Michael McCormack defeats Barnaby Joyce in Nationals leadership spill

Nationals whip Damian Drum declined to provide details on how many votes each candidate secured in the Party Room meeting of 21 Nationals MPs and Senators.

Mr McCormack said it was "a time to rebuild" and not a time to "tear down" before attending a parliamentary church service on Tuesday morning prior to the vote.

Mr Joyce said the National Party was losing its support in regional Australia and two years before the next election was the best time for a leadership change.

Nationals MPs and Senators had been due to choose a replacement for Senator Bridget McKenzie as deputy leader but both leadership roles ended up being put to a vote.

Queensland MP and Water Resources Minister David Littleproud was elected as the new Nationals deputy leader.

After Mr Drum announced the party leadership vote decisions, Mr McCormack said it was "a great honour and a privilege to continue to serve as the leader of the National Party".

"I congratulate David Littleproud for his election to the deputy leader position," Mr McCormack said.

"I also look forward to working and continuing to work with Barnaby Joyce, who put his hand up for the leadership.

"I also continue to look forward to working with Keith Pitt and David Gillespie, who put their hands up for the deputy leader's role."

Mr McCormack said there had "never before" been such an important time for "the National Party to continue our representation that we have done for 100 years".

"The challenge is there, of course, with the fires, with the ongoing drought," he said.

"I commend David Littleproud as the newly elected deputy leader for the role he has played this very worrying and troubling summer in drought, in bushfires and everything else that has beset regional Australia.

"We will continue as a united team to put the people of regional Australia first and foremost. I want to thank my colleagues for again pacing their faith in me."

Mr McCormack claimed on Monday morning that there would be no leadership spill after Mr Joyce said he would stand as a candidate if another National moved a motion to declare the party leader role vacant.

On Monday afternoon, Queensland backbench MP Llew O'Brien said he would move a spill motion.

After the party room meeting, Mr Joyce released a statement congratulating Mr McCormack on his re-election.

"It is appropriate that if an issue needs resolving as to contentions held, there is a procedure to resolve it as is noted under our Parliamentary system," the statement said.

"That process has been followed and the issue has been finalised.

"I support the vote of the room and will strive for the re-election of a Morrison McCormack Government as this is definitely the better outcome for Australia and especially of regional people."

Wagga City Council mayor Greg Conkey said he had contacted Mr McCormack to congratulate him on winning the vote and continuing as Deputy Prime Minister.

"As the state's largest inland regional city, we have number of projects ongoing and in the future to get to a population of 100,000 plus and we need very strong political representation," he said.

"To have the Deputy Prime Minister as our local member, I think that's a strong advantage for the city.

"Michael has got very strong support in this city and he had got strong support throughout his electorate and that's good news for this electorate."

Mr Conkey said he was due to meet with Mr McCormack and the new Nationals deputy leader on Wednesday.

"No doubt water related issues will be on the agenda for this area. I'll be in Canberra for Regional Capital Australia, an organisation the Wagga City Council is a member of."

Riverina MP McCormack's third party room ballot in less than two years began with the departure of long-time Nationals leader Warren Truss in 2016.

Barnaby Joyce won the leadership ballot in February of that year and took the party to an election five months later and won a net gain of one seat in the lower house.

Mr Joyce stepped down in February 2018 amidst revelations of his affair with a staff member and sexual harassment allegations.

Mr McCormack was elected as leader unopposed and become Deputy Prime Minister under the terms of the Coalition agreement.

In October 2018, former deputy prime ministers Tim Fischer and John Anderson backed Mr McCormack amid reports that Nationals members were unhappy with his leadership.

Under Mr McCormack's leadership, the Nationals maintained their representation in the lower house with no net loss of seats at the 2019 federal election.

Mr McCormack was returned as leader in May.

Former Riverina MP Kay Hull said the Mr McCormack's continued leadership of the party was "absolutely a good thing for the Riverina and it's a good thing for the nation".

"He has been elected after a challenge against him and it's very healthy to have a robust Parliament and to have people ensuring that our leaders are held to account for their representation," she said.

"Michael has nothing to answer for; his representation as Nationals leader has been, I think, exemplary and I think it's part of the process of politics being a tough game and Michael has handled it with his usual diplomacy and I feel very proud of him."

Mrs Hull said the party would be unified following the leadership vote.

"[The vote] will absolutely cement that. They can say that the vote was fair and square," she said.

"The alternatives were presented and they were not accepted.

"Michael was able to retain that leadership and I think the party will now knuckle down and get behind that leadership."

Wagga National Party branch member Julian McLaren said the leadership spill had been unnecessary and fueled by "personal ambitions".

"The local membership fully supports Michael McCormack as leader of the National Party," he said.

"These leadership tussles are unnecessary at this point in time.

"The National Party is doing an outstanding job, as is Michael. The party is focused on bushfire and drought recovery and people with personal ambitions need to put their electorates and the party ahead of those ambitions."

There have been multiple reports that the Party Room leadership vote was as close as 10 versus 11 but those claims have been disputed by at least one MP who was in the meeting.

Charles Sturt University political science associate professor Dominic O'Sullivan said the security of Mr McCormack's leadership position depended on the size of his winning margin.

"It's too early to say whether Mr Joyce will have another go; so much can change very quickly in politics.

"We don't know the number of votes in Mr McCormack's favour. If it was a narrow vote, Mr Joyce will be encouraged.

"If it was decisive, then perhaps that's a signal to Mr Joyce that his time at the top is well and truly over."

Mr O'Sullivan said a lot of reports about the voting numbers were "just speculation".

"If it is true, Mr McCormack would be feeling very insecure. Looking back to the move against Malcolm Turnbull last year: he won by a narrow margin and when that happens the opposing forces are encouraged," he said.

"It would only take one person to change their mind. If that is the case, Barnaby Joyce would be looking for another opportunity.

"There has been criticism that Mr McCormack as leader has not done enough to distinguish the Nationals from the Liberals and Mr Joyce will look to do that from the backbench and in the process destabilise."

Speaking after the party room meeting, Mr McCormack appeared to warn off Mr Joyce from mounting another challenge.

"I don't expect him to challenge again," Mr McCormack said.

"I have been endorsed as the leader. I was endorsed as the leader when we came back here after the May election last year, I was endorsed as the leader when he stood down in 2018.

"That is three times in less than two years. I think that is enough to warrant me leading the party going forward."