Barnaby was 'at home' for his bar-room meet and greet

Barnaby Joyce at tonight's "meet and greet" at
Shepparton's Aussie Hotel. About 100 people
were in the public bar to meet the deputy PM.

Barnaby Joyce appeared “at home” at what seemed like spontaneous meet and greet in the main bar tonight at Shepparton’s Aussie Hotel.

The deputy Prime Minister and leader of the National Party appeared relaxed as he moved around the room talking with about 100 people and the media in what was surely his final formal function for the day.

Among other things, Mr Joyce spent some time looking at the Shepparton campus of La Trobe University where he talked with the head of the campus, Sue Nalder, who told him about the new agro-science course soon to be introduced.

In concluding his informal five-minute address, the Minister for Agriculture said, “Walk humbly, work hard, keep our eye on the prize, a better standard of living, a better quality of life, keep the services coming to your area, so that the idea of moving to Shepparton is as logical as moving to Mosman.”

“On the balance of things,” he said, “I’d rather move to Shepparton.

Questions about climate change were directed privately to Mr Joyce as there was no public QandA session and he immediately pointed to the fact the Australia had signed up to the Paris agreement in which the world’s nations had agreed to keep global warming to an increase of less the two degrees Celsius and as low as 1.5 degrees if possible.

Although he was quick to point to the fact that his electorate of New England was already exporting renewable energy, he noted that it was unlikely he, or his government, would agree with any of the pointed questions about how Australia could instigate serious mitigation solutions.

Among those at tonight’s “politics at the pub” were the new Member of Murray, Damian Drum; the Committee for Shepparton chair, Robert Priestly,  the committee’s CEO, Sam Birrell; the Editor of Shepparton’s Country News, Geoffrey Adams; Shepparton Chamber of Commerce board member, Carls Hainsworth; the unsuccessful Nationals candidate in the State election for the seat of Shepparton, Greg Barr, who is now controls the administration section of the city police station in Welsford St; and at least three of the City of Greater Shepparton’s new councillors, Chris Hazelman, Fern Summer and the newly elected deputy mayor, Shelley Sutton.

Obviously, the “meet and greet” event was not spontaneous, but several Nationals supporters said before the deputy PM arrived that they had only heard about the visit “by chance”.