Barnaby, for the love of God, stop talking

BARNABY Joyce appears to be going for a medal in blaming and shaming, writes Kylie Lang. How much more is his partner prepared to take?

BARNABY Joyce has terrific form at blaming and shaming — and I’m wondering how much of it his partner is prepared to take.

The decision to accept $150,000 from Network Seven for a tell-all interview about their new family was not his, but hers.

Presumably, Vikki Campion made the choice without consulting him, striking a deal no opportunist would miss.

Joyce wouldn’t have done such a thing, oh no, the former Deputy Prime Minister telling The Australian, “I am not going to charge for that”.

Self-righteous much?

This is not the first time Mr Joyce has left Ms Campion to face discordant music.

In March he planted seeds of doubt that the child his former staffer was carrying — and gave birth to last month — was his.

He said the baby boy would be raised “as mine” but that the identity of the biological father was “a grey area”.

Not a grey area to Ms Campion, but to hell with that.

Barnaby Joyce said his partner Vikki Campion wanted to make money from an interview after being pursued by paparazzi. (Pic: Seven News)

For all Mr Joyce’s obtuse language, the 33-year-old could have been having sex with any number of men.

His New England rival Tony Windsor tweeted at the time: “If anyone had doubts about Joyce’s character I think they now have a clear picture of this grub, (who) will sacrifice others on his blundering self-centred path. How many more women does he have to damage?”

Remember back to February when news broke of the Joyce-Campion affair?

Mr Joyce and Natalie Joyce, his wife of 24 years, were both afforded the opportunity to prepare statements and deliver their respective messages to the media.

Mrs Joyce said she felt “deceived and hurt”, while Mr Joyce also described being “incredibly hurt” that his private life was now in the public eye (despite him being a high-profile politician).

What of Ms Campion? Where was her voice? She appeared to be deliberately kept in the background, some might say alluding to a sense of shame befitting a “homewrecker”.

Never mind that no marriage breaks down because of one person.

Mr Joyce’s latest jettisoning of responsibility doesn’t bode well for the success of his latest relationship, and if the new father really is in love, then he has an odd way of showing it.

Kylie Lang is an associate editor of the Courier-Mail.

@kylie_lang

Originally published as Barnaby, for the love of God, stop talking