I won't challenge Truss: Joyce

Last week, reports accused factions associated with Mr Joyce of trying to elevate plans for him to replace federal National party leader Warren Truss, in the wake of Malcolm Turnbull’s ascent to the prime ministership.

But Mr Joyce stressed some of the reporting - which suggested he was becoming increasingly impatient for the leadership role - misrepresented his personal views about his role as the party’s deputy-leader, supporting Mr Truss.

“You have to accept my word on this and not accept it because I’m the deputy-leader, not accept it because I say so, but accept it because my name is Barnaby Joyce and my name means something to me,” he said.

“I am not going to challenge Warren Truss.

“I’ve always said, whilst I’m the deputy, I will not challenge Warren because the role of the deputy is to support the leader, not to sink the leader.”

Reports also indicated Mr Joyce’s alleged move on the party leadership was pushing support in the parliamentary party towards alternative leaders, like Victorian MP Darren Chester and NSW MP Michael McCormack.

Mr Truss has indicated he will renominate for pre-selection in his Queensland seat of Wide Bay ahead of next year’s election.

But sources say he may be considering retirement options and consulting family, following a serious health scare last year.

At 66-years of age, the veteran MP is also understood to retain strong desires to continue pushing forward on achieving policy outcomes associated with his role as Regional Development and Infrastructure Minister.

Mr Truss shared a strong bond and close working relationship with former Prime Minister Tony Abbott who the National party also supported as Coalition leader.

But he may now also be considering how the Coalition relationship unfolds under Mr Turnbull in coming months, given the party’s previous mistrust during his last tilt at the leadership which ended abruptly in 2009.

Speculation has also suggested Liberal party factions have supported moves to extend Mr Truss’s career due to concerns about Mr Joyce’s potential elevation to the leadership and to subsequently become Deputy Prime Minister in government.

In a move party sources claim is aimed at extending Mr Truss’s parliamentary career and easing his workload, Mr McCormack was appointed Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister in the cabinet reshuffle, under Mr Turnbull.

Mr Joyce said it was up to Mr Truss to decide whether he would leave politics or stay on under Mr Turnbull’s leadership.

“Warren will do what he does and I’ll support him in that process,” he said.

Mr Joyce said media speculation of the National party’s leadership in recent weeks - including the furore over attempts to block Larry Anthony’s election to the federal party’s presidency at the recent federal conference in Canberra - had been uncharacteristic.

“It’s never happened in the National party before but now it seems to be happening all of the time and I’m obviously disappointed about that,” he said.

Mr Joyce said he didn’t know who was pushing the leadership stories into the media and declined to speculate.

“I wouldn’t know and I honestly don’t know who it is and if I did know I’d tell them to stop,” he said.

“I’m saying if you’re doing it, stop it.

“But what I would say in all of these things, when I read these articles in the paper, is that there is one thing that they all have in common - they’re not from me.

“They’re from other people, for other purposes.”

Mr Joyce said last week’s reporting about the leadership speculation in Fairfax Media metropolitan papers was “absolutely superlative in where the information came”.

“Apparently there are 20 people in the National party when there are actually 21,” he said.

“Whoever was giving him that information (the author) wasn’t too clever or didn’t know much about the National Party.”

Mr Joyce said reports that he was being challenged for his natural grip on the leadership by younger party members in Mr McCormack and Mr Chester was also “news to all of us”, given he was older than his two colleagues.

Mr Joyce was born in in April 1967 while Mr Chester was born in September 1967 and Mr McCormack in August 1964.

Last week, Mr Truss rejected the leadership rumours saying he was “pleased to have the support of my colleagues”.

“We’ve been through a difficult week and I think we’ve come through it strongly and united and I’m looking forward to leading this new team as part of the new Coalition,” he said.

Mr Truss said the move of Mr McCormack to be his Assistant Minister was “certainly designed to take some of the work-load off me for sure”.

“That’s something that I have wanted right from day one and will help make it possible for all of us to do our jobs better,” he said.

Mr Chester said the potential undermining of the party leader by those participating in the “dark arts” was “not how we do business in the Nationals”.

“Warren Truss has the leadership of the National party for as long as he wants it,” he said.

“In the past week we’ve demonstrated the importance of certainty and stability and will now focus on delivering more for rural and regional Australia under our new Coalition agreement.”