836348\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/836349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=836348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=836348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=836348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}