Nationals MP turns against Barnaby Joyce as sexual harassment complaint made

BARNABY Joyce is facing fresh questions over an 11-day road trip as he denied a sexual harassment complaint against him as “spurious and defamatory”.

BARNABY Joyce has denied claims of sexual harassment against him as “spurious and defamatory” as he faces fresh questions about an 11-day road trip he undertook in December.

On Thursday, the Nationals confirmed a formal sexual harassment complaint had been made against the embattled deputy prime minister.

“The Federal Party can confirm a formal complaint has been received,” Nationals Federal Director Ben Hindmarsh said in a statement. “All complaints are taken seriously and treated with strict confidentiality and given due process.”

A spokesman for Mr Joyce told The Daily Telegraph he had been made “indirectly aware” of the claim which he described as “spurious and defamatory”.

“He said allegations of wrongdoing should be immediately referred to police so that the veracity of any claim could be properly tested,” the spokesman said.

It comes as the Telegraph raises fresh questions about a 3000km road trip from December that lasted 11 days and covers the time he was known to be with Miss Campion. News Corp Australia has lodged a Freedom of Information request relating to the expenses that is expected to take months to yield results.

Mr Joyce has also faced a formal leadership challenge with a possible showdown next Monday after a Nationals MP announce he would move a resolution ousting Mr Joyce as party leader.

The warning from Andrew Broad, member for the Victorian seat of Mallee, is the first public sign of a move against Mr Joyce since his affair with a staffer was revealed.

Mr Broad told ABC regional radio in Victoria Mr Joyce should also quit as minister and go to the back bench “to clear his head” and to “regain his credibility”.

Andrew Broad at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture Kym Smith

Earlier Mr Broad had made his feelings about the scandal clear in a Tweet noting the death of American preacher Billy Graham.

“Quote from the late Billy Graham “when wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost” ... telling words for the Leadership of the National Party”,” he wrote.

Nationals will now be waiting to see if he has a seconder for his proposed resolution and whether it would have the numbers if put to a vote.

One problem could be that Nationals senators might not be able to attend a Monday meeting as the Upper House will be engaged in Estimate Committee hearings.

And Mr Broad is outside Mr Joyce’s powerful base in Queensland and NSW.

But Mr Broad said: “You would be naive to think the issue of leadership will not be discussed in the party room”.

But the threat of a resolution will bring to a head discontent over Mr Joyce’s conduct after he began an affair with former staffer Vikki Campion and then left his wife when his new partner fell pregnant.

Quote from the late Billy Graham “when wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost”... telling words for the Leadership of the National Party.

— Andrew Broad MP (@broad4mallee) February 21, 2018

The threat was provoked in part by Mr Joyce’s refusal to disappear into personal leave to allow the uproar to subside. He has instead remained prominent in the media.

Mr Broad said he had spoken to voters, and said the local federal party council had recognised the contribution Mr Joyce had made.

“But at this time it is time he take a step back, regains some credibility and works through some issues he has to work through,” he said.

“And my guys are telling me — and this is what I’ll be taking back to Canberra — that he needs to step down as leader of the National Party and take a step back into the back bench for a time.”

Mr Broad said he was not “caught on the morality of the issue” but suggested Mr Joyce was not in a fit state to manage important issues.

“I need to know, as a member of Parliament, that the person who is going to be the Acting Prime Minister has got their mind on the job, that they have dealt with the concerns that might be going on in their personal life, and at this point in time it’s not fit for Barnaby to step up as Acting Prime Minister,” he said.

“The Prime Minister (Malcolm Turnbull) has seen that as evident.

“At this point in time its in Barnaby’s best interests and the nation’s best interests and for the National Party’s best interests.”

Mr Broad said, “He may come back.”

He said Mr Joyce was meant to be taking a break this week but he has been “playing to the media” and not allowing the controversy “quietly die”.

“Anyone’s entitled to do anything but if you are having a break it’s better to regroup,” said Mr Broad.

Former staffer Vikki Campion, who Barnaby Joyce is with after the breakdown of his 24 year marriage to wife Natalie.

While Mr Broad’s comments mark the first time a Nationals MP has publicly turned on the beleaguered Deputy Prime Minister, the National Party in Western Australia yesterday effectively told him to resign.

In a statement released yesterday afternoon, Mia Davies, the leader of the Nationals in WA said she had contacted Mr Joyce to tell him he was causing “ongoing damage” to the party and his position as Federal Leader was “no longer tenable”.

“Mr Joyce’s actions have caused pain for his family but it is the ongoing damage he is causing The Nationals organisation that is of greatest concern to me as WA Leader,” Ms Davies said.

“The Nationals brand across Western Australia has suffered as a result of Mr Joyce’s actions and he has become a distraction at both a Federal and State level.

“My parliamentary colleagues and I have urged Mr Joyce to consider his position as leader in the best interests of the federal party and state branches.

“It is the view of the Parliamentary National Party of Western Australia that Mr Joyce’s position as a Federal Leader is no longer tenable.”

Mr Joyce shot back in a statement to Sky News, pointing out WA didn’t have any federal MPs and the eastern states, which had more “skin in the game”, supported him.

“Thank you Mia for your correspondence,” he said. “I acknowledge your concerns, however it should also be said that you don’t have a Federal member of Parliament in the National Party of Australia, your last member spending time almost exclusively as an independent and only once or twice coming to the National Party room meetings.

“I also note, you are not in a Coalition in Western Australia and the WA Nats pride themselves on their ferocious independence.

“Therefore I find it surprising that a federal issue has so much momentum in the West when people in the east in the National Party have in the majority a different view — and to be quite frank, vastly more skin in the game.”

Barnaby Joyce says it’s time to move on. Picture: Hollie Adams/The Australian

The challenge follows Mr Joyce and his new partner’s first sit-down interview since the scandal began.

In the interview with Fairfax Media published Wednesday, Mr Joyce said the Prime Minister didn’t know about his affair with Ms Campion, and even if Mr Turnbull did ask him upfront, Mr Joyce admitted he probably would have lied.

“(The Prime Minister) never asked any direct questions and to be honest, if I believed it was private, I wouldn’t have told him either,” Mr Joyce said.

Ms Campion refused to be photographed during the interview and offered just one comment, saying that her son’s middle names would be in honour of her two brothers.

“Their support has meant so much. They are the only people who knew,” Ms Campion told she said.

Despite circulating reports about her significant pay packet, the former journalist and media adviser denied she was earning up to $190,000 when she worked for cabinet minister Matt Canavan.

Ms Campion produced pay slips during the interview that showed she was paid about $133,000 a year in Mr Joyce’s office, $138,000 in Senator Canavan’s office, and $135,000 when she was employed under former chief whip Damian Drum.

The pair spoke together for the first time at their controversial rent-free home in Armidale, which was provided by Mr Joyce’s wealthy businessman friend Greg Maguire.

Mr Joyce, who revealed the couple have only spent 14 nights in the apartment since January, said he wanted to conduct the interview there to show he wasn’t living for free in a “palace”.

“Mate, this is a bachelor’s pad,” Mr Joyce said.

Vikki Campion says her brothers have helped her cope. Picture: Adam Taylor.

The expecting parents will be moving out due to increased media scrutiny about a potential breach of the ministerial code of conduct putting the home’s location in the spotlight.

When asked how he felt about becoming a father again, Mr Joyce said: “The one thing that has deeply annoyed me is that there is somehow an inference that this child is somehow less worthy than other children, and it’s almost spoken about in the third person.”

“I love my daughters. I have four beautiful daughters and I love them to death. And now I will have a son. I don’t pick winners, I’m not gonna love one more than another, but I’m not going to love one less than another either.

“I don’t want our child to grow up as some sort of public display. I have to stop it from the start. It’s a fact we are having a child, it’s a fact it’s a boy, it’s not more or less loved than any of my other children.

“I don’t want to say have sympathy for me. I just want people to look clinically at the facts and basically come to the conclusion he is not getting a gold star for his personal life, but he has made a commitment, he is with her, they’re having a child, and in a 2018 world there is nothing terribly much to see there.”