The deputy prime minister has come back into the spotlight after his personal texts called the prime minister “a hypocrite and a liar”.

Joyce has indicated his private views about Scott Morrison have become more positive since he became deputy prime minister.

The Nationals leader, who apologised to Morrison in the wake of the texts emerging, said he had never worked one-on-one with the prime minister at the time the texts were sent to former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins in March 2021.

“Working one-on-one with him is a completely different scenario, I know him vastly better now,” Joyce told the Seven Network on Monday.

Littleproud says the Nationals maintain a “transactional” relationship with the government and if anything, Joyce has become “too close” to Morrison.

“I can honestly say that the relationship between Barnaby and Scott Morrison is close and in fact some Nats say it is too close,” he told the ABC.

The leaked text messages were sent when Joyce was still a government backbencher.

After the texts emerged, Joyce offered to resign as deputy prime minister, but Morrison indicated he had forgiven his deputy for the remarks.

Littleproud says Joyce shouldn’t offer his resignation to the Nationals party room when it meets on Monday but “robust” discussions would be had about the ordeal.

“Now the deputy prime minister will obviously come in and give us an explanation and set the record straight, but there is no mood for any change,” he said.

“We all go through times in our lives where we are in a darker space because it hasn’t gone our way, but what I would say is that Barnaby is now part of a cohesive team that is delivering for our country.”

The man Joyce replaced as Nationals leader, Michael McCormack, said Joyce had some explaining to do over the leaked texts and indicated he would consider putting his hand up for the leadership if it came up again.

“If enough members of the party came to me and asked me to lead the party, I would seriously consider that,” he told the ABC.

The imbroglio over Joyce’s leaked texts come amid another twist in the scandal over text messages sent between former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian and an unnamed cabinet minister calling the prime minister a “complete psycho”.

Another former NSW premier, Labor’s Bob Carr, sensationally accused Defence Minister Peter Dutton in a tweet on Sunday night as being the cabinet member behind the leak.

Dutton responded soon after with his own tweet, calling the assertion “baseless and untrue”

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese urged whoever sent the text messages about the prime minister to come forward, but said the issue was overshadowing other important issues.

“This is such a distraction, the dysfunction and the dishonesty and disunity is meaning this government is paralysed in taking the action that really does concern Australia,” he told the Seven Network.

“These are all distractions from what the prime minister’s job is and what the government’s job is.”