A former One Nation MP who left the party, accusing it of acting “unlawfully and without morals,” has warned off Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce.
New South Wales MP Rod Roberts, a former police officer, was elected on the One Nation ticket to the NSW upper house but walked out of the party room after four years, and used parliamentary privilege to accuse Senator Pauline Hanson and others of fraud in 2023.
He says he still supports the party’s political position but remains critical of its administration.
Among the accusations he levelled in parliament was the misappropriation of NSW electoral funds by the party’s federal executive “in excess of six figures.”
Joyce, a former deputy prime minister, says his “less-than-spectacular” relationship with Nationals leader David Littleproud has made him feel there’s no longer a place for him in the junior coalition party, and that he’s considering joining One Nation after the next election.
“Barnaby is big enough and ugly enough to make his own decisions,” Roberts said, “[but] it'll end in tears.”
“The internal governance and internal operation of the party is what stops it from progressing to become a major force in Australian politics,” the now-independent MP said.
“They never seem to be getting in a position to get their house in order … we’ve seen that happen at the state level.”
Hanson rejected the claims at the time. She said the party’s finances in NSW and nationally were subjected to regular audits by chartered accountants and state and federal electoral commissions.
Joyce revealed the pair had spoken on Sunday night.
“I did ring her ... because seeing they [the media] are talking about us, we may as well speak to each other rather than through the media,” he said.
“There was nothing locked in, nothing ... let’s take it down a step. I have not joined One Nation.”
Nationals MP for Tamworth Kevin Anderson described Joyce as a great advocate for the New England region but would not be drawn on the alleged “irreconcilable differences” between him and Littleproud.
“You’ve got a better chance of picking the winner of the 2025 Melbourne Cup than picking which way Barnaby Joyce will go,” he said. “So it’s just a wait and see on what his next moves are.”
About one in 16 NSW voters placed One Nation at the top of their Senate ticket in the May election, similar to its vote in the 2023 state election.
Immigration debates and disaffection with the coalition have sparked a surge in party support, according to recent polls.
The October Resolve poll found one in seven NSW voters back One Nation federally, exceeding the Queensland vote for the third month in a row.
