Miranda Live: Pauline Hanson — ‘Let Barnaby get on with life’
SINCE admitting to carrying on a torrid affair and impregnating his staffer, Barnaby Joyce has “copped it”. Now, it’s time the country backed off the embattled former Deputy PM — before it’s too late, One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson has warned.
ONE Nation leader Pauline Hanson has called for the nation to ease off embattled former Nationals Leader Barnaby Joyce, saying she hopes the situation doesn’t push him into “some sort of depression”.
Former Deputy Prime Minister and Nationals Leader Mr Joyce stood down last week as his party started an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment. Mr Joyce has denied all allegations.
But Ms Hanson told Daily Telegraph columnist Miranda Devine on her online radio show Miranda Live yesterday, the former PM had “copped it”.
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“I’m concerned for him, I hope he doesn’t fall into some sort of depression,” she told Miranda Live.
“I can’t say if he’s made a good mistake or bad mistake ... but the repercussions, it’s been in the media for weeks — it’s like Days of our Lives.
“It must be taking its toll on him.”
The former Deputy PM spent more than two weeks fighting off accusations of improper conduct over his affair with his now-pregnant former staffer Vikki Campion, and her movement from his office to two other political offices.
Mr Joyce will remain on the backbench, replaced as leader by Michael McCormack.
Over the weekend, he took the extraordinary step of saying there was a ‘grey area’ over whether he is father to his former staffer’s baby.
Bur Ms Hanson did not shy away from slamming the former Nats leader, earlier calling him a “bloody fool”.
After announcing he’d step down, the New England MP took aim at “the leaking, the backgrounding” which he blamed at destabilising his leadership in the weeks after the Telegraph revealed an office affair with Vikki Campion, his now-pregnant former media adviser.
Ms Hanson echoed the comments, saying that while she didn’t approve of Mr Joyce’s actions, she thought it time to leave him, his family and new partner alone.
“I just would like to see the media back away, let him get on with his life and get over it,” she told Miranda Live.
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• Miranda Live: Pauline Hanson talks ‘bloody fool’ Barnaby
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