Barnaby Joyce has stunned viewers of ABC's The Weekly, after suggesting "white" Australians are the real victims of poverty and marginalisation.

In a prickly exchange with host Charlie Pickering, Joyce drew audible jeers from ABC's in-studio audience when he appeared to prioritise the plight of "poor, white" Australians.

Joyce was responding to Pickering's question as to why he chose to release his new tell-all memoir just as media scrutiny on his scandal was finally dying.

"The book is not a memoir about me, it's a memoir about trying to look after people in regional areas that are doing it tough," Joyce responded.