Member for Riverina Michael McCormack was in Townsville farewelling troops headed to Middle East as the National Party’s leadership crisis lurched towards a party room showdown.
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Embattled leader Barnaby Joyce is so far refusing to resign in the wake of the scandals around his now-pregnant former staffer and jobs created for her in the offices of two of Mr Joyce’s colleagues.
Victorian MP Andrew Broad on Thursday publicly called for Mr Joyce to step down from the leadership, but stopped short of naming a potential replacement.
Mr McCormack, who is the Minister for Veterans Affairs, was on Thursday night “not commenting at this stage”, despite remaining widely tipped to take over the leadership.
Nationals’ MPs are scheduled to attend a party room meeting on Monday, but senators are unlikely to be attending due to commitments in Senate estimates hearings.
Mr McCormack this week denied meeting with Mr Broad and fellow MP Keith Pit to discuss the leadership issue.