Barnaby Joyce has today refused to rule out defecting from the Nationals to One Nation amid continuing speculation over the former deputy prime minister's future.
Joyce told the ABC he aimed to take his seat on the Nationals' backbench when parliament returned next week.
"I'll work that out as I go along. I haven't made those decisions yet, to be honest," he said.
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When questioned about his future, the veteran MP said he'd already had by announcing last week he would not contest his seat of New England in NSW at another election.
"I'll talk to people and I shall get back to you," he said.
For the past days, there have been reports One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has been courting Joyce to join her populist party.
Nationals leader David Littleproud said yesterday he was determined to try to persuade Joyce from leaving the party.
"We'll be talking to Barnaby. We want to make sure that his contribution is a valued one within our party room, as everybody is," Littleproud told Weekend Today.
"We want him to stay in The National Party.
"I think he has a contribution to make between now and when he retires."
Littleproud's comments came after Joyce issued a statement saying the pair's relationship had deteriorated.
"My relationship with the leadership of the Nationals in Canberra has unfortunately, like a sadness in some marriages, irreparably broken down," he said.
Joyce said his policy rift with the Nationals is largely around the policy of net zero emissions by 2050.
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