Sam Dastyari to Barnaby Joyce: It gets a lot worse from here

A FORMER senator has opened up about the late-night, alcohol-fuelled work culture that leads to “the amount of rooting” in Canberra.

A FORMER senator has labelled Canberra’s Parliament House one of the most unhealthy workplaces in the country, citing the “amount of rooting” that goes on there.

Wading into the scandal surrounding Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, ousted Labor star Sam Dastyari indicated he was not surprised that the Nationals leader had been all but brought down by an affair with a staff member.

“The reality is, the amount of rooting that goes on in a place like Canberra,” he told KIIS106.5’s Kyle & Jackie O this morning.

“In terms of unhealthy workplaces, it’s one of the most unhealthy workplaces in the country.”

Mr Dastyari said the unique alcohol-fuelled Canberra culture, where outsiders became celebrities, often led to “rooting around”.

“You’ve got 4000 people in this building called Parliament, which is mostly just journos, staffers, politicians, living in this strange world of kind of alcohol and late nights and sitting and everyone is telling each other how important they are all the time ... all of it fuels this really weird environment,” he said.

Asked if there were a lot of people sleeping with each other in Canberra, Mr Dastyari replied: “Of course.”

Senator Sam Dastyari said Parliament had a weird alcohol-fuelled, late-night culture. Picture: Kym Smith

“Weirdly enough, more in the kind of conservative side of politics than the Left of politics,” he added.

Mr Dastyari said he himself didn’t care about “two people bonking”, but said the hypocrisy of the act upset conservative voters.

“The act of running a conservative political party — the National Party, whether you like them or not, are incredibly socially conservative — they’re running on family values and all those kind of issues,” he said.

“This is the bit that really bothers me. Don’t preach the Christian moral values and root around on the side. That’s the bit that bothers me.”

Mr Dastyari went on to say he thought Mr Joyce — who is under fire after it was revealed he was expecting a child with former media adviser Vikki Campion, ending his 24-year marriage — was “done”.

“Barnaby’s just lost control ... the stories that are coming out. The rumours that are out there about Barnaby are so much worse. They get way worse than that,” he said.

“The bloke is done. Whether it’s today, next week or the week after. He’s done.”

‘The bloke is done’: Barnaby Joyce has been under fire since his relationship with former staffer Vikki Campion was made public.

The colourful interview came after Mr Dastyari went on a late-night Twitter rant aimed at the besieged Nationals leader.

His tweets included claims “everyone” knew about Mr Joyce’s affair, and apparent threats to out other Conservative MPs who were “f***ing around”.

It also comes as the Joyce affair has ignited a flurry of commentary around MPs’ relationships with staff.

Some have even called for a “bonk ban” that would follow the US’ lead in disallowing politicians to engage in sexual relations with staff.

Mr Joyce’s affair is of course not the first to cause controversy in Canberra.

Perhaps the most famous relationship to be struck up within the walls of Parilament was between former foreign minister and deputy Labor leader Gareth Evans and former Democrats leader Cheryl Kernot.

The pair’s relationship was outed after Ms Kernot made her move to the ALP, but ultimately led to her leaving politics altogether.

Since Mr Joyce’s and Ms Campion’s affair was made public, there have also been questions raised around the employment of politicians’ lovers.

Both Mr Joyce and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull have insisted there was no breach in rules involved in Ms Campion’s appointments in Nationals MPs’ offices.

But in an interview on Sky News, former Liberal adviser Peta Credlin was asked by Andrew Bolt: “Do MPs often try to find jobs for lovers?”

Ms Credlin replied: “Are you asking me is this the first time that this has occurred? I’m saying no it’s not.”

Australian politicians Cheryl Kernot and Gareth Evans struck up a five-year affair while they were in parliament in the 1990s. Picture: Graham Tidy/Canberra Times

Mr Joyce is now facing calls to resign over his affair with Ms Vikki Campion — who is due to give birth to his fifth child in April — and the government jobs she was given once the secret started to come out.

Since the pregnancy was splashed on the front page of the Daily Telegraph last week, further allegations of misbehaviour by Mr Joyce have emerged.

Mr Dastyari, who was forced to resign from the Senate after warning a Chinese donor he may be under surveillance, claimed he had to resign from Parliament for “a lot less”.

“Hey Barnaby Joyce, I went for a LOT less. Quit while you are behind,” he wrote on Twitter last night. “Trust me — it only gets a LOT worse from here.”

Mr Dastyari appeared to attack claims from the Prime Minister’s office that Malcolm Turnbull was unaware of the affair, and assurances there was no breach in rules of Ms Campion being granted jobs in Mr Joyce’s and other Nationals MPs’ offices because she was not his partner.

Hey @Barnaby_Joyce, I went for a LOT less. Quit while you are behind. Trust me - it only gets a LOT worse from here.

— Sam Dastyari (@samdastyari) February 12, 2018

“Everyone. And I mean EVERYONE in federal Parliament knew about Vicki and Barnaby. Anyone who claims they didn’t is either bulls***ing or so out of touch they shouldn’t be in Parliament,” he said.

Mr Dastyari argued Ms Campion’s job relocation from Mr Joyce’s office to work for other Nationals MPs was “a clear breach of the rules”.

“We all assumed it would come out during the by-election,” he said.

“For f***s sake — how can you construe the pregnant woman Barnaby left his wife for as NOT his partner. Who was she then?”

Allegations keep stacking up against Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce. Picture: Lukas Coch/AAP

Mr Joyce is today facing further allegations of inappropriate behaviour, with the Daily Telegraph reporting claims from a woman who said Mr Joyce “pinched (her) bottom” at a 2011 awards ceremony.

Mr Joyce has denied the allegations in a statement outside parliament this morning, making his most comprehensive comments since the affair became public. He said the incident “did not happen”.

“This is a story that has been brought about by a person unnamed, at a venue unnamed, at a time unnamed, seven years ago, and has been pedalled by the bitterest of political enemies to me,” he said. “It is not something that I’m aware of ... it’s just in the past.”

In the same statement, he claimed responsibility for his marriage breakdown, confirmed his relationship with Ms Campion, and made a public apology to his wife and daughters.

“I would like to say to Natalie (his wife) how deeply sorry I am for all the hurt this has caused. To my girls, how deeply sorry I am for all the hurt it has caused them. To Vikki Campion, how deeply sorry I am that she has been dragged into this,” he said.

“I would like to also say to my supporters, and the people in my electorate how deeply sorry I am that this personal issue has gone into the public arena.”

Mr Joyce offered a public apology to Ms Campion for the her being “dragged into” the public scandal. Picture: John Grainger

In a written statement following his comments, Mr Joyce said the saga had been a “searing experience” for the women involved.

“This has been a searing personal experience for Natalie, our daughters and for Vikki — criticise me if you wish but please have some regard for them,” he said.

He said Ms Campion had joined his staff for the July, 2016 election in New England. In August she joined his ministerial staff.

“A friendship subsequently developed and that became, over time, more,” he said..

Mr Joyce repeated his argument that her move to the office of Energy Minister Matt Canavan and then to then Nationals Whip Damian Drum’s office had not breached rules banning the employment of partners.

“She was well qualified for the role, was an existing and obviously capable staff member and the change was within the existing Nationals staff arrangement,” he said.

“I did not discuss these matters with the Prime Minister or his office as Vikki was not my partner, so they were dealt with in the usual course of staff deployments within the party.

“When Mr Canavan stood down over the citizenship issue she went to work for another MP, and subsequently left the Nationals staff following the most recent reshuffle.”