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‘That’s a lie’: Joyce fury over claim he had meeting with neo-Nazis in Canberra

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Cite

Newling, N. (2026, September 23). ‘That’s a lie’: Joyce fury over claim he had meeting with neo-Nazis in Canberra. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/that-s-a-lie-joyce-fury-over-claim-he-had-meeting-with-neo-nazis-in-canberra-20260923-p60zp1.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Sydney Morning Herald · collected 2026-09-23 · by Nick Newling

Quick Summary

One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce has denied holding a meeting with neo-Nazis at Canberra’s casino, refuting claims made by Crikey that he spent two hours discussing political matters there. Speaking to radio station 2GB and News24, Joyce claimed he was approached by the group unexpectedly and left as soon as they started discussing controversial topics like immigration. The article focuses on Joyce’s denial of any planned meeting or affiliation with the National Socialist Network, which is currently challenging laws that ban extremist groups in Australia's High Court.
Written by AI on 2026-09-23, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Barnaby Joyce, a One Nation MP, has denied allegations that he met with neo-Nazis at the Canberra Casino earlier this month. The claims stem from an email by a Crikey journalist suggesting Joyce spent two hours talking with members of the National Socialist Network, including Hugo Lennon and Thomas Sewell. In response to radio station 2GB, Joyce claimed he was there for a social visit with a "good mate" when approached by the group and left shortly after feeling uncomfortable with their conversation about Anglo-Celtic issues and immigration. The allegations come amid the neo-Nazi movement's declared support for One Nation if the High Court overturns the ban on their new political party, raising concerns over potential political alliances in Australia.

Written for “Joyce Neo-Nazi Meeting Controversy” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Joyce Neo-Nazi Meeting Controversy
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 7% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 1 of 7 claims Outlet record 61/100
“The articles describe different events involving Barnaby Joyce, one discussing potential political deals and the other addressing allegations of a meeting with neo-Nazis.”
The Guardian
Hedges 2 of 26 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different events: one about denying a meeting with neo-Nazis and the other about claims of discussions on political deals.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 5 of 20 claims Outlet record 68/100
“Article A discusses Joyce's denial of meeting neo-Nazis, while Article B is about a Liberal deputy denying talks with One Nation for a power-sharing deal.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
28
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
7%
2 of 28 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
61/100
The Sydney Morning Herald's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-23 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Sydney Morning Herald · 5626 article(s) · 15 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 15 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Nick Newling
36 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Defence Minister Richard Marles, Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain and Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino each hired an additional staff member between May and October, while allocations for the Greens, One Nation and independents remained flat.
🔮 Defence Minister Richard Marles, Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain and Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino each hired an additional staff member between May and October, while allocations for the Greens, One Nation and independents remained flat.
🔮 Hanson has twice written to Albanese to request staffing equity with the Greens, which would increase One Nation’s allocation from four to nine and raise salaries so the party could attract more experienced staff.
🔮 Sources close to the golf club familiar with the negotiations, speaking on the condition of anonymity so they could talk freely, told this masthead the club first went to the prime minister’s office seeking help after a redistribution moved it from the electorate of Barton to his seat of Grayndler before the last election.
🔮 Independent senator Fatima Payman has apologised to Helen Haines for her “clumsy wording” on Monday when she suggested the prime minister would only heed her calls for additional staff after a hypothetical attack against her.
🔮 Proportional staffing would more than double One Nation’s staff, from four to nine, and raise salaries so the party could attract more experienced employees.
🔮 “We would not [make a determination] unless we conducted a thorough, proper investigation under the NACC Act,” Kilgour told the inquiry.
🔮 “Normally, it would be Helen up in front of the media speaking, and she’s pretty good at that.
🔮 When Catherine King was elected to federal parliament 25 years ago, she would spend plenty of time in the open with constituents: chatting to them across her reception desk and travelling around her regional Victorian electorate with a caravan that doubled as a mobile office.
🔮 The senator criticised Shoebridge for saying he had requested time off “because I knew it would be read as validating a story where there isn’t one”.
Also by Nick Newling
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 36 articles by Nick Newling →

Topics

Australia Canberra Crikey One Nation the High Court

Subjects

Joyce PERSON · 8× the High Court ORG · 4× Crikey PERSON · 3× One Nation ORG · 3× Sewell PERSON · 2× Thomas Sewell PERSON · 2× Australia GPE · 1× Barnaby Joyce PERSON · 1× Canberra GPE · 1× One Nation’s ORG · 1×

Narrative

An email from a Crikey journalist to Joyce seen by this masthead reads: “We understand Mr Joyce entered and left the casino with a group of National Socialist Network members including Hugo Lennon and Thomas Sewell, staying for approximately two hours sitting and talking together, and at a point discussed the group’s ongoing legal matter before the High Court.”
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-23
🔮 Joyce’s denial of the interaction comes just weeks after Australia’s neo-Nazi movement declared it would back One Nation’s path to government if the High Court overturns a ban on its new political party.
2026-09-23 · The Sydney Morning Herald
‘That’s a lie’: Joyce fury over claim he had meeting with neo-Nazis in Canberra · assertive framing

Claims (28 extracted, 2 hedged)

One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce has angrily denied holding a meeting with prominent neo-Nazis in Canberra earlier this month, after news outlet Crikey sent him an email alleging he spent two hours talking with the extremists at the local casino one evening. asserted
he → deny → casino
Joyce’s denial of the interaction comes just weeks after Australia’s neo-Nazi movement declared it would back One Nation’s path to government if the High Court overturns a ban on its new political party. asserted
Court → come → party
Speaking to radio station 2GB on Wednesday, Joyce said he attended the Canberra Casino a fortnight ago for a social visit with a “good mate”, and was later approached by a group “unbeknownst” to him. asserted
he → speak → him
“After a while, I start to get a little bit worried about them because they start talking about Anglo-Celtic and immigration and stuff like that. asserted
they → start → that
So I quietly make my way away. asserted
I → make → way
They go back to their table. asserted
They → go → table
Apparently, they are the … National Socialists,” Joyce said. asserted
Joyce → say → ?
“Now, the story that they’re running around is that I arrived with them. asserted
I → run → them
That’s a lie. asserted
That → ’ → ?
That’s a lie. asserted
That → ’ → ?
I left with them. asserted
I → leave → them
That’s a lie. asserted
That → ’ → ?
Did I actually even know who they were when they came up? asserted
they → know → ?
No, I didn’t. asserted
I → do → ?
“I don’t follow the Nazi Party, but they seemed like weird dudes, and I made sure we stopped the conversation. asserted
we → follow → conversation
And I went back and talked to some tradies from the Central Coast. asserted
I → go → Coast
An email from a Crikey journalist to Joyce seen by this masthead reads: “We understand Mr Joyce entered and left the casino with a group of National Socialist Network members including Hugo Lennon and Thomas Sewell, staying for approximately two hours sitting and talking together, and at a point discussed the group’s ongoing legal matter before the High Court.” asserted
Joyce → see → Court
The email requested comment and informed Joyce an article would be published at midday on Wednesday. asserted
article → request → Wednesday
In a second media appearance on Wednesday morning, Joyce said he found neo-Nazis to be “disgraceful” and that he “can’t stand them”. “My family fought against the fascists, I don’t want anything to do with them at all,” he told News24, formerly Sky News. asserted
he → say → News24
The National Socialist Network, an openly neo-Nazi group, is petitioning the High Court to overturn laws passed after the Bondi massacre that outlawed neo-Nazi and Islamist groups. asserted
that → petition → groups
Thomas Sewell – a notorious neo-Nazi who has called for a “race war” – and a team of lawyers are arguing the federal ban on the NSN’s successor, the White Australia Party, should be struck down because the Commonwealth was acting outside its power and was breaching the implied freedom of political communication and the separation of powers. asserted
Commonwealth → call → powers
A court decision to strike down the laws would be a serious defeat for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s post-Bondi crackdown on hate groups and, according to Sewell, it would “assist the creation of a Pauline Hanson prime ministership”. “Our purpose would be to support One Nation in forming government,” Sewell said outside the High Court on Thursday in a video posted on social media. uncertain
Sewell → strike → media
“I believe that a factor in why the Labor government has decided to pass this legislation was not only because of the hysteria of the Israeli lobby, but also because they know that we can assist One Nation in forming government. asserted
we → believe → government
“If this legislation is not overturned by the High Court, it could mean the difference between Pauline Hanson winning the election or not.” uncertain
Hanson → overturn → election
Crikey editor Alisha Rouse said Joyce was contacted for comment as a matter of standard practice. asserted
Joyce → say → practice
“A typical journalistic enquiry,” she said. asserted
she → say → enquiry
“We still haven’t heard back!” asserted
We → hear → ?
Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter. asserted
Subscribers → sign → newsletter
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