Knives out now among Nationals for Barnaby Joyce

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Barnaby Joyce’s hold on power at risk over affair: Nats

• The Australian
• 12:00AM February 12, 2018

National MPs are turning on Barnaby Joyce, warning that his leadership is in jeopardy amid concerns the party will lose conservative voters following revelations the Deputy Prime Minister is having a baby with his former staffer Vikki Campion.

Some MPs say they are receiving “white-hot anger” from constituents over the affair and the subsequent treatment of Ms Campion, who was moved out of Mr Joyce’s office into highly paid positions in the offices of Resources Minister Matt Canavan and party whip Damian Drum.

Senior government figures are warning Labor not to pursue Mr Joyce over the affair, with Foreign Minister Julie Bishop hinting at the prospect of reprisals by referring to “people in glass houses” as she entered The Lodge in Canberra yesterday to attend a “family day lunch” for MPs hosted by Malcolm Turnbull.

Mr Joyce’s office yesterday declined to answer questions from The Australian about whether taxpayers covered any of the accommodation or travel costs for Ms Campion after reports she was spotted holidaying with the Nationals leader on December 29 in Palm Cove, north of Cairns. The Daily Telegraph reported Ms Campion and Mr Joyce were in Townsville on December 26, seen in Palm Cove on December 29 and were spotted at a pub in Wooli, north of Coffs Harbour, at the end of the first week in January.

With Labor ramping up the pressure for a more comprehensive explanation about the use of public funds for Ms Campion’s employment and travel arrangements, some government MPs are privately hoping the Nationals leader steps down. They warn that the party’s election strategy may have to be revised given the damage caused by the affair amid concerns rural voters who strongly support family values will abandon the party.

“He could take one of the biggest falls of all ... It will be very hard for any Nationals MP to talk about family values going forward,” said one MP.
Another MP said: “If there’s any breach of travel entitlements, that will be the end of it.” But Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg yesterday said that Mr Joyce would lead the Nationals to the next election.

“Barnaby Joyce has the strong support of not just his partyroom but the entire Coalition,” he said.

Opposition deputy leader Tanya Plibersek, speaking on the ABC’s Insiders program, said Labor would continue to ask questions about whether public funds had been misused. “The only interest we have, and we will keep asking questions about, is in this area of how taxpayers’ funds have been expended,” she said.

“It might be that there is no case to answer here, but the Deputy Prime Minister and the Prime Minister should be prepared to answer questions.”

Ms Campion was moved into a position as a senior adviser in Senator Canavan’s office last April.

The move saw her elevated from Mr Joyce’s media adviser to Senator Canavan’s senior adviser — where pay scales published by the Finance Department show she was in line to earn up to $191,084. That ended when the dual-citizenship crisis forced Senator Canavan to stand down as resources minister in July.

Ms Campion returned to a role in Mr Joyce’s office and then a position was approved and created in Mr Drum’s office for her, with some Nationals MPs yesterday saying they were uncomfortable with the move.

Mr Joyce’s office issued a statement at the weekend confirming that he did not personally discuss Ms Campion’s employment with Mr Turnbull or the Prime Minister’s Office. It said the Nationals were “responsible for decisions relating to staffing in the offices of Nationals’ members”, but noted the Prime Minister’s Office had responsibility for an “administrative role in informing the Department of Finance of changes”.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/na...s/news-story/b82bb6967d30994fdd40800e8342bfc7