NEW England’s issues will be at the centre of the nation’s politics, says newly-elected Nationals leader and Australian deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce.
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Mr Joyce was elected Nationals leader on Thursday night and, despite being the country’s second-in-command, he assured The Leader he would be “doing as much as possible within the electorate”.
“There will be times when I’ll be running the country from Tamworth,” Mr Joyce said on Friday.
“At times there will be demands on me to be in other places, but what I can do from the electorate, I will.”
Mr Joyce said being the first deputy prime minister from New England was a “great asset” for the seat.
“You want to be as close to the person with the money bags and the person running the show as possible,” he said.
“It’s pretty easy to make an appointment with the prime minister when you’re the deputy prime minister.”
When asked if it had always been his ambition to lead The Nationals, Mr Joyce said, “I’ve never seen someone buy a car and hope it’s a dud, or get into a marriage and hope it fails”.
“I think it’s important in anything to do it to the best of your ability,” he said.
“I wanted to be the leader because I believe I can do a good job, not only for The Nationals but for regional and rural Australians.”
As Nationals leader, Mr Joyce said he would drive the issues and agendas that would improve the lives of regional Australians.
Mr Joyce met with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Friday afternoon to discuss a cabinet reshuffle and confirmed The Nationals would gain an extra seat on the front bench.
Senator Fiona Nash will serve as Nationals deputy leader, beating a pack of seven candidates for the role.
Mr Joyce said he was “strongly inclined” to keep the agriculture and water portfolio, but wouldn’t give a definitive answer.
“One of the things I hear from people when I’m travelling around the electorate and the country is ‘don’t leave agriculture’,” he said.
“There is a strong desire for the work we are doing in agriculture to continue.”
Mr Joyce is the first deputy prime minister from New England, with Ian Sinclair serving as Nationals leader in the 1980s, but only ever in opposition.
John Anderson was another deputy prime minister from the region, serving as the member for the former electorate of Gwydir.
