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Our new acting Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce. Picture: Kym Smith
FROM tonight the national reins will be in the hands of Barnaby Joyce — and he will make sure the folk in his seat know it.
The Agriculture Minister and Nationals leader will for the first time be Acting Prime Minister, while Malcolm Turnbull is in China.
His interim job will start at the usual moment of “wheels-up†— when Mr Turnbull’s aircraft takes off — around 9pm.
Tomorrow Mr Joyce will be in Rockhampton and Gladstone supporting party colleagues Michelle Landry in Capricornia and Ken O’Dowd in Flynn.
But the Acting PM will devote Friday and much of Saturday to home base in Tamworth in the seat of New England in northern NSW, where Mr Joyce is facing a challenge from independent and former local member Tony Windsor.
One of his campaign weapons against Mr Windsor is the potential influence on New England’s behalf Mr Joyce has in his day job as Deputy Prime Minister.
Being Acting Prime Minister underlines that.
No one from the seat has ever been in the role, even the National Party great Ian Sinclair who led the party when Labor was in office in the ‘80s.
“What a country we live in,†said Mr Joyce of a former bush schoolboy becoming fill-in PM.
But he also downplayed the role.
“Australian politics does not have a President. No-one is walking around with a suitcase with the codes to the bomb in it,†he told news.com.au in a statement.
“Even the Prime Minister is merely the chair of Cabinet and the acting Prime Minister is the acting chair of Cabinet.
“Regardless, I am very proud that a kid from Woolbrook Public School is for a brief period of time the acting Prime Minister of Australia.
“What a great country we live in.â€
But Opposition agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon isn’t impressed.
“It’s no secret that Joyce is erratic and has said things in the past that have risked damaging our international reputation,†Mr Fitzgibbon told the Courier-Mail.
“We need cooler heads and safer hands in our national leadership than Barnaby Joyce.â€
However, Mr Joyce is considered one of the better Coalition campaigners and the Nationals are keen to see him with the added kudos of temporary PM.
But otherwise nothing much will change. It’s is unlikely Mr Joyce will have to make any major decisions over the next two days.