While the Nationals are celebrating their good result despite their coalition partner being decimated, the Joyce team has their minds on other matters, with news breaking on the ABC last night that Barnaby is going into surgery for prostate cancer today.
In a message being sent to his members and supporters this morning, Joyce first thanked them for their efforts.
“Thank you all from the absolute bottom of my heart on an amazing result. It is our win, not my win,” the message began.
“I apologise for not having been in New England for election night but it is important on a rather devastating result on national media to still front up.”
Joyce was part of the panel on Sky News during the election coverage, offering reassuring words to the deflated Coalition supporters that it will be ok, “just hold on a minute”.
“I have some bad but not grave news that I have kept under wraps so as not to distract from our campaign. I have been diagnosed with prostate cancer and will now go for an operation,” the message read, confirming the news.
“Please keep me in your prayers, I will be ok,” he said in his message, echoing his election night comments.
Rumours that he was unwell had circulated long before the campaign with much speculation he wouldn’t run, which his office always denied.
Prophetically, Greens campaigner Elizabeth O’Hara said at the Armidale candidate forum three weeks ago that she held genuine concern for him, saying “I just have this feeling that he is really unwell and we will be doing this all again in a few months in a by-election.”
She wrote on a question card, to be passed on to Joyce who was unable to attend the Armidale event: ‘R U OK? Serious Question’, in a show of the humanity that joins New Englanders regardless of political allegiance. She received an email back from a staffer saying he was well, thanking her for the concern.
Mr Joyce told the ABC he received the diagnosis following a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test, which he took at the insistence of his general practitioner.
“I had a PSA test, which all men should get,” he said.
Mr Joyce said he returned an “elevated” result, leading to an MRI and biopsy before his diagnosis.
“Prostate cancer, if you get it early, is very, very treatable; in fact, about 97 per cent successful,” he said.
“I’ll have the operation on Monday and I will then have a couple of days in hospital and will recuperate after that.”
He described himself blessed and lucky to have it discovered early, praising his persistent GP and encouraging men to get tested.
“If I thought it was very serious, of course I’d resign, but my doctors or surgeons say, ‘You’re very lucky you’ve got it early.'”
Votes are still being counted, but on current standings Joyce was easily re-elected to New England with a 2% swing in his favour.
The junior coalition party has retained almost all of its seats, including the hotly contested seat of Cowper, but were unable to reclaim Calare which has been called for independent Andrew Gee who quit the party and sat on the crossbench over its objection to the Voice referendum. Nationals Senator Perin Davey, who was third on the Coalition’s ticket in NSW under the current agreement which sees Liberals get the first two spots, is unlikely to be re-elected.
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