Joyce returned fire on Friday, saying the comments had “caused further harm” and signaled he’d resist any attempts to force his resignation as Nationals leader. Only a vote of his own lawmakers could oust Joyce and none of them have publicly asked for his resignation.
“There is nothing that we dislike more than implied intervention into the party processes of the National Party,” Joyce said Friday. “We are an independent unit and make our own decisions.”
Bill Shorten, the main opposition Labor Party leader, said the public squabbling showed the government was in disarray and challenged Turnbull to fire his deputy. The deputy prime minister position is traditionally given to the Nationals leader under long-standing arrangements between the parties.
“This is an absolutely full-blown political crisis,” Shorten said. “If the number two in the government says the number one in the government is inept, we’ve got a big problem.”
The spat risks returning Australia to political turmoil that voters had hoped was behind them. The nation has churned through six prime ministers since 2007 amid infighting in both the Liberals and Labor.
“The Liberal-National relationship has been very close and very successful, because it’s enabled conservative factions to form governments,” Notre Dame University’s Drum said. “It’s more likely than not that Joyce will eventually have to resign because his moral authority looks gone. But the damage done to Turnbull’s government from this issue could be irreversible.”