Clan Rising

Joyce Family Champion

Barnaby Joyce(1967–)

The Honourable Barnaby Thomas Gerard Joyce, MP

The accountant from the New South Wales tablelands who led the National Party and twice served as Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, the foremost parliamentary voice of regional and rural Australia.

Barnaby Thomas Gerard Joyce was born at Tamworth in the New England region of New South Wales on 17 April 1967, the son of a grazier. He boarded at St Ignatius' College, Riverview, in Sydney, took a Bachelor of Financial Administration at the University of New England in Armidale, qualified as an accountant, and built an accountancy practice at St George in south-western Queensland, serving the farming towns of the inland.

He was elected to the Senate for Queensland as a National in 2004 and took his seat in 2005, becoming within a few years one of the most recognisable figures of his party, known across the country for his advocacy of agriculture, water policy, and the interests of regional Australia.

In 2013 he moved to the House of Representatives, winning the New South Wales seat of New England, his home region. He was elected leader of the National Party in 2016 and became Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, holding that office from 2016 to 2018 and again from 2021 to 2022 in coalition government.

He served as Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, and Minister for Veterans' Affairs. A consistent champion of decentralisation, he drove the relocation of the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority from Canberra to Armidale in his electorate, arguing that federal agencies, and the prosperity they bring, should be spread beyond the capital cities.

He has remained the member for New England and one of the most prominent rural voices in the federal Parliament. The Joyce name is an old Irish surname, Seoighe, carried by the Joyces of Connacht whose country in the hills above Lough Corrib is still called Joyce Country, and counted among the Tribes of Galway. Barnaby Joyce carried it to the office of Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and made it a byword for the politics of the bush.

Achievements

  • ·Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, 2016 to 2018 and 2021 to 2022
  • ·Leader of the National Party of Australia, 2016 to 2018 and 2021 to 2022
  • ·Senator for Queensland, 2005 to 2013
  • ·Member of the House of Representatives for New England, from 2013
  • ·Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources; Minister for Infrastructure and Transport
  • ·Drove the relocation of a federal agency to regional New South Wales, a landmark of the decentralisation cause

Where this story lives

Frequently asked

What is Barnaby Joyce famous for?

The accountant from the New South Wales tablelands who led the National Party and twice served as Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, the foremost parliamentary voice of regional and rural Australia. Barnaby Thomas Gerard Joyce was born at Tamworth in the New England region of New South Wales on 17 April 1967, the son of a grazier.

When was Barnaby Joyce born?

Barnaby Joyce was born in 1967 in Tamworth, New South Wales. The full biographical record sits on the dedicated page on Clan Rising, set alongside the wider history of the Joyce family.

Where was Barnaby Joyce born?

Barnaby Joyce was born in Tamworth, New South Wales, in Ireland. The atlas links the birthplace to its tile page so the surrounding geography and other families of the area can be explored from the same record.

Where in Ireland did Barnaby Joyce live and work?

Barnaby Joyce's life and work were concentrated in Galway. Each location has its own page on the atlas with the broader historical context for the area.

What is Barnaby Joyce's connection to the Joyce family?

Barnaby Joyce is recorded on Clan Rising as a Joyce Family Champion, a figure whose life is inseparable from the surname. The Joyce family page sets the wider context for the name and links through to every other notable bearer.

What did Barnaby Joyce achieve?

Headline achievements recorded for Barnaby Joyce include Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, 2016 to 2018 and 2021 to 2022, Leader of the National Party of Australia, 2016 to 2018 and 2021 to 2022, Senator for Queensland, 2005 to 2013 and Member of the House of Representatives for New England, from 2013. The full list and the surrounding biographical record sit on the dedicated champion page.

Was Barnaby Joyce a Joyce?

Yes. Barnaby Joyce is filed on Clan Rising under the Joyce family. The naming convention follows the surname a diaspora reader would search for today; titles, particles and pen names sort under that same canonical surname.