As the ABC comment says, “Is he nuts or a is he a genius”
I do know that Tony Windsor will be incandescent with rage. First Barnaby takes Tony’s seat, then ascends to the leadership of the Nats.
Will this be the beginning of the end for the Nats, or will Barnaby turn into an eloquent statesman.
Well, as predicted, the intense hatred Tony Windsor has for Barnaby Joyce has surfaced in a compulsion for the old man to run for the seat of New England.
Watch this. Its going to be the biggest grudge match of the election and will receive a lot of coverage.
Tony Windsor all but confirms intention to run against Barnaby Joyce in New England
Lateline By political correspondent David Lipson
Updated about 2 hours ago
Former independent MP Tony Windsor has all but confirmed he will run against Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce in the seat of New England at the next federal election.
Key points:
Tony Windsor to announce on Thursday whether he will run
Windsor says key policies have suffered under Coalition
Barnaby Joyce has held New England since 2013
Mr Windsor told Lateline he was concerned about his grandchildren’s future and the future of the New South Wales electorate that he had previously held for 12 years.
“I care about that. And that’s the question I have to answer: Do you care enough to really get into this, and I think I do,” he said.
“I have this saying that the world is run by those who turn up, so if you’re concerned about the world you live in, should you try and do something about it?”
Mr Windsor will formally announce his intentions at a 10:00am press conference in Canberra on Thursday.
Under pressure over his support for Julia Gillard in the hung Parliament, Mr Windsor retired before the last election, citing family and health reasons.
Now that his health has improved and his two children have been married, he is eyeing off a return to federal politics.
Mr Windsor claims the policies he helped put in place, like the National Broadband Network, action on climate change and the Gonski education reforms have suffered under the Coalition.
“Rather than new things happening in the electorate, some of the old things are leaving,” he told Lateline.
Mr Windsor is also planning a renewed push against Shenhua’s plans to build a $1.2 billion open cut coal mine on the Liverpool Plains.
“I’ll be standing with these people to make sure that all the objective science is done and then decisions made, not this ■■■■■■ hopscotch arrangement that we’ve got at the moment,” he said.
Key election battlegrounds
If the Turnbull Government is to fall at this year’s election, Labor’s magic number is a turnover of 21 seats, Chris Uhlmann writes. Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce moved to New England in 2013 to take the lower house seat after being a Queensland Senator.
A Reachtel Poll in January put Mr Joyce in front 39.5 per cent, compared to a hypothetical Mr Windsor on 32.2 per cent, with 5.1 per cent undecided.
But it suggested if Labor and Greens preferences favoured Mr Windsor, he would likely win the seat.
Lateline spoke to Mr Joyce at a Men’s Shed in Uralla, where he had just handed over a cheque for $14,000.
“I’m always going to be a good local member first and foremost. That’s what I do,” he said.
It's Maxine vs John again.Maxine who runs the, ahem, gentlemen's lunches?
You have a bit of a long standing obsession with Maxine.
It's Maxine vs John again.Maxine who runs the, ahem, gentlemen's lunches?
It’s Maxine vs John again.
Yeh,
Meh.
Saw Unlce Tone (Windsor) reckons he might run against him in the next election.
That would be interesting. I’d love that guy back in parliament.
Barnaby Joyce is no genius, not sure he is nuts though.
Once as part of a Local Government delegation had a meeting with him in his Canberra office. Gillard was PM at the time, and he was about 20 minutes late for the meeting, walked into the room, flopped into a Chair and said " this Country is farked", and then went into a 15 minute rant about debt and borrowings.
He was so negative that one of our delegation asked for a razor blade so he could slash his wrists!
One would hope that as Nationals Leader and Deputy PM, he now has a brighter outlook on life.
Yeh,Meh.
Saw Unlce Tone (Windsor) reckons he might run against him in the next election.
That would be interesting. I’d love that guy back in parliament.
I wouldn’t. His sole motivation is hatred of Barnaby. I don’t like that sort of motivation.
I voted genius, seemed like the nice thing to do.
If this is followed by a Trump presidency, it’s a sign of the end of days.
Abbott: Exit one boorish wanker.
Joyce: Enter one boorish wanker.
Politics: Exit one boorish wanker.Politics: Enter one boorish wanker.
Fixed
Something NQR about him. Nuts.
At least Johnny Depp and Amber Heard won’t be bringing their dogs back.
At least Johnny Depp and Amber Heard won't be bringing their dogs back.
Taking them to Korea instead. Sure of a Huge welcome.
So, all 3 4 major parties now have Men as leaders, & Women as deputy leaders … hmmm, thank god Australia is a modern non sexist country …
Seems the patriarchal parent unit image must play well in focus groups.
Oh … & everyone of the deputies is a blonde too … It’s the “Ken & Barbie” phenomenomoenum
I like him.
Not sure i want him running anything, though. Tim Fisher he isnt.
Something NQR about him. Nuts.
Yep, not sure he’s entirely stable. Or perhaps he’s just a normal person without all the spin doctoring.
at times he says what he thinks, even if it is against the coalitions policy idea, especially if it’s relating to his electorate. I like that about him.
is sometimes prone to talking absolute nonsense, but who isn’t?