We did listen, Barnaby says, in sly dig as new Nationals leader David Littleproud departs on listening tour

Mr Joyce told the world he was "not sad" after losing a leadership ballot to the Queenslander in a three-way race with Victorian moderate Darren Chester.

The 17-year veteran politician denied to ACM that the party had any problem with women, listening, or even responsibility for the government's smashing defeat in May.

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"I've got no problems with people going out and gauging the sentiment of the public, because that's what we do everyday. But if you're completely driven by only what people want, then you're a populist not a politician," he said.

"I don't believe that the Nationals didn't listen at the last election, otherwise we wouldn't have held all our seats.

"It's really simple: if the people thought we were doing a bad job, people are not stupid, they wouldn't have voted for us. But they did. And then did at a time when the Liberal Party had a very hard day in the office.

"Whatever the National Party were doing we managed to go completely against the tide of where the Liberal Party went."

Mr Littleproud, a Queenslander, told media this week that there was a "broader perception that we have lost touch with women, their concerns, their aspirations".

On the start line of his three-state "listening tour" of seats held by the party, the Queensland MP and former agriculture minister said "our numbers clearly demonstrated that, while we might have held onto all of our seats, there are emerging threats we saw where women don't believe we listened well enough."

Mr Joyce denied that the party had "massive problems" at the last election, pointing to the solid vote in his own seat, and his record of never losing a seat as leader of the party.

The National Party held every one of its lower house MPs and added a Senator in an election where the Liberal Party lost 19 seats, in its worst defeat since the second world war.

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"Surely the New England, who knows me better than anyone else, would have put a swing against me?" he said.

"Sometimes I think these convenient throwaway phrases ... I think you've got to be really careful saying things like that because you're telling people about a problem you don't have.

"If you say 'I'm really concerned that there might be a bank robber in the family, you start implying that you've got a bank robber in the family."

As part of his listening tour, Mr Littleproud will heavily spruik the party's credentials on childcare, telling media on Monday he is determined to find practical solutions for both childcare affordability and availability.

"We are the party that wants to help women and give them the support and services they need," he said.

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