Nationals leader Michael McCormack ‘on notice over sugar babe’ scandal

Embattled MP Andrew Broad steps out with his wife of 19 years as Michael McCormack’s leadership hangs in the balance over the “sugar babe” scandal.

Andrew Broad with wife Rachel in Mildura yesterday. Picture: Jason Edwards

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack has been put on ­notice over his handling of the Andrew Broad “sugar babe” scandal, with angry Nationals MPs warning that his leadership has been further damaged by the saga and he is expected to face a challenge after the election.

The junior Coalition party is under pressure to preselect a woman to replace the disgraced Mr Broad in his Victorian seat of Mallee to help repair the Nationals’ tarnished brand ahead of a likely three-cornered contest with the Liberal Party.

Mr Broad yesterday ­announced he would not contest the next election, as revealed by The Australian online, a day after New Idea published allegations he used a “sugar daddy” website to connect with a younger woman in Hong Kong, touching her in­appropriately during their date.

Despite the salacious revelations, Mr Broad’s wife, Rachel, yesterday appeared in public with her husband, holding his hand as they visited a bakery in the Mildura suburb of Red Cliffs.

There were fears that more alle­gations regarding Mr Broad’s conduct could come out after ­Nationals sources confirmed that the party had received corres­pondence from several women threatening to reveal his ­behaviour.

Several Nationals MPs rounded on Mr McCormack — who alerted Scott Morrison to the saga only on Monday morning — questioning when he found out about the allegations and his decision to praise Mr Broad as an ­“effective and hardworking member for Mallee”.

There was a consensus among Nationals MPs that the Deputy Prime Minister would not be challenged before the upcoming election, but sources said he was almost certain to be replaced after the May poll.

“He will be replaced. But who by is the big problem, because no one has really been brought through. The last couple of leaders have done everything they can to ensure they had no competition, filling the cabinet with senators who can’t be the leader,” one MP said.

Another said the Broad scandal had turned into a “leadership issue” for Mr McCormack, who had installed his key numbers man to the frontbench.

“He’s hand-picked this guy and promoted him to be his assistant minister — what does that say about Michael’s judgment?

“What does that say about Michael’s independence as a leader?” the MP said.

Nationals deputy leader Bridget McKenzie, who blasted Mr Broad’s behaviour as “deeply concerning and not represen­tative of my party”, did not rule out making a tilt for the seat of Mallee in a move that could pave the way for a leadership bid.

However, several of her colleagues said she lacked any connection to the area or credibility among locals.

Local councillor and real ­estate agent Min Poole was yesterday identified by senior party figures as a potential candidate for the seat, which the Nationals hold by 19.8 per cent but which the Liberal Party will now be able to contest under Coalition rules following the resignation of the sitting member.

Liberals have floated the idea of Tony Abbott’s former chief of staff Peta Credlin, who is from the Victorian town of Wycheproof in the electorate, running for the seat.

Nationals federal president Larry Anthony said the party’s supporters expected the highest standards of conduct after a year that had been book-ended by sex scandals, including Barnaby Joyce’s forced resignation as leader following revelations he had an affair with a staffer.

“Our challenge now is to get a good replacement, and I’d like to see a good female replacement in the seat of Mallee,” the former Nationals MP and minister said.

Mr Broad acknowledged that “after recent stories about my private life”, his constituents would be “better served in the next parliament by a different Nationals candidate”.

“I want to acknowledge and thank my family, my staff, Nat­ionals members and the community for their support of me,” he said.

“I have done my best and at times we have achieved good things, but I have also let them down.”

Mr Broad had already been forced to quit the ministry on Monday and will repay taxpayer-funded return domestic flights between Mildura and Melbourne that he used to embark on his September visit to Hong Kong.

He is understood to have paid for his Hong Kong flights himself to attend the Asia Fruit Logistica conference.

Mr McCormack could not say for certain when Mr Broad told him about the scandal, after initially claiming he had only known about the allegations for two weeks.

The Australian Federal Police confirmed Mr Broad asked authorities to look into the matter on November 8 amid claims the woman making the allegations “may have engaged in criminal activity”.

Mr Broad, who as a backbencher is paid an annual salary of $200,000, can expect to take home more than $80,000 ahead of a likely May poll by remaining in federal parliament.

One of the Nationals two female MPs, Michelle Landry, said the “sugar babe” scandal had “done damage to the brand”.

“I am cranky about it. This is why politicians get bad names because of this stuff. The majority of us are out there working seven days a week to make our country better, and then something like this happens. It is very, very frustrating. The rot has to stop,” she told The Australian.

Mr Broad’s Victorian colleague Darren Chester, a key supporter of Mr McCormack’s, conceded the past six months “haven’t been our brightest” and urged colleagues to stop talking about themselves.

Resources Minister Matthew Canavan defended Mr McCormack, saying he had “responded appropriately” in the circumstances.

“I have spoken to Michael and I think Michael has acted here entirely appropriately. My understanding is that Michael had very scant information a few weeks ago about the circumstances involved here and they obviously didn’t meet a threshold to take any further action apart from what Michael has said — advising Andrew to refer some of the matters to police, which had been done,” Senator Canavan told Sky News.

“Obviously more detail came out yesterday that Michael previously was made aware of and other acts should have been taken.”