Parliament could consider a ban on sex between MPs and their staffers in the wake of the Barnaby Joyce affair, after independent MP Cathy McGowan said Canberra had fallen behind business and community expectations.

A day after it was revealed the deputy Prime Minister was expecting a child with former staffer Vikki Campion, the Nationals leader faced allegations he had been distracted by the relationship and had shown poor political judgment over a controversial December ministerial reshuffle.