Confected Rage Protecting Past Self-Serving Politicking

By Jack Arnold

The Federal Treasurer’s announcement that the Northern Inland Rail (NIR) project would be shelved has triggered loud protests from conservatives, with one of the most vocal being Barnaby Joyce, the PHONey (Pauline Hanson’s One Nation) representative for New England.

A review of the project’s history reveals that Joyce has repeatedly claimed credit for ideas originated by others, while advancing his own personal interests through his political position – at the expense of voters.

Key Background on the NIR Project

1. Original Vision (1996): The concept of a new inland railway linking Melbourne to Port Darwin was first proposed by the visionary entrepreneur Everald Compton. His plan involved a route through the relatively flat country of western Queensland via Toowoomba, Longreach, and Mount Isa. This would allow for double-stacked containers on long, fast freight trains. The idea received support from Prime Minister John Howard and John Anderson (then Member for Gwydir and Nationals leader).
2. Scaled-Back Proposal (2005): By 2005, the project had been reduced to a Melbourne–Brisbane link via Toowoomba. John Anderson drove in the ceremonial first spike at Goondiwindi, but no detailed assessment appears to have been made of the significant costs associated with descending the Toowoomba Range.
3. Barnaby Joyce’s Entry: Joyce entered the picture after serving seven years as a Queensland Senator. In 2013, following the shock retirement of independent MP Tony Windsor (due to family health concerns), Joyce was elected as the Nationals member for New England. He held the seat for roughly 13 years until the 2026 shift to PHONey.
4. Property Purchases and Route Changes: During his time in the House of Representatives, Joyce served as Nationals leader and Deputy Prime Minister. Around 2013, he purchased two grazing properties in the Pilliga Scrub – land reported to sit over significant coal seam gas (CSG) reserves, making them far more valuable than their low carrying capacity (roughly one sheep per ten acres) would suggest. He later put the properties on the market, due to the conflict of interest.

Under the Coalition agreement, Joyce secured approval to extend the NIR from Toowoomba to the CSG export port of Gladstone. This decision reportedly lacked a transparent cost-benefit analysis for taxpayers. Subsequently, the rail alignment was adjusted to pass within approximately 20 km of his Pilliga properties, creating a lower-cost freight option for exporting CSG.

The recent images of Barnaby Joyce expressing outrage over the suspension of the NIR appear as a carefully staged performance focused on community concern, while omitting any reference to his personal financial interests. This pattern aligns with concerns about other PHONey candidates, such as 69-year-old Dave Farley (“Dave is for Dave”) in the upcoming Farrer by-election on 9 May 2026, who has a history of aligning with whichever party he suits.

There is little to admire in self-serving politicians who consistently place personal gain ahead of the interests of the communities they represent.

REGIONAL INMDEPENDENTS GET THINGS DONE FOR THEIR COMMUNITIES.

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Jack Arnold is a retired academic polymath who commenced his professional career as a research scientist and ended as a lawyer, with too many decades of education between. To stay busy he has taken an active interest in all levels of local New England politics for the past 50 years, assisting in the election of three progressive candidates, the latter two being very busy Independent representatives for their communities.

Since the retirement of these politicians in 2013, New England has stagnated economically and socially with pre-selected Nationals being elected to Parliaments in the strange local belief that voting for 19th century ideals would yield the new government infrastructure projects that our kids will need to live in the electorates in this 21st century.

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