Nationals leader John Barilaro takes mental health leave after NSW koala policy drama
Besieged Nationals leader John Barilaro will go on extended leave from Saturday for mental health reasons, after a week of debate over a koala policy that has torn apart the Coalition government, and a month after his father died.
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Besieged Nationals leader John Barilaro will go on extended leave from Saturday for mental health reasons after a debate over a koala policy that has torn apart the Coalition government.
The announcement followed the Monaro MP receiving a standing ovation at the party’s annual general meeting in Sydney on Friday, where he vowed to continue to fight against the policy.
A source close to Mr Barilaro said the ongoing attacks by Transport Minister Andrew Constance “and other Liberals” on the back of fires and drought had pushed Mr Barilaro to the brink.
“After nine months of helping people rebuild their lives after the worst fires in history, after dealing with farmers who have just faced the worst drought on record, and compounded with losing his father a month ago, it’s time for a rest,” the source said.
Mr Barilaro, who rarely takes leave, was due to take one week off but on Friday extended it by “up to four weeks”. It is not clear if he will return to attend the expected October 6 cabinet debate of the policy.
In a recent interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Barilaro said he had experienced depression and had been seeing a psychiatrist.
“It’s about how you manage it and for a long time I thought I could do it on my own – this year I couldn’t,” he said.
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The debate over the koala SEPP, during which he threatened to cross the floor with other ministers, follows a tumultuous eight months for Mr Barilaro who aborted a tilt at federal politics, waged war over bushfires and brumbies, and allegedly called Mr Constance the “c-word” in a text.
While he made amends with Police Minister David Elliott, other Liberals have not been as forgiving.
The decision to take leave came as 60 NSW Nationals ministers, MPs and party officials gathered at the Rydges Hotel for the party’s AGM and endorsed the fight against the koala SEPP.
After the AGM, Mr Barilaro was seen having lunch with 2GB talk show host Ben Fordham and Labor veteran Graham Richardson.
Mr Fordham said Mr Barilaro had openly discussed how he was struggling to deal with the loss of his beloved father, 79-year-old Domenico.
“I was really impressed by the fact he was so honest. He walked in, sat down and said: ‘I’m struggling. I have been since dad died’.”
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she had offered her deputy “any support he may need”.
On Thursday, Mr Barilaro failed to attend a Cabinet sub-committee meeting with Premier Gladys Berejiklian and other ministers despite bushfire recovery being one of the items to be discussed.
A Liberal source claimed Mr Barilaro instead took part in a series of television interviews.
However, Mr Barilaro’s staff denied the claim, declaring their boss had been in his office discussing “work, policy and leave arrangements”.
Regional Transport Minister Paul Toole will step in while Mr Barilaro is on leave.
NSW koala policy: John Barilaro doesn’t regret Coalition threat
Deputy Premier John Barilaro says he has “no regrets” over his party’s threat to split the Coalition over koala protection rules, after a senior Liberal minister slammed his “politically reckless” behaviour.
In an extraordinary spray at the Nationals leader yesterday, Transport Minister Andrew Constance said Mr Barilaro’s actions had pushed the Coalition to the brink of collapse.
He said the issue was no longer about koalas but about “leadership”.
“For Christ’s sake, just get back to what’s important here, and that’s the community. And that’s where Barra’s, quite frankly, buggering up,” he said.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian did not criticise Mr Constance for those statements.
“I think Minister Constance has always spoken his mind, as we’ve seen, and he continues to do that,” she said.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Mr Barilaro on Thursday for the first time promised there would be “no circumstances” where he would raise the prospect of leaving the Coalition. He appeared deflated and exhausted in parliament after a bruising week in which his leadership was called into question.
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However, Mr Barilaro’s actions in threatening to split the government were partly to safeguard his Nationals party leadership because four MPs had already threatened to sit on the crossbench.
“To allow four members to sit on the crossbench for any leader, it’s not palatable,” he said, suggesting he would be under pressure if his party had not presented a united front.
Liberal MPs, farmers and lobby groups are increasingly raising their concerns about the koala protection rules since the dramatic Nationals threat. The policy increases the number of trees considered “core” koala habitat from 10 to more than 120.
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Regional Liberals whose electorates are covered by the SEPP on Thursday welcomed cabinet considering the policy.
“I welcome the cabinet considering the SEPP and providing further assurance in the guidelines where necessary,” Albury MP Justin Clancy said.
Hawkesbury MP Robyn Preston said she discussed the policy with Planning and Public Spaces Minister Rob Stokes this week amid concern from her voters.
Nathaniel Smith, who raised the matter in Liberal meetings this week, said he would continue to work with colleagues to “strike the right balance between protecting property rights and preserving our iconic koalas”.
However, long-serving Davidson MP Jonathan O’Dea said of 1149 emails his electorate office has responded to regarding the planning rules, only one opposed the policy.
COALITION ON BRINK AS SENIOR LIB SLAMS ‘RECKLESS’ BARILARO
The Coalition relationship has never been at a worse state than it is now, according to a senior Liberal Minister in comments that will reignite a civil war that almost saw the Nationals split the government.
Transport Minister Andrew Constance has unloaded on the Deputy Premier, calling John Barilaro “politically reckless” and accusing him of “buggering up”.
It comes after Mr Barilaro repeatedly refused to rule out making further threats to leave the Coalition.
When asked whether those actions made him angry, Mr Constance replied: “you bet it did”.
“I thought his behaviour in the parliament yesterday was unnecessary. He stood up and didn’t guarantee the coalition,” Mr Constance said.
A guarantee to keep the coalition in place was a key request Premier Gladys Berejiklian made of Mr Barilaro last Friday.
Mr Constance said tensions in the government were no longer about koala protection policies but about “leadership”.
Mr Constance said he was able to exempt bushfire victims in his electorate from contentious koala protection rules through proper consultation, accusing Mr Barilaro of ignoring due process.
“For christ’s sake, just get back to what’s important here, and that’s the community. And that’s where Barra’s, quite frankly, buggering up,” he said.
The senior Liberal Minister — who has publicly lashed out at Mr Barilaro in the past — said he had not seen the Coalition relationship at a worse point that it was now.
Asked whether he thought the Coalition partnership was unstable with Mr Barilaro as Nationals leader, Mr Constance replied:
“What do you reckon?
“Did you see question time yesterday? Seriously,” he said.
Not a single Liberal spoke in support of John Barilaro as the Berejiklian government was forced to stare down a no-confidence motion in the deputy premier from Labor in NSW parliament yesterday.
Mr Barilaro survived the motion 48-40, but serious questions over Coalition solidarity remained due to the absence of any Liberal speaking in his support following last week’s threat to cross the floor over koala legislation.
Government whip Adam Crouch also failed to send an order to government MPs to support Mr Barilaro in the chamber, which is the normal course of action when there is a no-confidence motion or a censure motion against a government member.
A government spokesman said this was due to COVID restrictions on numbers allowed in the house, and that the Nationals MPs had requested all the available space.
However gallery seating in the chamber was not used, which would have opened up more space.
It can also be revealed that the koala policy has been put on the agenda for the October 6 cabinet meeting, meaning Mr Barilaro did not secure a major concession he wanted during the impasse with Liberals colleagues — discussing the policy sooner on September 21.
Mr Barilaro himself also refused to guarantee Coalition solidarity to the election yesterday — a key request Premier Gladys Berejiklian made of him.
Asked by Labor in Question Time if he ruled out making further threats against the Coalition, Mr Barilaro said: “My guarantee is that I’ll keep working each and every day for the people of rural and regional NSW, including the issues around the koala SEPP (State Environmental Planning Policy)”.