Barnaby Joyce denies sexual harassment allegations as Nationals MP Andrew Broad calls for him to resign

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has labelled a claim of sexual harassment against him ‘spurious and defamatory’.

Barnaby Joyce has reportedly denied a sexual harassment allegation made by a West Australian woman.

A spokesman for the Deputy Prime Minister told The Daily Telegraph he was aware of the complaint.

“Mr Joyce said he had been made indirectly aware and described the claims as spurious and defamatory,” the spokesman said.

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

National Party president Larry Anthony confirmed the party had received a complaint.

“The Federal Party can confirm a formal complaint has been received,” Mr Anthony told the Daily Telegraph.

“All complaints are taken seriously and treated with strict confidentiality and given due process.”

The Australian has contacted Mr Anthony and Mr Joyce’s office.

Broad calls for Joyce to stand down

Victorian Nationals MP Andrew Broad has called for Barnaby Joyce to resign in the interests of his party and the country.

The Member for Mallee told ABC radio he would raise the leadership in the Nationals partyroom on Monday, and he expected MPs would then consider the issue.

Andrew Broad believes Barnaby Joyce should resign. Picture: Kym Smith.

Mr Broad said Mr Joyce needed to stand down from the leadership in “the best interests of the party, the country, and to get our narrative back on track”.

He said Mr Joyce, in his present state, was unable to keep his mind on the job, and questioned his ability to consider national security matters.

Mr Broad said he had told this directly to Mr Joyce, but the besieged Nationals Leader was refusing to budge.

“He doesn’t hold that view (that he should resign),” Mr Broad said.

He said that Mr Joyce should resign and “spend some time on the backbench”.

“At this point in time his judgment has erred, he’s not thinking in a place where he can be put up as the acting prime minister of Australia, he needs some time out and time to re-group,” Mr Broad told ABC radio.

Mr Broad said the party leadership needed to be resolved sooner rather than later.

“He should have some time out and clear his head,” the Nationals backbencher said.

He said it might be possible for him to come back to the leadership “in the fullness of time”.

Mr Joyce will return to work on Monday after taking a week off to deal with the fallout from his affair with staffer Vikki Campion, who is carrying his baby.

Barnaby’s ‘playing us for fools’

Cabinets leaks have emerged suggesting ministers believe Barnaby Joyce is acting hypocritically in refusing to stand down over his affair with pregnant former staff Vikki Campion, given the hard line he reportedly took on scandals involving former ministerial colleagues Sussan Ley and Jamie Briggs.

The reports come as Nationals MP Andrew Broad savaged Mr Joyce for having failed the “character” test in a tweet this morning and others reportedly expressed concern about his capacity to manage serious national security events as a future acting prime minister.

Sky News is reporting that cabinet ministers are angry about Mr Joyce’s behaviour in light of his handling of previous crises.

Witnesses have reportedly said that during cabinet discussions relating to the scandal over Ms Ley’s travel, Mr Joyce was “ruthless”, insisting that Ms Ley “had to go”.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop reportedly argued for a proper investigation to establish whether Ms Ley had done anything wrong, but Mr Joyce said, “No, let me tell you how this is going to end. She needs to stand down”.

He is said to have taken a similar approach with respect to allegations relating to a late-night incident in a Hong Kong bar involving a female departmental staffer, which were levelled at Mr Briggs.

In a tweet this morning, Mr Broad quoted evangelical Christian preacher Billy Graham, who died overnight, linking his words to the leadership question currently facing the Nationals party room.

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,” Mr Broad tweeted.

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

Sky News also quoted a Nationals MP expressing concern about Mr Joyce’s capacity to provide leadership in a crisis as acting prime minister.

“Imagine with his current state of mind he was controlling national security right now. Remember, John Anderson was Acting PM when September 11 happened,” the Nationals MP said.

Another Nationals MP said: “I don’t think he is repentant for anything. He’s playing us all for fools,” according to Sky News.

‘Real human beings’ involved

Acting Prime Minister Mathias Cormann meanwhile called for the media and Australians to remember that the Joyce affair involved “real human beings” who had faced intense public pressure. Mr Joyce and Ms Campion gave their first interview as a couple last night, revealing that they believe they will have to move out of their rent-free apartment in Armidale to protect their privacy.

Senator Cormann declared he “loves” the democracy of Senate Estimates and is “very much looking forward” to providing answers on behalf of the government to questions relating to the employment Ms Campion next week.

Asked whether Mr Joyce and Ms Campion’s interview with Fairfax media had been helpful for the government, given it has seen the issue return to newspaper front pages today, Senator Cormann said it was part of Mr Joyce bringing “order” to his personal life.

“The issues that Barnaby’s been dealing with are very deeply personal and some of it obviously had spilt over into the professional, and Barnaby made the right decision to take some leave in order to put some order in all of these matters and that’s what he’s doing and that’s appropriate,” Senator Cormann told ABC radio.

Senator Cormann will represent Mr Joyce at Senate Estimates next week, where he is likely to be quizzed on staffing arrangements, hiring practices, travel entitlements and other expenditure of taxpayers’ money which may relate to Ms Campion’s employment.

Ms Campion left Mr Joyce’s office April to work for his Nationals colleague Matt Canavan, and moved again to the office of then Nationals whip Damian Drum in July when Senator Canavan was forced to resign over the citizenship crisis.

Asked whether he was prepared, Senator Cormann said he always did his best to make sure he was as prepared as possible.

“Whatever the questions we do our best to answer them,” he said.

Asked whether he was annoyed to have to answer for Mr Joyce, Senator Cormann said he was not.

“I love the part of democracy which is Senate Estimates. I’m very much looking forward to it,” he said.

During a press conference following his radio interview, Senator Cormann said he had spoken to Mr Joyce on Wednesday night, after the pair had exchanged voicemail messages.

“It was essentially a call to a friend who is a human being who is under a lot of pressure, making sure he’s OK, but I’m pleased to reassure you that yes, we have since spoken,” Senator Cormann said.

“He did ring me back that morning while I was in cabinet and so left a message and I spoke to him later that night and we had a very good conversation.

“He was cooking spaghetti at the time we talked and I think it’s very important for all of us here in Canberra and around Australia to understand and to remember that with all of the pressure we’re still dealing with real human beings in relation to all of these matters, and some of the public pressure is incredibly intense, not just on Barnaby but also on his family, his kids and his new partner, and yes it’s a distraction for the government but there are some real human beings involved and I think you would do well to remember that.”

Barnaby Joyce enjoying a soft drink at The Royal Armidale last night. Picture. Hollie Adams.

Senator Cormann denied that he had argued against Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s ban on ministers having sex with their staff in cabinet.

“You can ask whatever question you want about the internal processes of government, you can ask about cabinet or leadership deliberations, you know that these are not matters that you comment on,” Senator Cormann said.

“The ministerial code is the Prime Minister’s code. All of us are expected to comply and we all have a responsibility to ensure that we do.”

In last night’s interview, Mr Joyce revealed he operated on a “don’t ask, don’t tell” basis with colleagues in relation to his affair with Ms Campion, reiterating that he did not believe he was in breach of the ministerial code of conduct prohibiting the employment of spouses or relatives because Ms Campion was not his partner when she worked for Senator Canavan.

Ms Campion fell pregnant in July, the same month she left Mr Canavan’s office, and is due to give birth in April.

“No one ever asked us. Don’t ask, don’t tell. I wasn’t in breach of the code. We weren’t partners. I knew the ministerial code,” Mr Joyce said.

Asked when Mr Turnbull first learnt about the relationship, Mr Joyce said: “He never asked any direct questions and to be honest, if I believed it was private, I wouldn’t have told him either.”

Senator Cormann was asked how Mr Turnbull could ensure there were no breaches of the ministerial code of conduct if ministers operated on a “don’t ask, don’t tell” basis.

“Barnaby Joyce has made very clear on the public record and to the Prime Minister that Vikki Campion wasn’t his partner when she worked for him, and that means that on that basis he’s not in breach,” Senator Cormann said.

Asked how the ministerial code could operate with credibility if ministers operated on a “don’t ask, don’t tell” basis and made their own decisions about the definition of a “partner”, Senator Cormann said he completely disagreed with the characterisation of Ms Campion as a partner when she was working in Senator Canavan’s office.

“I’m not going to get into the detailed analysis on when you go from meeting someone for the first time to then ultimately becoming a partner,” Senator Cormann said.

“There’s obviously a progression in these matters which all Australians will understand. You don’t go from one day to the next to meeting somebody to obviously developing a relationship and then becoming a partner.

“I’m not in a position to explain what happened when and what the status was when. There’s only one person who can explain that, and that is Barnaby, and I think he’s been quite open and transparent on these matters, and he’s made very clear that while Ms Campion worked for him she was not his partner.”

Asked why Mr Joyce would not face an independent investigation like those conducted into allegations of sexual harassment which led to the resignation of former Turnbull junior minister Jamie Briggs and the travel rort allegations which saw Sussan Ley stand down as health minister, Senator Cormann said the did not have “anything else to add” on the subject.

In yesterday’s interview, Mr Joyce said he and Ms Campion would have to move out of his rent-free apartment in Armidale to protect their privacy, and said recent questions about his private life with Ms Campion had bordered on malicious.

“It’s like ‘I can’t get you so I’m gonna throw anything’,” he said. Mr Joyce, who has four daughters with his estranged wife of 24 years, Natalie, also confirmed their baby due in April is a boy.

“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,” he said.

“I love my daughters. I have four beautiful daughters and I love them to death. And now I will have a son.”

Ms Campion, who refused to be photographed during the Fairfax interview, gave only one on-the-record comment to say her son’s middle names would honour her two brothers.

She also rejected suggestions she was paid up to $190,000 while working for two Nationals MPs after she left Mr Joyce’s office in 2017 and produced pay slips showing she earned between $133,000 and $138,000, Fairfax said. Mr Joyce is currently on personal leave as he fends off calls for him to step down as Nationals leader or leave politics after his extramarital affair was made public.

Govt is divided: Shorten

Bill Shorten says Malcolm Turnbull was “abusive” to Mr Joyce when he announced the “bonk ban”, claiming their relationship was irreparable.

The Opposition Leader said did not know if the Deputy Prime Minister would remain leader of the Nationals when parliament resumes next week as a sought to highlight the “triangle of division” within the government.

“Malcolm Turnbull poured great shame on him, I think in quite an abusive fashion in his speech last Thursday, then the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia has come out and said his Prime Minister was inept,” Mr Shorten told ABC radio.

“This is now a division in the government, so I think that is the real problem, the two most senior people in Australia obviously don’t have a high opinion of each other, as much as they can pretend after the fight they do.

“It is almost like a triangle of division, Tony Abbott versus Malcolm Turnbull, Malcolm Turnbull versus Barnaby Joyce. I don’t know what Mr Joyce and Mr Abbott think about each other but there is a triangle of division and that story can’t end well for the government and the country.”

He said Labor would retain the “bonk ban” despite claiming it was a distraction from Mr Turnbull being too “weak” to sack Mr Joyce from cabinet.

The Labor said “to the best of my knowledge” none of his shadow ministers had slept with their staff.

With Greg Brown, AAP