UPDATE: 6.20PM Acting Nationals leader Bridget McKenzie has ruled herself out of contention to replace Barnaby Joyce, who will resign as leader on Monday.
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Speaking at a press conference in Brisbane, Senator McKenzie said she saw her immediate role as deputy leader, part of which was to unify the party.
Ms McKenzie, who was elevated to deputy leader in December, told reporters she would not run a commentary on potential candidates.
“You were never in doubt about whose side he was on when we were in Canberra,” she said of Mr Joyce.
“Future generations will be thankful of the contributions he has delivered.”
Ms McKenzie confirmed a special meeting of the National Party will be held in its party room in Canberra on Monday.
UPDATE: 5.20PM NSW Nationals Parkes MP Mark Coulton has thrown his weight behind Michael McCormack for the party’s leadership declaring his state colleague is the “early favourite”.
Mr McCormack is currently the Veterans Affairs Minister and was narrowly behind Mr Joyce for the votes needed to win a ballot when Barnaby Joyce replaced Warren Truss as leader in 2016, but ultimately declined to challenge.
However, with Mr Joyce today declaring he would resign the party’s leadership at a party room meeting on Monday, the Riverina MP is once again in the spotlight, to take over as head of the embattled rural party and also become Deputy Prime Minister.
Mr Coulton said he was “sad” that it had “came to this” in terms of Mr Joyce’s resignation, after several weeks of intense media pressure following revelations of the New England MP’s affair with a female staff member.
“Barnaby has been a very strong leader for the Nats [sic] but more importantly for the people in regional Australia,” Mr Coulton said.
Other candidates include; Veterans' Affairs Minister Michael McCormack - MP for Riverina, Agriculture and Water Resources Minister David Littleproud - MP for Maranoa, Assistant Minister for Children and Families David Gillespie - MP for Lyne.
UPDATE: 3.50PM Victorian Nationals leader Peter Walsh described Barnaby Joyce as a “tenacious and unabashed champion of rural and regional Australia”, but refused to be drawn on speculation regarding his successor.
“The State Nationals team thank Barnaby for all he has done to boost investment into roads, rail, water infrastructure, communication services, country jobs and industries and much more for the benefit our regional communities here in Victoria,” he said.
“As I’ve already said, the leadership of the federal Nationals is a matter for the federal Nationals party room.”
UPDATE: 3.00PM Deputy Nationals leader Senator Bridget McKenzie says Barnaby Joyce’s resignation as leader was the “right decision” for the party and the nation.
In a statement, Bendigo-based Senator McKenzie acknowledged the leadership Mr Joyce had shown, suggesting he had reenergised and grown the party
“He has always lead from the front and his colleagues and our party membership always knew who he was fighting for in Canberra. His decision to stand aside is the right decision for the National Party, the nation and most importantly his family,” Ms McKenzie said.
“He has a proven record of delivering for our party and a vision to grow regional and rural communities.”
Senator McKenzie, named the deputy Nationals leader in December, said the party remained unified and committed to ensuring the work started by Mr Joyce will be delivered long into the future.
It remains unclear whether Senator McKenzie will nominate for party leadership.
UPDATE: 2.10PM Barnaby Joyce announced he will officially resign as leader of the federal Nationals on Monday.
He will continue as the Member for New England and sit on the backbench.
“There’s been a litany of allegations, I don't believe any of them have been sustained,” Mr Joyce said at a press conference in Armidale, NSW, on Friday.
“All the leaking, backgrounding will destroy any government,” he told reporters.
In resigning, Mr Joyce thanked the people of New England and refused to speculate on who his replacement as leader would be.
Bendigo-based Deputy Nationals leader Senator Bridget McKenzie was contacted for comment.
On Thursday, Ms McKenzie did not explicitly back Barnaby Joyce as leader, but suggested “there is no stronger advocate for regional Australia than Barnaby Joyce”.
Mr Joyce said a recent sexual allegation against him, published by News Corp, was a contributing factor to his resignation.
EARLIER Barnaby Joyce will officially resign as leader of the federal Nationals on Monday.
He will continue as the Member for New England and sit on the backbench.
Already a possible successor – Lyne MP David Gillespie – has appeared.
“Our leader is under enormous pressure, there is a lot of issues he has to work through and if he were to step down, people would ask me if I would put my hand up and yes I would.”
Sources close to Mr Joyce and within the NSW Nationals on Friday morning indicated the unprecedented pressure of recent weeks, triggered by revelations of his affair with staffer Vikki Campion, when he was Agriculture and Water Resources Minister had taken its toll.
“It’s been a massacre by media,” one source said.
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Mr Joyce faced renewed pressure yesterday when Victorian Nationals MP Andrew Broad publicly stated his leader needed to step down and move to the backbench, and that he’d be moving a motion challenging the leadership, next Monday in Canberra.
Calls to Mr Joyce’s office have not been returned while others members of the federal party have also been contacted for comment but have not responded.
A claim which Mr Joyce has denied was also raised yesterday over an allegation of sexual harassment involving a West Australian woman which was one of the reasons behinds the WA Nationals indicating they did not support him as leader, earlier this week.
‘All bets are off’
NSW MP Andrew Gee has refused to support embattled deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, admitting he “won’t be able to back him” in any Nationals leadership challenge.
in a statement issued on Friday morning, the former member for Orange said “all bets are off” in regards to whether he will support Mr Joyce or any perspective challengers to his leadership.
“Until I have clarification regarding some of the issues about Barnaby, I won’t be able to back him but I’m also not in a position to back any challenger,” his statement read.