Barnaby’s mistake but Nationals’ endgame

They are a diminished party too in the ministries they currently hold. Once the Nationals held key positions like Treasury and Trade, but now, as Joyce himself complained last year, most of their portfolios are shared with the Liberals who decide the policy.

Over the years, many have predicted the demise of the National Party. They have repeatedly defied such predictions.

Now, given this the declining popularity of the government, Joyce’s latest debacle, the competition from the major and minor parties and independents, such predictions may finally come to fruition at the forthcoming election.

The challenge for the Nationals has long been what exactly do they stand for – what exactly do they bring to the policy table that distinguishes them from the other parties.

Joyce was supposed to be solution, but as events show, he has become the problem.

Whatever the election outcome, the Liberals must seriously consider whether the Nationals are worthy of being part of any future coalition arrangements.