The former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce is actively considering defecting to One Nation, according to Coalition figures, days after founder Pauline Hanson said Liberal and National party members believed they had no future.
A One Nation spokesperson declined to comment on media reports on Friday, or whether Hanson had spoken to Joyce about his party allegiance. The spokesperson did not deny that advance discussions had taken place.
Sources close to Joyce and senior party figures said the shock move was being considered this week.
Joyce did not return requests for comment.
It would be a blow to the Nationals leader, David Littleproud, and likely further destabilise the Coalition under the opposition leader, Sussan Ley.
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Guardian Australia spoke to several Nationals sources who said a move was likely, while others were surprised at reports on Friday night.
Tensions between Joyce and Littleproud have escalated in the months since the 3 May federal election. Joyce was relegated to the backbench and has been agitating on the issue of net zero by 2050 carbon policies, including introducing a private member’s bill to kill the plan.
From the backbench, the NSW MP has campaigned furiously against renewable energy projects, even as the Coalition formally reviews its net zero policy. Joyce crossed the floor to bring on debate in the House of Representatives earlier this year.
One Nation is opposed to net zero by 2050.
Joyce also recently publicly backed his former rival and another former Nationals leader, Michael McCormack, for a leadership tilt, though both denied they would bring a challenge on.
The rumours follow the defection of a senior Nationals official to One Nation last week. Steve Coxhead quit his position as Tamworth branch chair, in Joyce’s electorate of New England, to join the minor party.
“I have resigned as I believe the party does not adequately represent NSW regional and rural voters any more,” Coxhead told the media.
Hanson told ABC radio this week that another high-profile Liberal defection was in the works and yet to be announced, saying a former Liberal president was ready to defect.
“There are people who are coming across to One Nation because they see that there’s no future with the Liberal-National party,” she said.
But she said she was not trying to lure MPs over to her party.
“These people have to make up their own minds. They’re elected members of parliament. They have to realise … are they really making a difference by just going along with the political party and putting up their hand when they’re told to put up their hand?
“If they see that One Nation is offering a better alternative, where they can represent the people, it’s up to them to decide if they want to come across to One Nation,” she said.
She told Seven News on Friday she wanted former Coalition frontbenchers Andrew Hastie and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price to defect, saying they were “in the wrong party”.
Support for One Nation has grown in recent polls, reaching 12% in a recent Resolve survey and 10% in Newspoll.
