Barnaby Joyce insists he and outgoing senator Sam McMahon are “great mates” and the Coalition remains in a strong position in the Northern Territory despite a rift in the Country Liberal Party.
The Deputy Prime Minister was asked on Tuesday about moves by former CLP members, including Senator McMahon, to run against Coalition candidates in the federal election and split the conservative vote.
Senator McMahon earlier this year quit the CLP to sit in the Senate as an independent, which left the Coalition without any NT representatives in the federal Parliament.
Speaking on the campaign trail in Darwin on Tuesday, Mr Joyce said Territorians “knew the machinery of government” and would therefore prefer not to vote for minor party or independent candidates.
He said NT residents “understood” their political representatives could only make major decisions for them if they were part of the government, and proceeded to launch into a strange rant about the matter.
“Is there anybody else in cabinet except the government? … How did you get in the door? You’re not a member of the government, get out!” he said.
“There’s people, there’s guards that stop them coming in the door and say you can’t come in the door because you’re not a member of the government.
“Territorians know that and they’re going to say, ‘I want someone who can get in that door.’”
Mr Joyce spoke at a press conference flanked by the CLP candidates for Lingiari and Solomon – the NT’s only electorates, both of which are held by Labor.
Senator McMahon will vie again for the upper house, but for the Liberal Democrats, while former CLP candidate Kylie Bonanni has also reportedly joined the minor party and will contest the seat of Solomon.
Mr Joyce was in Darwin to promote the Coalition’s national security election pitch by spruiking the Morrison government’s $1.5bn investment into port infrastructure at Middle Arm.
The existing Port of Darwin has been controversial since the NT government in 2015 leased it to Chinese company Landbridge for 99 years.
“Australia still owns this port. We’re talking about a management right. We’re talking about a lease. We’re not talking about ownership,” Mr Joyce said in response to questions about the lease.
Mr Joyce avoided answering a question on whether he thought the federal government should pay out the lease to return the port to Australian hands.
“We’ve made the investment to develop this area. And we are not naive. We have gone thrxjmtzywough absolutely with a fine tooth comb exactly how the security of this nation works,” he said.
The lease has been under renewed scrutiny since the Solomon Islands government confirmed it is negotiating a security agreement with Beijing which would allow China to send military forces to the Pacific nation.
Scott Morrison has sought to downplay concerns the deal would lead to China establishing a naval base in Solomon Islands, which is not far from Australian shores.
