Joyce condemned for airing paternity questions
A COALITION colleague has blasted Barnaby Joyce as “a first-class c ...” as fellow MPs condemned the former deputy prime minister after his comments casting doubt on whether he is the father of his partner’s new baby and his denial that he had ever been asked about it.
NSW
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A COALITION colleague has blasted Barnaby Joyce as “a first-class c ...” as fellow MPs condemned the former deputy prime minister after his comments casting doubt on whether he is the father of his partner’s new baby and his denial that he had ever been asked about it.
Other Coalition members described the conduct of the former Nationals leader as “selfish” and “disrespectful” as Mr Joyce yesterday declared he had “no choice” but to make the comments.
Despite four interviews with Fairfax Media in a fortnight, Mr Joyce yesterday complained his relationship with Vikki Campion, his former adviser who is now his partner, had “continued to be pursued by media despite my resignation”.
In an earlier — reportedly unprompted — interview, Mr Joyce stated that there was a “grey area” around the paternity of his son, just 12 days after telling the same media outlet that he did not “want our child to grow up as some sort of public display”.
A Coalition MP told The Daily Telegraph he thought Mr Joyce was “a first-class c ...” for questioning the paternity of Ms Campion’s child because he was travelling in Europe at the apparent time of the conception.
“This judgment is appalling, bizarre and I think he has some real issues in his private life to sort out,” another said.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull denied Mr Joyce’s comments were derailing the government’s agenda, and said the issues raised were “matters for them to resolve”.
Mr Joyce also claimed The Telegraph, which broke the story of the affair on February 7, had not asked him if the child was his before publication.
But The Telegraph contacted Mr Joyce’s chief-of-staff Jake Smith on February 6 at 3.33pm, asking “is Mr Joyce the father of the baby and when is the baby due” along with seven other questions.
Mr Smith responded at 6.01pm, denying three claims but declining to comment on the remaining queries, including about the paternity of Ms Campion’s child.
Ms Campion, 32, was also asked on the same date about the paternity of her child, which is expected in April, but did not respond to requests for comment.
Mr Smith did not respond to questions about why Mr Joyce said he had never been asked yesterday.
The scandal, and a string of separate revelations about Mr Joyce, including an allegation of sexual harassment, forced the New England MP to resign as deputy prime minister last Monday.