Presenting his most conciliatory tone, Senator Joyce said that at times the National Party and the three rural independents - Rob Oakeshott, Tony Windsor and Bob Katter - had competed on the same turf.
But, he said, he wasn't about to start lecturing them about what they should and shouldn't do.
Senator Joyce told Sky News on Monday he didn't want to see a Labor-Green government, an emissions trading scheme and massive debt.
"These are the sort of things that I know that regional people don't want, and yes I do have to bite my tongue and I have to try and make sure that we make this arrangement work," he said.
Senator Joyce said he was being a realist.
"These guys do have immense power. They will determine the future of our nation," he said.
"They will determine whether the prime minister is Mr Abbott ... or whether it's Ms Gillard with a Labor-Green government."
Senator Joyce and NSW independent Mr Windsor famously clashed on election night, with Mr Windsor subsequently calling Senator Joyce a fool on live television.
The senator said it really did worry him about where the nation was headed.
"Now, my duty has a higher purpose than to get involved in a partisan dispute," he said.
Senator Joyce said the independents were all reasonable people but they should make up their mind soon on who to support as the next government.
He said they had suggested there would be a verdict by week's end.
"That's probably a good thing because we have got to be careful and we hope and pray that our nation doesn't ever get into immediate crisis," he said.
"If it does, we don't want any ambiguity of who the government is."
