Prominent rural women expressed their anger at a potential return of Barnaby Joyce to the Nationals leadership, with one accusing the party of turning a blind eye to his past behaviour in order to raise funds and votes in some quarters.

Those speaking out, including a number of Rural Women award winners, raised issues such as public trust, personal integrity, respect for women, policy failure over water, live export and drought as well as support for mining over farming.

They were joined by National Farmers Federation president and New England constituent Fiona Simson.

“Every time [Joyce] opens his mouth, he undoes any good work that others in his party are doing,” Simson said.

The women agreed that a return to Joyce would “tar the National party with the same brush”, and one described the National party as a “headless chook” in its lack of leadership on removing Joyce from his seat.

A number of women also mentioned the National party’s investigation process into sexual harassment allegations made by 2012 WA Rural Womens award winner and advocate Catherine Marriott against Joyce, and the leaking of her name to the media.

Joyce has denied Marriott’s allegations, describing them as “spurious and defamatory”. The allegations have never been reported to the police but Joyce resigned from the Nationals leadership as they followed revelations of his affair with his staffer.

Farm succession planner, farmer and 2013 New South Wales Rural Woman of the Year, Isobel Knight, said Joyce was not the right person for the leadership and it was a common view in his seat of New England, where she lives.

“I don’t think he is the right person to be in leadership regardless of which side of politics you support, because of his personal integrity and lack of respect for women as well as his adherence to mining interests over farmers,” Knight said.

“The problem is he tars the Nats with the same brush; that they support interests of miners over farmers, that it’s OK to behave the way he has in a public arena and [they] think that process with Catherine Marriott is OK.”

Knight said the harassment allegations and Joyce’s personal circumstances were not widely known by local voters during the 2017 byelection when Joyce increased his margin following the dual citizenship issue.

She said she had hoped the National party would remove Joyce in the coming federal election and stand another candidate but he had not been replaced.

Your seat might live with your indiscretion, but to be a leader, you have to have standards Sue Middleton

“It speaks of [the National party] not having the spine they need to have,” Knight said.

“We are seriously worried about water, climate change, dry conditions, poor infrastructure and he just pays lip service to it, moves a few offices, gives a few cheques out, but there is nothing connected in a comprehensive way; it’s just chuck this here and there and everyone sees it as a waste.”

Businesswoman, farmer and national 2010 Rural Woman of the Year winner, Sue Middleton, said public trust was essential for a party leader, which ruled out Joyce. Middleton is an influential voice in rural Australia, having served on a number of boards and inducted into the WA Womens Hall of Fame. She has personally committed to campaign against the National party if Joyce returns to the leadership.

“If you can’t guarantee public trust, it’s difficult to be re-elected leader,” Middleton said. “Your seat might live with your indiscretion, but to be a leader, you have to have standards … though if I lived in New England I would not vote for him.”

Middleton said the Nationals’ state-based structure had failed because it was a “headless chook” which meant no one stepped up at a federal level to show leadership.

“[Joyce is] there because he’s part of an organisation [the National party] that is state-based,” Middleton said.

“The National party is a headless chook. As a state party, they have no one who can step up with moral code, no one to say these are our values and we need to lead with our values.

“They think this guy brings in funding and gets votes so we will turn a blind eye to behaviour which is totally unacceptable.”

Middleton said attacks against agriculture’s social licence, such as the cotton growers following the fish kills, the live export industry and farmers suffering drought, had occurred because Joyce had failed to implement and articulate good policy.

She said the switch to David Littleproud as agriculture minister had been a positive development.

“We can never return to Barnaby Joyce because without coherent national policy, agriculture is stuffed,” Middleton said.

“We need to understand [that] agriculture – which is based in global world markets – needs good long-term strategy around it. When you don’t have that strategy because it doesn’t suit your political purposes, you don’t have a future for agriculture.”

Middleton said Joyce’s tenure had alienated women by failing to provide restoration in the form of an apology to Marriott. The NSW National party investigated the allegations but were unable to reach a finding due to “insufficient evidence”.

“He is alienating one of the best group of people to challenge the status quo and bring about smart changes and that is rural women who make up 50% of rural Australia,” Middleton said.

Wee Waa agribusinesswoman Robbie Barclay said Joyce was arrogant to think he could return to the leadership. Barclay, who runs a contracting business with her husband, said she had voted Nationals in every election except once for Bob Hawke, though she was not game to tell her parents she supported the former Labor prime minister.

“Why should I tick [the] box for Nats because my grandfather does?” said Barclay.

“It’s all about arrogance, it reeks with it. They are public servants, they are not movie stars. A politician is a public servant who gets in and works for us and makes Australia a great place, not just for short-term game of winning votes.

“I just think [Joyce] is almost leader of the pack when it comes to a culture of arrogance. Maybe it is because I’m older and see it or maybe it’s always been a men’s club. You have to think really clearly what’s going on.”

Barclay said many services in the bush had not been properly funded, particularly domestic violence refuges and health services, even though farmers were regularly investing to improve their efficiency and communities had raised their own funds for government hospitals.

She said state and federal Nationals “had their chance”. Barclay said while she would change her vote, it remained unclear whether people in New England would change on a scale required to oust the sitting MP.

“At a guess, because we are generational National voters, you just go in and tick it [the Nationals’ box],” said Barclay. “For some reason, they go weak at knees as if it’s holy grail, as if we may miss out on, or be struck down by iron fist for not following the religion we have the past 50 years.”

Wee Waa web designer Kate Schwager, who won the 2006 NSW Rural Womens award, said while women did not support Joyce’s return to the top job, rural men also recognised the effect it could have on the country-based party.

“Even the men recognise that Barnaby’s return to the leadership will turn the women off the National party even more,” Schwager said.

A number of other women spoke on the grounds of anonymity, expressing their horror at a possible return to Joyce given his past behaviour, but feared they or their businesses could be punished if they spoke out.

Knight agreed speaking out was difficult in small communities, where businesses and rural organisations rely on community and often government support.

“For some people [the punishment] has been real,” Knight said. “Agriculture and rural communities are in a small world and we don’t go about trying to upset each other [because] people in positions of power can wield it – they forget their power comes from little people like us.”

Barnaby Joyce has been asked for comment.