In a candid interview on Seven’s Sunrise program, Barnaby Joyce admitted to a significant deterioration in his relationship with David and others within his political sphere. “I do believe there has been a breakdown in the relationship between myself and David and others,” he stated with a tone of resignation.

Despite speculation about his political future, Joyce did not dismiss the possibility of aligning himself with One Nation after his tenure as the Member of Parliament for New England concludes. With the next election about two and a half years away, Joyce revealed he had already initiated conversations with One Nation’s leader, Pauline Hanson, as recently as Sunday night.

Reflecting on his conversation with Hanson, Joyce shared, “I did ring her last night because seeing they [the media] are talking about us, we may as well speak to each other rather than through the media.” His comments suggest an interest in direct communication amid swirling media narratives.

The discussion between Joyce and Hanson, captured in a photo by Mick Tsikas from AAP, adds a layer of intrigue to Joyce’s future political moves and the potential reshaping of alliances within the Australian political landscape.

Littleproud also called on Joyce to stick with the junior coalition party.

“The people that have joined the National party have joined because of our values, our beliefs and we proved that at the last election by holding onto all of our seats and nearly winning a new one,” he told Nine’s Weekend Today program on Sunday.

“We’ve led on many debates … but we do that when we draw on the collective and we have sensible policies that are drawn from the collective of our party room.”

There have been tensions within the coalition over its future direction after it suffered its worst federal election loss in its 81-year history in May.

Debate on climate policy has also raged within the coalition, with MPs such as Joyce calling for the net-zero emissions target to be dumped.

Littleproud said he would reach out to Joyce to reassure him that he has a constructive role to play.

“We’ll be talking to Barnaby,” he said.

“We want to make sure that his contribution is a valued one within our party room, as everybody’s is.

“It’s the collective of the National party that determines the policy settings and sometimes our policies take a little bit longer.”

Joyce did not say on Monday if he had heard from the leader.

Joyce told branch members in a letter that his relationship with the Nationals leadership broke down when he was demoted to the backbench.

“I am free to now consider all options as to what I do next,” he said in the letter.

“The atmospherics in the party room, where I am seated in the far corner of the coalition in the chamber, means I am seen and now turning into a discordant note.

“That is not who I want to be.”

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