NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro on leave after MP clashes

John Barilaro will take a month off work after a tumultuous fortnight during which the NSW Deputy Premier threatened to move with Nationals MPs to the crossbench.

NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro. Picture: Getty Images

John Barilaro will take a month off work after a tumultuous fortnight during which the NSW Deputy Premier threatened to move with Nationals MPs to the crossbench.

The Nationals leader will temporarily step down from his position and take personal leave after clashing with Liberal MPs who have called for him to resign from cabinet following an aborted mutiny over environmental policy.

“This afternoon Deputy Premier John Barilaro advised me he would take four weeks of personal leave,” Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Friday.

“I have offered him any support he may need. I wish John and his family all the best during this time.”

The Coalition was thrown into crisis last week after Nationals MPs, including Mr Barilaro, threatened to move to the crossbench if the government did not make changes to a planning policy that sought to protect koala habitats.

But Ms Berejiklian said she would sack every Nationals MP from cabinet if they moved to the crossbench — and Mr Barilaro backtracked from his position the next morning.

Since then, however, Liberal MPs have publicly and privately called for him to resign his position, although he continues to have strong backing from the Nationals party room.

The most pointed criticism has come from Police Minister David Elliott and Transport Minister Andrew Constance, who had previously fallen out with Mr Barilaro when both men decided to run for the federal seat of Eden-Monaro.

Both pulled out of the race before nominating.

Mr Barilaro earlier this week said his critics should “put up or shut up” and refused to leave cabinet. “I’ll be as vocal as always, fighting for the bush,” he said.

“It’s simple: if you don’t like it, you know where the door is.”

Mr Barilaro and Mr Elliott met on Tuesday to “clear the air” following the criticism, and after the Police Minister described the threats as the “greatest act of political bastardry in quite some time”.

“We just agreed to clear the air and move on,” Mr Elliott told The Australian of the meeting.

On Thursday, Mr Barilaro said he had “no intentions to blow up the Coalition or create ­instability”.

One day earlier, the Nationals leader had refused to rule out threatening to quit the government again, criticising Planning Minister Rob Stokes and accusing him of leaking against him.

Mr Barilaro also survived a vote of no confidence brought on by Labor shortly after question time on Wednesday.

Mr Barilaro’s leave means he will miss a cabinet meeting on October 6, during which time the disputed koala planning policy is expected to be debated.

The Nationals are demanding a series of changes be made to the policy. The Australian reported on Tuesday that Ms Berejiklian had privately admitted there were flaws with the plan, citing property rights of landholders as a concern.

Others have suggested the policy could be discussed as early as Monday. The policy, designed to protect koala habitats, increases the number of tree species that could be used by the animal, leading to concerns that landholders would not have enough autonomy over their properties and could struggle to proceed with building works.

Mr Barilaro’s deputy, Paul Toole, said “people need to know it’s okay to say when you are having a tough time — and that’s exactly what John has done”.

“The NSW Nationals support each other and stick together,” Mr Toole said.

“We will continue to focus on the issues that matter to our communities while John takes a well-deserved break and look forward to his return.”