Barnaby Joyce reportedly in 'advance talks' to defect to Pauline Hanson's One Nation

Barnaby Joyce is reportedly considering defecting from the Nationals to join Pauline Hanson's One Nation.

The Member for New England was first elected to the Senate in 2004 and shifted to the House of Representatives in 2013.

Joyce is the former leader of the Nationals and served as deputy prime minister for conservative governments before his dramatic fall from grace within the party, quitting both of those roles in 2018 amid pressure over his relationship with his former staffer Vikki Campion.

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Neither Joyce nor Hanson denied the speculation that the defection was being considered when questioned today by The Sydney Morning Herald.

"If Barnaby wants to come to One Nation, I'd be happy to have him," Hanson told the newspaper.

The SMH reports that Joyce is in "advanced talks" to make the defection, which would be a major blow to the Nationals and could potentially convince others to leave the party for the further right-wing One Nation.

The Coalition has struggled with some internal frustrations under the leadership of Sussan Ley, who was elected in May to replace Peter Dutton following Labor's landslide victory at the polls.

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