Federal Nationals are urging their party to shift to the right following the NSW election in order to head off a looming challenge from the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party after its barnstorming results in the bush.

Former leader Barnaby Joyce said the Shooters' strong showing underlined the need for a government-backed coal-fired power plant and a plan - such as the long-mooted Bradfield Scheme - to pump more water to the country's interior.

Barnaby Joyce said the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party was an organised threat from the political right. Credit:AAP

In a barely-disguised rebuke of Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack's leadership, Mr Joyce said voters were "rightly angry" and the National Party had to demonstrate it took their concerns seriously.

"They believe too much water has gone to the environment and it has destroyed their town," he told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.