Miranda Live: Nationals need to ‘own’ Barnaby Joyce scandal
FORMER Nationals MP and deputy prime minister John Anderson says it’s imperative the National Party listen to their base and “own” the Barnaby Joyce affair.
FORMER Nationals MP and deputy prime minister John Anderson says it’s imperative the National Party listen to their base and “own” the Barnaby Joyce affair.
In bold comments made on The Daily Telegraph’s Miranda Live online radio show, Mr Anderson said it was the responsibility of the Nationals’ party room to handle the situation “collectively” — or risk an unstable government.
LISTEN TO THE FULL MIRANDA LIVE INTERVIEW:
“It’s no use me pontificating from the side — and some would be saying, well you shouldn’t even be saying this much — but I do want to say you’ve got to own the things you’re responsible for and the National Party is responsible for ensuring the Coalition can govern well, otherwise it will spiral out of control,” he told Miranda Devine.
When asked who should stand up and take responsibility of the crisis, which last week triggered a public spat between Malcolm Turnbull and his deputy, Mr Anderson said: “The party room has to”.
READ MORE: PM stops Barnaby Joyce taking entire urban infrastructure portfolio
“They have to do it collectively — they’ve got to be unified, they’ve got to be able to reassure their senior Coalition Party that they’re serious and that they’re getting on with the job and they’ve got to be able to carry the Australian people.”
Mr Anderson said he’d counselled Mr Joyce to “be honest” about his situation after The Daily Telegraph broke news of his affair with former staffer Vikki Campion.
“John Howard was fond of saying, ‘The mob understands you, they get you’. The other thing I would say though is that if there’s one thing Australians have the ability to pick a mile away it’s authenticity,” he said.
Miranda Live is back on the air from 4pm tomorrow. Got a question or want to leave a comment? Follow live on Twitter using the #Mirandalive hashtag
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