Barnaby Joyce needs to shut up or ship out

His predilection for saying whatever he pleases whenever he fancies may have flown under Turnbull, but if Barnaby Joyce wants to survive Prime Minister Morrison’s reign, something’s gotta give, writes David Mills.

This week, Barnaby Joyce has continued to provide a salutary warning for all married men who are contemplating running off and having an affair.

Apparently, the former Deputy Prime Minister is finding it tough to get by on his parliamentary pay packet. (In addition to his base salary of $211,000, Joyce is also eligible for an additional $30,000 as a committee chair, and up to $46,000 in entitlements. Conservatively, that’s at least $250,000 a year.)

With support payments going out to his former wife, a daughter at boarding school, and two young kids to provide for, 52-year-old Barnaby is apparently in such dire straights he’s been reduced to washing his own dishes, turning off the heater on cold nights and even slaughtering his own livestock. The “big thrill” of his day is buying a cup of coffee, he says.

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Barnaby reportedly decided to reveal the depths of his penury to argue for an increase to the Newstart allowance, saying his own circumstances had given him an insight into the, “thousands … doing it much tougher than me”.

That’s all fine and well, but is there any aspect of his private life that the Australian public is not aware of now? Is there anything he will not share?

Despite earning around $250,000 per year, MP Barnaby Joyce says he’s doing it tough. Picture: AAP/Lukas Coch

Barnaby Joyce has attempted to justify his latest outbreak of candour on the basis that the issue is too important to ignore.

“If I don’t raise the issue then I’m a coward,” he told News Corp’s Renee Vellaris. “It would probably help my career if I shut up.”

But shutting up is something that one suspects the garrulous member for New England finds hard to do.

He’s been especially vocal of late, weighing in on the legislated increase to the superannuation guarantee, proposing that nuclear power be free for people who live near the plants, and spruiking a radical-sounding plan for reforming the Senate.

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Under his plan, each Australian state would be split into six regions, and each region would be responsible for electing two senators. It’s so out-there and with such little chance of ever becoming adopted one wonders why he’s bothering to mount the case for it at all. Is it a way of keeping his leadership aspirations on a low flame? Or does he just like having his name in the papers?

His recent freewheeling policy proposals also run counter to Scott Morrison’s reported determination to run a “no surprises” administration — a government that implements the policies it took to the people at the election, no more and no less.

Barnaby Joyce with his partner Vicki Campion and their two sons, Thomas and Sebastian. Joyce also has four daughters from his previous marriage. Picture: supplied

Just last week, the Prime Minister told Coalition MPs if they had a policy idea they wanted to propose they should do so via internal party processes, rather than pitching the idea to the general public.

David Speers reported that there were some internal ructions over the directive, with one Cabinet Minister describing the PM (in private) as a “control freak”.

And it seems clear what Barnaby Joyce thought, promptly running off and giving oxygen to the dole debate for another news cycle.

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Former Nationals leader John Anderson recently raised concern about Joyce’s behaviour, reportedly telling a forum in London: “I urge Barnaby to recognise the need to take people with him over the longer term. It takes time to rebuild broken trust.”

Trying to control the policy adventurism of the former Deputy Prime Minister will be a big test for Scott Morrison.

Running a “no surprises” government with a man like Barnaby Joyce on the team? Well, good luck with that.

David Mills is a journalist with News Corp.

@DavidMills1972