Barnaby Joyce (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas)

With Scott Morrison off to Europe, Barnaby Joyce is now acting prime minister. It’s an appropriate end to a fortnight where he got so much of what he wanted.

Joyce was ostensibly returned to the Nationals leadership to soothe his bruised ego stop the Liberals becoming even slightly more ambitious on climate change. But despite the Nats’ recalcitrance, and Joyce’s reported opposition, net zero — a purely symbolic and inadequate target — was inevitable thanks to shifts in the international community, big business and even the Liberal Party. 

The net zero pledge Morrison made on Tuesday gives Joyce what he wanted: a plan without detail that leaves the fossil-fuel sector untouched and avoids a more ambitious short-term emissions target while pouring billions into regional infrastructure projects. 

The prime minister has refused to provide real clarity on how much the Nats extorted out of the net zero negotiations. Yesterday he suggested the price of any regional infrastructure investment would be included in the budget updates between now and the next election.

But Joyce has already flagged some of the Nats’ wins. In an opinion piece published in his local paper, The Armidale Express, he reflected on his stand-off with the Liberals:

In the recent net zero by 2050 negotiations I had a very tough week strengthening an agreement so as to get further protections and benefits for you.

He then went through a shopping list of projects he’d be able to fund “by staying in government”. It included plenty of projects in his electorate of New England: the Dungowan and Chaffey dams; an upgrade to the road at Bolivia Hill. 

Then there’s inland rail, also mentioned by Joyce, a long-time pet project of his which will help accelerate coal exports out of central Queensland, increasing Australia’s emissions. There’s also a shout-out to the Hells Gate Dam near Charters Towers, in north Queensland.

Joyce’s desire to take credit for things this week occasionally put him at odds with Morrison. Yesterday he claimed the Nationals had secured a carve-out for agricultural methane emissions from the government’s net zero plan. This was shot down by Morrison, who said no, Australia had never planned to join an international pledge to cut methane emissions.

Irrespective of who’s right, the methane thing was another instance of Joyce trying to show regional voters how he’s made them winners out of the net zero shift. Meanwhile, anyone who questions the Nats’ incredible talent for pork-barrelling — from the net zero negotiations to the most recent round of the Building Better Regions Fund (which basically exists to be rorted by them) — is dismissed as an out-of-touch city slicker.

That was the message Joyce and Nationals MPs returned to repeatedly in question time this week, where they pointed out that although Coalition seats cover 5 square kilometres of the Australian landmass, Labor’s account for just 1.5 square kilometres (most of which is in the Northern Territory seat of Lingiari). Despite the Nationals managing to set the course on net zero despite having just 16 lower house MPs, Joyce’s message to the regions is that you are Real Australia, and we’ve got your back. 

All this draws plenty of derision from progressives. As Joyce steps up to play prime minister for a few days, Labor has been quick to fire off zingers.

On Wednesday Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese called him “the whoopee cushion of Australian politics” because: “You know you shouldn’t laugh when you hear him make noise, but somehow you just kind of have to.”

And sure, Joyce is red and buffoonish. He makes silly noises in question time. But behind all the silliness, he has emerged from this week with plenty of wins.