Maverick MP Barnaby Joyce has spoken with One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson as he weighs up a move to the far-right party after a breakdown in his relationship with the Nationals.

RURAL ROOTS

* Joyce, 58, was one of six children born in Tamworth and raised on a sheep and cattle farm in rural NSW's New England district

* He graduated with a Bachelor of Financial Administration from the University of New England in 1989 where he met his wife Natalie, with whom he had four children

* Employed as a farm worker, nightclub bounder and banker before setting up accountancy firm Barnaby Joyce & Co in Queensland in 1999

POLITICAL CAREER

* Elected as a Nationals Party senator for Queensland in 2004

* Crossed the floor 28 times and was quickly branded a "maverick" for refusing to guarantee suppo

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