Like a pent-up stallion waiting to burst out of the gates, Barnaby Joyce was itching to perform. Put on a show. Give 'em something to talk about.

It started from his very first answer, as he scoffed about Labor buying $300 million worth of water "off a business based in Argentina", as if they'd purchased it from outer space.

From there, Joyce took flight into a surreal world of righteous indignation, cornflakes idioms and mixed metaphors which – if nothing else – delivered an exemplar in the power of radio.

Patricia Karvelas and Barnaby Joyce duelled for 30 minutes over the controversial $80 million water buy back. Credit:AAP

In a marathon interview with the ABC's Patricia Karvelas, Joyce vehemently denied any wrongdoing in a decision – while he was minister for water and agriculture – to buy $79 million worth of water from a company domiciled in the Cayman Islands that was co-founded by Angus Taylor, who is now himself a federal government minister.