What has one of Australia's most controversial politicians been doing since losing his position as a deputy leader of the nation?
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Barnaby Joyce's opinions garnered him a steady stream of national attention while serving as the deputy prime minister of Australia from 2016 to 2018, and 2021 to 2022.
When the Liberal-National coalition, led by former Prime Minister Scott Morrison, lost the election in 2022, Mr Joyce also stepped back, and resigned as National Party leader, but stayed on as New England MP.
So it begs the question - and according to google trends - people are asking, what is Barnaby Joyce doing now?
"The fact [Australians are] wondering what I'm doing means they must be used to me doing quite a bit," he told the Leader.
"I imagine there's a lot of other politicians that they're not googling, they probably can't even remember their names."
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He continues to serve as the Member for New England, a position he's held since 2013.
Now, he's concentrating on issues he thinks are important to the people of New England, and Australians in general.
They almost say [REZ] like you've been slapped on the backside with a rainbow.
- Barnaby Joyce
These include campaigning for the nation to vote "no" to The Voice to Parliament referendum, and attempting to organise a movement against renewables project developments, which he says are driving up the price of power.
"My strong belief is the referendum is going to fail, and the sooner we can move on to a more effective way of bridging the gap, the better," he said.
Renewable energy project developments are predominantly being built in regional areas, such as New England, which is a renewable energy zone (REZ).
"They almost say [REZ] like you've been slapped on the backside with a rainbow," he said.
"It's not good for our towns. It's not good for our power prices. It's an intrusion to people's property rights."
While Mr Joyce was born in Tamworth, he grew up north east in Danglemah, near Walcha, where he now resides.
He has two young sons, aged five and four, and stepping down from the party leadership means he has more time to spend with them.
"If you want to be a good leader, you'll spend most of the time on the road," he said.
"But I want to make sure that the boys get a chance to say g'day to me.
"You've got to give young kids a chance to jump in the truck with you and go for a drive round."
Eva Baxter
Eva is a Northern Daily Leader journalist based in Tamworth. She covers health, politics, energy, arts & entertainment, business, community, and a bit of everything else.
Eva is a Northern Daily Leader journalist based in Tamworth. She covers health, politics, energy, arts & entertainment, business, community, and a bit of everything else.
