Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce has quit the party, citing fractured relationships with its leadership.
The high-profile New England MP will not stand for his seat at the next election but does plan to see out the rest of the term, though.
“My relationship with the leadership of the Nationals in Canberra has unfortunately, like a sadness in some marriages, irreparably broken down,” the former deputy prime minister wrote in a letter to branch members.
Reports the firebrand MP plans to defect to Pauline Hanson’s One Nation were not confirmed in the statement but his options have been kept open.
“I now have the freedom to explore all possibilities for my future,” he remarked.
