Vikki Campion does not wish to proceed with complaint after $150K interview debacle
THE girlfriend of former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce has withdrawn her privacy complaint against The Daily Telegraph after pocketing $150,000 for an interview with Channel 7.
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THE girlfriend of former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce has withdrawn her privacy complaint against The Daily Telegraph after pocketing $150,000 for an interview with Channel 7.
Vikki Campion and Mr Joyce were accused of hypocrisy for accepting payment for a television interview on Sunday Night after complaining to the Press Council that their privacy had been breached by the front-page story that exposed their affair.
Speaking to yet another media organisation about the scandal, Ms Campion said she dropped the complaint to “focus on motherhood”.
“I filed a Breach of Privacy complaint when heavily pregnant in an attempt to prevent my baby being hounded by media after his birth, however he was papped at three weeks of age and drones used over our house,” Ms Campion told website 9 Finance.
“To stop being chased, we agreed to an interview. I have since approached the Press Council to close the complaint as I just want to focus on motherhood.”
The Daily Telegraph was not one of the organisations camped outside Ms Campion’s house with drones.
The Australian Press Council told The Saturday Telegraph yesterday that Ms Campion had dropped her complaint and the matter was considered closed.
“The complainant has informed us that they do not wish to proceed with the complaint,” a spokesman said.
“Accordingly, the complaint is now closed.”
Former Nationals leader Mr Joyce was accused of “hypocrisy” by his own colleagues for taking a six-figure sum for the interview after repeatedly refusing to answer questions about jobs and travel expenses.
At the time, Veterans Affairs Minister and Nationals member Darren Chester described the decision to accept money for an interview as “unprecedented”.
“If they are still being paid by the public purse, they shouldn’t receive income from fronting up to the media,” he said.
One Coalition backbencher said: “On the one hand to seek privacy and then on the other hand to seek an interview deal seems to reek of hypocrisy, doesn’t it?”
Another MP said Ms Campion’s Press Council complaint was “a clear case of double standards, and that’s regrettable”.
Mr Joyce, who was paid nearly $400,000 a year as Deputy Prime Minister, ignored criticism and claimed the interview was necessary.
“In the last fortnight, we’ve had drones over our house, we’ve had paparazzi waiting for us outside Armidale airport, we’ve had people following us to Uralla,” Mr Joyce told reporters in Canberra days before the interview aired.
“We tried just burning this out and that didn’t work.”
The Daily Telegraph revealed in February that Ms Campion was pregnant with Mr Joyce’s fifth child, which set off a dramatic chain of events, including raising questions about Ms Campion being moved into a well-paid role at Resources Minister Matt Canavan’s office.
The pair has repeatedly declined to answer questions about the job.
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