John Oliver lampoons Barnaby Joyce over affair

THE scandal over Barnaby Joyce’s affair has spread all the way to the United States, with TV comedian John Oliver skewering the Deputy PM in front of millions.

THE embarrassment of Barnaby Joyce’s extramarital affair has reached all the way to the US, with satirist John Oliver skewering the Deputy Prime Minister on his show on Sunday night.

Mr Joyce is on five days’ personal leave after news broke that the married father-of-four was having a baby with his former staffer Vikki Campion.

Speaking on his comedy show Last Week Tonight, Oliver made fun of the scandal by pointing out that Mr Joyce had opposed gay marriage in Australia due to his belief in traditional family values.

John Oliver mocks Barnaby Joyce on his program Last Week Tonight. Picture: HBO

“You might think that that is hypocritical, but in reality Joyce has such incredible family values that he can’t restrict them to just one family,” he joked.

“The Australian media has understandably jumped on this story like a deputy prime minister with a wife and four children jumping on his 33-year-old former media adviser.”

Oliver also took a swipe at Ms Campion’s father, showing a Seven News clip of an angry Peter Campion saying: “I think a deputy PM on a spit would be quite a sight.”

Oliver couldn’t help but mock the bearded man.

“I think that might be the most Australian man who has ever lived,” he said.

Peter Campion, the grandfather of Deputy Primary Minister Barnaby Joyce's grandchild, due in April. Picture: David Anthony

“In Australia, they don’t actually have Santa Claus, they just have that guy coming down your chimney and, whether you’ve been bad or good, he just beats you with a newspaper.”

This is not the first time Oliver has lampooned the Deputy PM.

When the Nationals leader threatened to euthanise Johnny Depp’s pet dogs Pistol and Boo when he snuck them into Australia in breach of strict quarantine laws, Oliver said: “I’ve got to say that’s pretty ballsy. Elected officials very rarely risk openly telling puppies to go f**k themselves.”

Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce calls Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull ‘inept’ at an extraordinary press conference in Canberra. Picture: Kym Smith

Meanwhile, Mr Joyce has rejected suggestions that he could be kicked out of office, saying “I’m not going anywhere”.

In an interview with Fairfax Media, the Deputy Prime Minister said he would not back away from the fight on his hands.

“I’ve been in heaps of fights in my political life; this is another one,” he said.

Vikki Campion is a former journalist for The Daily Telegraph. Picture: Bradley Hunter

“I am humbled by the support in my electorate and in the community. People are starting to see this as a witch hunt. I’m not going anywhere; I never would.

“People know enough about me to know that I’m hardly one to run away from a fight.”

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who will fly out to Washington tomorrow to visit US President Donald Trump, said Mr Joyce’s affair had harmed the government.

Two in three voters believe Mr Joyce should quit as Nationals leader over the scandal, according to the latest Newspoll.

“It’s distracting and it’s unhelpful,” Mr Turnbull told 3AW.