Barnaby Joyce’s colleagues slam his behaviour over love child saga

BARNABY Joyce’s colleagues have hit out at his behaviour during the love child saga as the Deputy Prime Minister confessed he had failed in his marriage.

BARNABY Joyce’s colleagues have hit out at his behaviour during the love child saga as the Deputy Prime Minister confessed he had failed in his marriage.

Mr Joyce said on Wednesday night he was “not proud” of the breakdown of his marriage and his affair with former staffer Vikki Campion, who is now pregnant, but he denied taxpayers’ money had been misused during their relationship.

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Government MPs claim Mr Joyce’s personal situation was behind the “vindictive” pre-Christmas ministerial reshuffle that saw colleagues who he believed had been gossiping and briefing journalists about his affair were dumped or overlooked for promotion.

Others were “aghast” at his judgment last year and questioned his ability to make important decisions.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce’s colleagues have hit out at his behaviour during the love child saga. Picture: AAP/Lukas Coch

Mr Joyce said he dedicated himself “probably too much to my job” and that “one of the greatest failures of my life was the end of my marriage”.

“I failed, and I’m — obviously — incredibly sorry about that,” he told 7.30.

The father of four said it was “incredibly painful for everybody involved” but refused to answer questions about the affair, saying he wanted to “make sure that private matters remain private”.

Mr Joyce’s wife Natalie said she was devastated by her estranged husband’s affair after 24 years of marriage.

“I understand that this affair has been going on for many months and started when she was a paid employee,” she said.

“Naturally we also feel deceived and hurt by the actions of Barnaby and the staff member involved.”

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Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce pictured with wife Natalie. Picture: Supplied

“Our family life has had to be shared during Barnaby’s political career and it was with trust that we let campaign and office staff into our homes and into our lives.”

The Herald Sun can reveal government MPs became increasingly concerned by Mr Joyce’s behaviour as the breakup took its toll last year.

One colleague told the Herald Sun he was sometimes “irrational”, leading to strained relations between the Prime Minister’s office and Mr Joyce’s office.

“He was totally jumping at shadows and thought everyone was against him,” one colleague said on Wednesday night.

“The reality is some of us had heard the rumours but no one was going to be anything but supportive. But the longer it went on the more paranoid he became and stopped listening to advice.

“We watched the New England by-election waiting for either the story to break or for him to have a breakdown on TV. I’m not sure how he got through it.”

It is understood senior aides to Malcolm Turnbull recommended Mr Joyce “come clean” with his personal circumstances amid increased speculation, especially on social media.

Other Nationals MPs say the party was left “leaderless” for weeks, including when both Mr Joyce and former deputy Fiona Nash referred themselves to the High Court over their citizenship status.

But Mr Joyce and his senior aide Jake Smith believed a policy of not answering questions was the best approach.

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BARNABY Joyce’s new love moved between several Nationals MPs’ offices last year during a period when the Deputy Prime Minister spoke of struggling with emotional turmoil.

Vikki Campion, who was the Nationals’ leader’s former media adviser, left his office in April last year.

She then took up a more senior position in the office of Resources Minister Matt Canavan, who is an ally of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Ms Campion moved out of Senator Canavan’s office after he resigned from Cabinet at the end of July, amid doubt over his citizenship status, and took up a role in the office of Nationals Whip Damian Drum, a Victorian MP.

Barnaby Joyce has left his wife and four daughters and is now expecting a child with former staffer Vikki Campion, 33.

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But the former journalist at Sydney’s Daily Telegraph lost her political job when Mr Drum was appointed assistant minister to the Deputy PM during a ministerial reshuffle just before Christmas.

A spokesman confirmed her contract had ended owing to ministerial changes and she had been “subject to the same provisions as all other staff”.

Back in August — after Mr Joyce’s own citizenship problems were exposed — he spoke of being “shell-shocked”, saying he couldn’t sleep at night.

“Of course it is stressful. It would be ridiculous to say it isn’t stressful,” he said then.

“You stay awake at night. You wake up early in the morning, and you are working things over in your mind as to how this happened.”

Two months earlier, Mr Joyce had attended Canberra’s Midwinter Ball with his wife, Natalie. But several months later, on the campaign trail for the New England by-election, he confirmed he was no longer living at the family home.

In December, during the same-sex marriage debate, Mr Joyce told the House of Representatives he was separated from his wife, saying: “I don’t come to this debate pretending to be any form of saint.”

Passenger lists for RAAF VIP jets, used by government ministers, show Ms Campion travelled regularly with Mr Joyce towards the end of 2016.

Last March, Mr Joyce’s ­eldest daughter told The Australian newspaper that her ­father’s political career had caused “a horrible life and I don’t wish it upon anyone”.

“Probably the worst thing is that we haven’t spent time ­together as a family since he got elected in 2004,” she said.

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