Barnaby Joyce failed to declare new partner within deadline
BARNABY Joyce failed to list pregnant girlfriend Vikki Campion as his official partner on Government documents within 28 days of publicly declaring his former staffer was his partner.
NSW
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BARNABY Joyce failed to list his pregnant girlfriend Vikki Campion as his official partner on government documents within 28 days of publicly declaring his former staffer is now his partner.
Last month Mr Joyce apologised to his wife and four daughters over the breakdown of his marriage and said: “It is without a shadow of a doubt that Vikki Campion is my partner now.”
But five weeks after making the public statement, Mr Joyce’s estranged partner Natalie was still listed as his spouse on his parliamentary register of interests even though he is expecting a baby with Ms Campion within weeks.
MPs have 28 days to update their register when their circumstances change and can be found in contempt of parliament.
Mr Joyce only disclosed the relationship late last week — after questions from The Sunday Telegraph — missing Parliament’s strict 28-day deadline.
Parliamentary rules require MPs to disclose the financial interests of their “spouse” on the parliamentary register.
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The term “spouse” was first introduced in 1984 at the time the first resolution was agreed but was later expanded to include de factos or domestic partners.
The public register lists the financial interests — including gifts, income, bank accounts, trust funds, loans, shares and real estate — of politicians, their partners and children, and is used to prevent conflicts of interest.
The register shows Ms Campion owns a house in Canberra that the couple plan to rent out. Mr Joyce has also altered his register to remove the controversial gift of a rental property in Armidale, owned by a multi-millionaire businessman, as he has moved out.
Mr Joyce was contacted for comment and refused to say whether Ms Campion was listed as his family member entitled to taxpayer-paid travel.