Jacqui Lambie says Barnaby Joyce paying the price for office affair

Barnaby Joyce is paying for a lack of self-control, former senator Jacqui Lambie has told the ABC panel show.

Jacqui Lambie had criticism and sympathy for Barnaby Joyce on Q&A.

Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce did not have the self-control to “keep it in his pants” and is paying the political and personal price for an office affair, Jacqui Lambie believes.

The former Tasmanian senator and leader of the Jacqui Lambie Network said Mr Joyce’s actions go “beyond a mid-life crisis”, citing the work of sailors and soldiers who spend years apart from their wives.

“If you can’t keep it in your pants, you’re going to pay the price. It’s as simple as that and now he’s paying the price for that,” she told the ABC’s Q&A program.

“When you’re in politics, if you haven’t got someone on the outside that’s giving you a boot up the rear end every now and then, you’re stuck in your little bubble with your entourage.”

Ms Lambie joined Minister for Social Services Dan Tehan, opposition justice spokesman Mark Dreyfus, author Rosie Waterland and industrial relations commentator and The Australian columnist Grace Collier on the ABC show, which discussed One Nation’s internal divisions, inequality in sexual abuse compensation, and politicians and egos.

Ms Collier told the program she admired politicians but believed they should lose access to Comcars, among other benefits, as they became used to spending $200,000 a year on travel.

“You have to be a billionaire in the real world to splash that sort of cash on travel,” she said. “They are living the lives of rock stars and extreme privilege.”

Mr Tehan replied: “I’ve never felt like a rock star”. Mr Dreyfus said he had never met a politician who did not have an ego and “some of them are quite sizeable”.

.@JacquiLambie is concerned about Barnaby Joyce's mental welfare. @DanTehanWannon has never felt like a rockstar. @markdreyfusQCMP wants more policy & less personality #QandA pic.twitter.com/z6FZUmcbH3

— ABC Q&A (@QandA) June 4, 2018

ONE NATION

Internal division within One Nation – revealed when NSW senator Brian Burston chose to support the Coalition’s company tax cuts in contrast to party leader Pauline Hanson – are a distraction and senator Hanson should “kiss and make up” with senator Burston or sack him, Ms Lambie said.

Ms Lambie said while it’s “really difficult” to be part of a micro party or an independent, politicians put their party ahead of their state or electorate.

“There is nothing wrong with crossing the floor. If Senator Burston thought it was better for New South Wales to have the business cuts through, that’s who he has to vote for, not for Pauline Hanson,” she said.

“I’d say this to Pauline Hanson when she wakes up - stop the tap from dripping and either kiss and make-up or sack him. And get on with it.”

Rosie Waterland said the incident could be a situation for senator Hanson to reconsider her approach to politics.

“Maybe politics just isn’t her jam,” she said. “It just never really seems to work out for her. She doesn’t seem to be good at the back door dealing part of things. Doesn’t seem to be good at the policy side of things. Maybe it’s just time to change direction. Go to TAFE. Learn a trade. I don’t know.”

Politicians should consider their reasons for changing parties after being elected and explain them very clearly, Mr Tehan said.

“I think what they need to be able to do is explain their reasons for why they took that course of action,” he said. “They need to be able to explain that to the people who voted for them. In the end, that explanation will determine down the track whether they should get elected again.”

UNION INVESTIGATION

The extensive coverage of Jobs Minister Michaelia Cash and her choice to contest a subpoena to give evidence in Federal Court proceedings over the Australian Federal Police’s raids on the Australian Workers Union offices is “disappointing”, Ms Collier said, as it distracts from the investigation.

Senator Cash’s office was criticised after one of her advisors admitted to tipping off media outlets about police raids on the Sydney and Melbourne offices of the AWU.

“I’m disappointed in the way a lot of the media has reported it. The focus is all on a tip-off about a raid or who tipped off the media about the raid? The focus is not really on why was the raid being done in the first place? And what’s it about? I think that’s important,” Ms Collier said.

“There’s an investigation and there was a raid and that investigation is for a reason. It’s to do with union members’ money. So, yeah, I think that’s what we need to focus on.”

.@DanTehanWannon thinks this is a smokescreen to distract from Bill Shorten. @JacquiLambie thinks it's a witch hunt on the unions #QandA pic.twitter.com/qQIM9GFoge

— ABC Q&A (@QandA) June 4, 2018

Mr Dreyfus accused senator Cash of “not doing her job” by not answering questions about “criminal conduct” in her office.

“There are really hard questions to be answered,” he said.

“It’s an extraordinary state of affairs that Senator Cash, whose office have admitted engaging in criminal conduct in arranging for TV crews, the media, to be present when the Australian Federal Police were executing search warrants on a union office in Melbourne and Sydney, simultaneously. It was pretty well arranged. Senator Cash’s office has admitted being involved in that activity.”

Mr Tehan responded by saying senator Cash has “done nothing wrong”.

“No-one can prove that she’s done anything wrong,” he said. “This is a huge smokescreen to distract from Bill Shorten and the $100,000 payment that was made to GetUp and to his election campaign.”