Nationals call on Barnaby Joyce not to trash his legacy

Nationals MPs have urged Barnaby Joyce not to trash his legacy, after another chaotic media interview.

Barnaby Joyce and his pregnant partner Vikki Campion at Canberra airport last week. Picture: Kym Smith

Nationals MPs have urged Barnaby Joyce not to trash his legacy, as the former party leader continued to court controversy yesterday with another media interview.

A day after questioning the ­paternity of partner Vikki Campion’s unborn son, Mr Joyce called a press conference in Tamworth where he reacted angrily to “personal” questions.

“One thing I am going to say is anything that is personal in nature is nobody else’s business but mine and Vikki Campion’s,” Mr Joyce said. “It is no one else’s business, it is personal and that is the last thing I am talking about.”

In an interview with Fairfax Media published on Sunday, Mr Joyce said the paternity of Ms Campion’s unborn baby was a “grey area”.

Colleague Keith Pitt, who was sworn in yesterday as Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister, said he feared the ­Nationals looked like a soap opera.

“I don’t work on the set of Days of Our Lives. This is a serious building where serious decisions are made,” Mr Pitt told Sky News.

Darren Chester, who returned to the frontbench as Veterans ­Affairs Minister, urged Mr Joyce to take a break from the media spotlight.

“I’m not sure that he achieves much by talking about issues in the past,” Mr Chester told Sky News.

“It’s hard to have a circuit breaker if you’re still talking about those issues every day. I’d encourage him to take a break. He’s achieved a great deal. No one wants to see his legacy diminished in any way, shape or form.”

New Nationals leader Michael McCormack was sworn in as ­Infrastructure Minister at Government House yesterday, along with new and returning Nationals frontbenchers.

Mr McCormack is busy putting in place a new support team, ­appointing one of Mr Joyce’s former senior advisers, Paul Trotman, as acting chief of staff.

As Mr McCormack and Malcolm Turnbull seek to repair the Coalition, it was reported that Mr Joyce threatened to undermine the Prime Minister’s leadership by conspiring with former prime minister Tony Abbott.

Sky News reported the former Nationals leader made the threat on the day of the Prime Minister’s “sex ban” announcement, when Mr Turnbull urged Mr Joyce to consider his position.

Mr Joyce, under pressure over his relationship with his pregnant former staffer, reportedly told Mr Turnbull: “I’m sure if we had the time, Tony (Abbott) and I could get the numbers.”