NSW Deputy Premier and Dubbo MP Troy Grant has predicted Barnaby Joyce will be a formidable force as the new federal leader of The Nationals.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr Grant welcomed the rise of Mr Joyce to the party's top job and to the deputy prime ministership, tipping there were "exciting times" ahead as the country entered an election year.
Mr Joyce was elected unopposed to the leadership of the Nationals on Thursday, replacing the retiring Warren Truss.
On Friday at Dubbo Mr Grant, the leader of the Nationals in NSW, said Mr Joyce would bring his own style and character to his new role.
"Barnaby is larger than life in the political landscape in lots of ways and politicians often are accused of not being able to cut through with their messaging or understand or talk with the community in the same language," Mr Grant said.
"Barnaby doesn't have that problem. So I think it's going to be refreshing."
The Dubbo MP who became Deputy Premier in October 2014, said Mr Joyce had "an enormous responsibility".
"He's inside the cabinet room, and you fight the issues passionately as you believe in as Nationals and we fight for regional Australia," Mr Grant said.
"But it's also about the greater good and collective good and you have different roles to play there as well.
"As long as you get the influence from a regional perspective into each of those decisions is important.
"And I think the Nats do that but we haven't got the recognition for it."
Mr Grant predicted Mr Joyce would help that change.
"I think with Barnaby's higher profile... the work we've been doing for a whole length of time will actually get more recognised as having a Nationals influence than it may have done in the past," he said.
On the subject of the relationship between the federal and state levels of government, Mr Grant said he had enjoyed a "wonderful relationship" with Mr Truss.
But Mr Grant said with Mr Joyce being a NSW representative, he may come across him a little more often than his predecessor, a Queenslander.
"It's going to be exciting times, federal election coming up... Barnaby being the Deputy Prime Minister is Labor's worst nightmare and Labor having nightmares is music to my ears," Mr Grant said.
