‘Difficult circumstances’: PM weighs in on Barnaby Joyce’s big night

Anthony Albanese has addressed Barnaby Joyce’s big night out, in a very different approach he took with Senator Lidia Thorpe’s strip club incident.

Anthony Albanese has weighed in on Barnaby Joyce’s big night out that ended in him being filmed lying near a gutter in a Canberra street.

The former deputy prime minister said he was ashamed and “embarrassed” after video emerged where he appears slightly tired and emotional.

The bizarre footage, obtained by Daily Mail Australia, records the Nationals frontbencher lying on the footpath in Canberra late at night while mumbling “dead f**king c***” into his phone.

Speaking on Perth radio, Anthony Albanese made light of Mr Joyce’s predicament suggesting he had never found himself lying on the street in Canberra.

“Not in that position,” he told 6PR radio.

“That’s a matter for Barnaby Joyce to explain. I think that’s a matter for him I don’t intend to comment on what is clearly difficult circumstances for Barnaby Joyce.”

Barnaby Joyce pictured on the ground on Wednesday night. Picture: X

His approach is very different to the one he took when ex Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe was caught having a public meltdown outside a strip club on CCTV.

He urged Ms Thorpe to “get some support” after she engaged in a verbal altercation with a group of men outside of Maxine’s Gentlemen’s Club, in Melbourne, last year.

In the footage, Senator Thorpe taunted a man for having a “small penis” and accused the men of stealing her land.

The prime minister urged Senator Lidia Thorpe to “get some support” in the wake of her explosive strip club meltdown. Picture: ABC/Supplied

“I hope that Lidia gets some support. I think that level of behaviour is quite clearly unacceptable and I think there are obvious issues that need to be dealt with, in terms of her health issues,” he told Sydney’s 2SM radio.

“These are not the actions of anyone who should be participating in society in a normal way, let alone a senator.

“Lidia needs to be very conscious of the way in which this behaviour has been seen.”

News.com.au has sought comment from Senator Thorpe about Mr Albanese’s comments.

Wife explains

Mr Joyce’s wife Vikki Campion said that he was on the phone with her at the time and the harsh words were not directed at her.

“No I think he was calling himself one, he likes to self flagellate,” she told news.com.au.

Ms Campion said she was disappointed someone filmed the incident rather than render assistance.

“I’ve been with Barnaby when we have found a man in the same state on the street and rather than take a video and sell it to the media, he picked the guy up and took him home, we later found out there had been problems with his medication and if he hadn’t helped him back he could have been in a very bad situation,” she said.

Barnaby Joyce and Vikki Campion with their children Thomas and Sebastian. Pic Brad Hunter/ Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

“On another occasion he picked up a hospital patient who was walking around disoriented and took him back to the hospital.

“Both of them were Canberra residents who he went out of his way to help after a sitting. It’s disgusting that when he was in need they could not even check he was ok.”

Ms Campion said her husband did hurt himself, but observed that like most farmers he never complained.“He did hurt his back but he hasn’t made a big deal of it,” she said. “The guy who took the video witnessed him fall off the pot plant and confirmed that to the Daily Mail, and instead of checking if he was ok, whipped his phone out, took a video and kept walking. Lovely.”

In a statement, Mr Joyce said he was embarrassed and confirmed he had fallen off the inner-city planter box.

“I was walking back to my accommodation after Parliament rose at 10pm,” he said.

“While on the phone I sat on the edge of a plant box, fell over, kept talking on the phone, and very animatedly was referring to myself for having fallen over.”

Originally published as ‘Difficult circumstances’: PM weighs in on Barnaby Joyce’s big night