Senior Liberals rubbish Barnaby Joyce’s claim of talks over deal with One Nation as ‘figment of his imagination’

Senior Liberals have dismissed Barnaby Joyce's claim that he has engaged in discussions about a potential deal with One Nation to provide the Coalition with supply and confidence after the next election. Joyce, who recently defected to join Pauline Hanson's One Nation party in December, asserted on Tuesday night that he had held talks with senior Liberals over the idea.

However, Angus Taylor, the Coalition's shadow treasurer, firmly denied any such conversations had taken place. Neither Joyce nor Taylor disclosed which Liberals he or they had spoken to about confidence and supply. One Nation has explicitly ruled out forming a formal coalition agreement with the Liberals and Nationals. Despite calls from some Liberals, including South Australian power broker Alex Antic, to collaborate closely with Hanson, Joyce's claim was met with skepticism from Liberal MPs.

Deputy Liberal leader Jane Hume dismissed Joyce's claim, suggesting he was "clutching at straws" and expressing doubt about his motives. The deputy leader questioned whether Joyce was experiencing "post-purchase dissonance" after defecting to One Nation. Liberal shadow treasurer Tim Wilson also dismissed the talks as a "figment of Barnaby's imagination," criticizing Joyce for breaking promises to his electorate and his former party, the Nationals.