One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce has dismissed reports that his new parliamentary colleague David Farley is planning to leave the party, as Pauline Hanson and her cohort celebrate a decisive win in a West Australian state byelection.
On Saturday One Nation picked up the state seat of Secret Harbour, a historically safe Labor electorate, with a margin of 7 per cent. However, earlier in the day, reports in The Saturday Paper questioned the Farley’s future in the federal party, claiming insiders were poised for his departure.
“I had a conversation with him nearly a day or so ago, and that was completely the opposite of what he said to me. I mean, this is in every party, you have to go through the discussion, the process, and you know, and David is an incredibly important part of that,” Joyce told ABC radio this morning.
“He’s incredibly competent, and you know, he’s an asset to the party, and we want to make sure that we can we continue on with that. And of course, of course, the media have a lot of fun with people if they can smell blood on the waters.”
Joyce said his communication with Farley following the report’s publication was not out of the ordinary, saying he spoke “regularly” with the MP.
“I’ve known David for, oh gosh, 30 years. So, it’s not unusual that I would talk to someone that I’ve known and known of in that period of time. So, there’s no problems between us,” Joyce said.
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