They're putting the band back together - but Barnaby Joyce ain't buying tickets. Under pressure in his own seat from predecessor Tony Windsor, the Deputy Prime Minister used his pre-election address at the National Press Club to rail against independents, Greens and minor parties, deriding them as populists and rogues.

"They stand outside the order of the nation. They play from the edges," Mr Joyce said. "They claim credit for virtually everything but [they're] not responsible for anything."

Recent polls have shown the major parties struggling to retain support, with voters embracing independents, micro-parties and new forces, such as the Nick Xenophon Team.