Barnaby Joyce says he is ‘not Jesus Christ’ as he snaps under super policy pressure in ABC interview

Barnaby Joyce has clashed with Sarah Ferguson over One Nation’s plan to let renters and mortgage holders access part of their superannuation, declaring he was the party’s Treasury spokesperson, “not Jesus Christ”, when asked to explain the policy’s long-term financial impact.

The former deputy prime minister was pressed by the ABC host during Monday night’s episode of 7.30 when Ms Ferguson challenged My Joyce to calculate the potential retirement losses for Australians who used the proposed scheme at different ages and income levels.

One Nation’s proposal would allow renters and mortgage holders to access a quarter of their superannuation contributions over three years. The party said almost two-thirds of workers could qualify.

But Mr Joyce appeared frustrated by Ms Ferguson’s line of questioning, saying the figures had not been provided before the interview.

“Well, here we go folks, I’ll try and answer something which we’ll need an annuity table and will also need a sort of linear regression, but I’ll do it for you, straight down the barrel,” Mr Joyce said.

Ms Ferguson reminded Mr Joyce that the policy had been developed by his own party and that he was responsible for Treasury matters.

“Barnaby Joyce, if I may, obviously this is a policy that your party has come up with, so we would expect you as the Treasury spokesman for that party to be across it, just try it,” she said.

Mr Joyce replied: “The Treasury spokesman (yes), not Jesus Christ.”

Ms Ferguson continued by outlining the projected superannuation losses for Australians aged 30, 40 and 50 across different income levels.

But Mr Joyce did not attempt to calculate the figures during the interview and instead said he was “happy to come back tomorrow” and give informed answers, provided Ferguson was “prepared to pay my accountancy fees”.

The heated exchange comes after Mr Joyce and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson announced the super proposal in Canberra on Monday.

The pair said there would be no financial hardship threshold for accessing the scheme that would allow renters and mortgage holders to use it regardless of their financial circumstances.

Mr Joyce said he expected people would “overwhelmingly” use the scheme when they were facing financial hardship, adding that applicants would need to approach their superannuation funds and claim they needed the money to cover rent or mortgage payments.

He acknowledged that “a couple” of people could try and get around the rules.

One Nation claims the policy could provide a median worker with an extra $2300 a year. The minor party has also rejected warnings that allowing people to access super could increase inflation or discourage real wage growth.

The proposal has been attacked by Treasurer Jim Chalmers, who said the policy was helping turn the next election into a “referendum on super”.

Dr Chalmers described it as a “recipe to make Australian workers tens of thousands of dollars worse off in retirement.”

But Ms Hanson hit back and labelled the Treasurer’s comments “hysterical” while blaming the government for the state of the economy.

“Jim Chalmers is acting hysterically over a proposal that would let someone struggling to pay their rent or mortgage keep 9% going into super instead of 12%, and take the 3% difference as a tax-effective pay boost for up to three years,” Senator Hanson wrote on X.

“Perhaps if you hadn’t so thoroughly buggered the economy, Jim, they wouldn’t need to.”

Mr Joyce’s mid-interview confrontation comes less than two months after he attracted national attention during another appearance on 7.30.

In July, the One Nation MP erupted into a verbal outburst when he shouted “Sit down” at his dog Stella while being questioned by Ms Ferguson.

Mr Joyce later defended himself after he was criticised for the on-camera blow-up and insisted his pet “still loves him”.