His replacement as party leader will be decided by his colleagues later Thursday and the new leader will automatically become deputy prime minister.
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NSW MP Michael McCormack had been touting for the Nationals leadership but pulled out on Thursday when the numbers for Joyce were clearly strong, despite some MPs being in an “anybody-but-Barnaby camp”.
“I am very humbled that my party has chosen of given me the honour of being deputy leader”.
“My personal view always is I prefer the Australian people to be the holder of the Australian asset”, he said at the time, prompting political opponents to call him the “single greatest threat to Australian agriculture’s future”.
“We believe a substantive document was drawn up last time”, Mr Joyce told Canberra media immediately after become the new leader.
“I think continuity in this portfolio is important and that’s been the prime minister’s advice to me as well”, he said. “I am pleased to say that now things are different and everyone wants the job”, he said.
“In 30 years involved in and around politics, I feel that we’ve never had such depth of talent in the party room”, he said.
Mr Joyce said he and Senator Nash and NT Senator Nigel Scullion would now begin to devise the party’s position on a new Coalition agreement that’s needed to form government with the Liberal Party.
Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss, who is minister for regional development and infrastructure, told Parliament he will retire at the next election.
Their departures mean Mr. Turnbull will have to undertake a major reshuffle of his team, which has been rocked by scandals leading to the loss of two junior ministers, including one who admitted to acting inappropriately during a drinking binge in Hong Kong.
He said he would make a decision over the next 24 hours as to whether he’d change portfolios but party sources say Mr Joyce’s private preference is to retain agriculture.
Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb announced on Wednesday that he too will leave politics at the next election.
He also acknowledged the many people he’s worked with in the Coalition in the Liberal Party saying sometimes it was “a bit rugged, but usually we have got on exceptionally well together”.
“Somebody has said to me that it is a bit akin to Labor Party members who have to be industrial relations ministers – you simply can not achieve what your constituency expects of you”.
“I will stand down as leader of the Nationals and Deputy Prime Minister at a convenient time for the government, probably in the next few days”, Truss said in parliament. “And I must say this support helped me achieve what was my aim, which was to seek to get back into good health, to manage the problem, and to be able to demonstrate to others in the community that in fact you cannot only manage the problem, and I think something close to 85% can be cured or can manage the problem and lead a normal life, but that you could go back and not take a secondary role, you can go back and actually assume even greater responsibility”.
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“Really, really exciting, looking forward to working with you both”.
