BARNABY Joyce says Tony Windsor is engaging in “a very sad poo throwing exercise” in making accusations linked to election donations from mining company Santos and the former New England independent MP’s ‘water trigger’ legislation.

Mr Joyce was questioned yesterday about the allegations raised by Mr Windsor who is challenging the Nationals deputy-leader, to try and reclaim his former NSW electorate at this year’s election.

Earlier in the day, Mr Windsor issued a media statement questioning the Agriculture and Water Resources Minister’s credibility on water policy, based on an analysis of Australian Electoral Commission donation disclosures.

His analysis showed the federal Nationals received more than $80,000 from Santos over four years starting three days after the federal ‘water trigger’ legislation was introduced, in September 2011.

“How can the people of New England, many of whom are deeply concerned about the possible impacts on their properties and groundwater systems contamination from Santos and other Coal Seam Gas companies, believe Mr Joyce when he is being funded by the very company they are fighting?” Mr Windsor said.

“This is the very definition of a conflict of interest.”

But when quizzed on the accusations from his political nemesis, Mr Joyce said it was “very sad” when an election campaign was reduced to “people throwing poo around”.

He said he wanted the campaign to be about “delivery”, citing several examples since he’s held the New England electorate won at the last election after Mr Windsor resigned due to health reasons, after holding the balance of power in the hung parliament.

Mr Joyce said the list of delivery items included Chaffey Dam and yesterday announced the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority would be relocated from Canberra to Armidale, as an election commitment.

“It is sad and to honest somewhat pathetic when the best we have is someone to give a (media door stop interview) about an allegation which even in their own statement they can’t give any details about,” Mr Joyce said.

“To be honest it’s a very sad poo throwing exercise.”

Mr Joyce said everything that was within Mr Windsor’s water trigger legislation remained in place.

Mr Windsor said Santos donated $80,360 to the federal Nationals between 2011 and 2015 following introduction of the ‘water trigger’ but had only given $6,050 between 2003 and 2011.

The ‘water trigger’ was an amendment to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, to give the Commonwealth powers to seek independent science based scrutiny of mining projects, to protect environmental assets.

Mr Windsor said he’d never taken donations from the CSG industry and accused the Nationals of taking “transactional” donations linked to various iterations of the ‘water trigger’ in federal parliament, since its introduction.