Other positions


Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Acting
In office 25 July 2017 – 27 October 2017
Prime Minister	Malcolm Turnbull
Preceded by	Matt Canavan
Succeeded by	Matt Canavan
Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources
In office 18 September 2013 – 27 October 2017 6 December 2017 – 20 December 2017
Prime Minister	Malcolm Turnbull Tony Abbott
Preceded by	Joel Fitzgibbon
Succeeded by	David Littleproud
Deputy Leader of the National Party
In office 13 September 2013 – 11 February 2016
Leader	Warren Truss
Preceded by	Nigel Scullion
Succeeded by	Fiona Nash
Leader of the National Party in the Senate
In office 18 September 2008 – 8 August 2013
Deputy	Nigel Scullion
Leader	Warren Truss
Preceded by	Nigel Scullion
Succeeded by	Nigel Scullion

Member of the Australian Parliament
for New England

Incumbent

Assumed office
7 September 2013

Preceded by

Tony Windsor

Majority

16.43% (31,972)

Senator for Queensland

In office
1 July 2005 – 8 August 2013

Preceded by

Len Harris

Succeeded by

Barry O'Sullivan

Personal details

Born

17 April 1967 (age 58)
Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia

Citizenship

Australia
New Zealand (1967–2017)

Political party

National

Other political
affiliations

Coalition
Liberal National (2010–2013)

Residence

Danglemah, New South Wales

Education

St. Ignatius' College

Alma mater

University of New England (BFinAdmin)

Occupation

Accountant
politician

Military service

Branch/service

Australian Army Reserve

Years of service

1996–2001

Unit

Royal Queensland Regiment

Office vacant from 27 October 2017 to 6 December 2017.

Barnaby Thomas Gerard Joyce (born 17 April 1967) is an Australian politician. He has been the leader of the National Party of Australia twice. He led the party from 2016 to 2018 and again from 2021 to 2022. During both these times, Joyce was also the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia. He served under Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and later under Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Joyce was born in Tamworth, New South Wales. He studied at the University of New England. In 1999, he started his own accounting business. Joyce was first elected to the Australian Senate in 2004, starting his term in 2005. He became the National Party's Senate leader in 2008. In 2013, he moved to the Australian House of Representatives. He won the seat of New England in New South Wales.

As a government minister, Joyce held important roles. He was the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources. He also served as Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. In 2017, a rule about politicians' citizenship affected him. He found out he was also a citizen of New Zealand, which is not allowed for Australian politicians. He had to leave parliament but was re-elected soon after. In 2018, he stepped down from his leadership roles. He returned as Deputy Prime Minister in 2021 after winning a leadership vote. After the 2022 election, he was replaced as party leader by David Littleproud. He is now a Shadow Minister.

Early Life and Career

Barnaby Joyce grew up on a farm near Danglemah, New South Wales. He was one of six children. His parents were farmers. His father was born in New Zealand and moved to Australia in 1947. Joyce's grandfather fought in World War I.

Joyce went to Woolbrook Public School. He also boarded at Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview in Sydney. He earned a degree in Financial Administration in 1989. After university, Joyce worked in different jobs. He was a farm worker, a nightclub bouncer, and a banker. From 1991 to 2005, he worked as an accountant. In 1999, he started his own accounting firm. He also served in the Australian Army Reserve from 1996 to 2001.

Serving in Parliament

Senator for Queensland (2005–2013)

Barnaby Joyce's old office in St George

In 2004, Barnaby Joyce was elected to the Australian Senate. He represented Queensland for the National Party. His term began on 1 July 2005. He was re-elected in 2010.

As a Senator, Joyce sometimes voted against his own party's decisions. This is called "crossing the floor." He did this several times. For example, he had concerns about the government selling Telstra. Telstra was a large telecommunications company. He eventually voted for the sale. But he helped get a special funding package for regional Australia.

Joyce also spoke about other issues. He suggested that mining should be allowed in Antarctica. This idea was not supported by many others.

Leader of the Nationals in the Senate

Joyce in 2010

In September 2008, Joyce became the leader of the Nationals in the Senate. He said that his party would not always vote with the Liberal Party. This was important because the two parties often work together.

In 2009, the government wanted to introduce a plan for carbon emissions. Joyce helped lead a group within his party that opposed this plan. This disagreement led to a change in the Liberal Party's leadership.

Joyce was then appointed as the Shadow Finance Minister. This role meant he was in charge of questioning the government's financial plans. Later, he moved to other shadow roles. These included Regional Development, Infrastructure, and Water.

Member for New England (2013–Present)

Joyce in 2014

In 2013, Joyce decided to run for a seat in the Australian House of Representatives. He ran for the seat of New England in New South Wales. This seat was previously held by an independent politician. Joyce won the election. He resigned from the Senate in August 2013.

After the 2013 election, Joyce became the deputy leader of the Nationals. On 18 September 2013, he became the Minister for Agriculture. In 2015, his role expanded to include Water Resources.

In 2015, Joyce gained international attention. He warned actor Johnny Depp that his two pet dogs would be put down. This was because the dogs were brought into Australia illegally. Australia has very strict quarantine laws.

Joyce with Julie Bishop and Kelly O'Dwyer in 2016

In the 2016 election, Joyce faced a strong challenge. However, he won the election with a clear majority.

Leadership of the National Party

First Term as Leader (2016–2018)

On 11 February 2016, Warren Truss, the leader of the National Party, announced his retirement. Barnaby Joyce was then elected as the new leader without opposition. He became the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia on 18 February 2016.

Citizenship Issue

In August 2017, Joyce faced a challenge to his right to be in parliament. He found out he might be a citizen of New Zealand. This was because his father was born there. Australian law says that politicians cannot be citizens of another country. The High Court of Australia ruled that he was not eligible to be a candidate in the 2016 election.

Joyce quickly gave up his New Zealand citizenship. He then ran in a special election for his seat. He won the election in December 2017. He was sworn back into parliament and became Deputy Prime Minister again. He also became the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport.

Second Term as Leader (2021–2022)

On 21 June 2021, Joyce became the leader of the Nationals again. He won a vote against the previous leader.

In June 2021, during a COVID-19 lockdown, Joyce was fined. He did not wear a mask as required by health rules. In February 2022, a private text message from Joyce became public. In the message, he had criticized Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Joyce offered to resign, but the Prime Minister did not accept.

After the 2022 federal election, the Liberal-National coalition lost power. Joyce was challenged for the leadership of the National Party. He lost the vote to David Littleproud. This ended his second term as leader.

Shadow Minister Role

After losing the leadership, Joyce became the Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs. This role means he is part of the opposition team. He speaks about issues related to veterans.

In September 2023, Joyce joined a group of Australian politicians. They went to Washington, D.C. to ask the U.S. government to drop its case against Julian Assange. In July 2024, Joyce faced calls to resign. This was after he made comments about ballot papers at a protest.

Political Views

Social Issues

Marriage Equality

In 2014, Joyce spoke against allowing same-sex couples to marry. He attended rallies in Canberra. In 2017, same-sex marriage became legal in Australia.

Refugee Support

In September 2015, Joyce was one of the first senior ministers to ask Australia to accept more refugees from Syria. He wanted to help people affected by the crisis in Europe.

Parliamentary Rules

After his son was born in 2018, Joyce suggested changing parliamentary rules. He wanted politicians to be able to hire their spouses or family members. He said this would not cause problems.

Religious Schools

In December 2018, Joyce said that religious schools should be allowed to refuse enrollment to transgender students.

Economic Issues

Supporting Farmers and Businesses

Joyce has often supported causes that help farmers and small businesses. He has pushed for rules that help Australian grain growers. He also supported drought assistance for farmers. He has worked to help small businesses compete with larger companies.

Foreign Investment

Joyce has often spoken against selling large Australian farms or companies to foreign investors. In 2012, he opposed the sale of a large cotton farm to a Chinese company. In 2013, he strongly opposed the sale of a major grain handler to an American company. He also opposed the sale of a very large cattle company, S. Kidman & Co, to foreign buyers. He believed these sales were not in Australia's best interest.

Banking Inquiry

When Joyce was Deputy Prime Minister, he was against a special inquiry into banks. However, after the inquiry began in 2018, he changed his mind. He said he was wrong to oppose it.

Environmental Issues

Renewable Energy

Joyce believes that renewable energy can cause problems with power supply. In 2021, he questioned why some areas had power cuts. However, power companies said the outages were due to cable faults, not renewable energy.

Protecting Australia's Borders

In 2015, Joyce received an award for his work to prevent marine pests from entering Australia. He also acted quickly when actor Johnny Depp brought dogs into Australia illegally. He made sure the dogs were removed to protect Australia's strict quarantine laws.

Great Barrier Reef

Joyce has not been very involved in protecting the Great Barrier Reef.

Climate Change

Joyce has been seen as someone who questions the seriousness of global warming. In 2018, he joined a group of politicians who supported building new coal-fired power plants. In 2019, he said he accepted that the climate was changing. However, he believed the solution was not to impose taxes on emissions. In 2021, he compared the goal of net-zero carbon emissions to being served strange food. He wanted to know the exact costs and plans first.

Murray-Darling Basin

In 2016, Joyce supported reducing water for the environment in the Murray–Darling basin. He wanted to help towns and people who rely on the rivers. This decision was criticized by environmental groups.

Endangered Species

In 2017, Joyce suggested removing the Leadbeater's possum from the critically endangered species list. He believed this would help the logging industry and keep jobs. Environmentalists said this would be very bad for the possum.

Personal Life

Barnaby Joyce is a Roman Catholic. He met Natalie Abberfield at university. They married in 1993 and had four daughters. In December 2017, Joyce announced that he and his wife had separated.

Joyce became engaged to Vikki Campion in January 2022. They were married in November 2023. They have two sons together.

In sports, Joyce used to support the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL). He later changed his support to the Newcastle Knights. This was because the Knights are closer to his local area.

Images for kids

Official portrait, 2017
Barnaby Joyce's old office in St George, Queensland
Joyce in 2010
Joyce in 2014
Joyce with Julie Bishop and Kelly O'Dwyer in 2016

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Barnaby Joyce facts for kids

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