Barnaby Joyce to challenge Michael McCormack for Nationals leadership auspol
"I've had two years to reflect on how to do jobs better, I know that I have my faults, I don't pretend to be perfect," he told reporters outside Parliament House.
"And we have to speak with our own voice in an honest and forthright way because that's actually how we'll keep Coalition government."Mr McCormack insisted earlier on Monday he had "overwhelming" support among his colleagues and denied there would be a spill triggered by the vote to find a new deputy leader to replace Bridget McKenzie, who resigned from the ministry on Sunday over the sports funding affair.
There are 21 members of the federal party room, with 11 needing to support a challenger for Mr McCormack to be deposed. Five new members have joined the party room since the scandal surrounding Mr Joyce's departure, including four new women MPs, who sources said last night were "highly unlikely" to switch support to Mr Joyce.
Nationals MP David Gillespie, a former assistant minister who has been openly critical of the party's leadership, said he had raised concerns with Mr McCormack last year about the Nationals’ performance and was running to ensure a “much more vocal presence” for the party.
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Barnaby Joyce prepares to seize leadership gap | Sky News AustraliaFormer deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce is reportedly preparing to challenge Michael McCormack for the leadership of the Nationals.\n\nThe Australian newspaper reports several National MPs have approached Mr Joyce to encourage him to contest the party leadership over concerns it is losing support in regional Australia under Mr McCormack.\n\nThe National Party will meet on Tuesday where members will vote on a new deputy leader after Senator Bridget McKenzie’s resignation.\n\nImage: News Corp Australia
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