Nationals should have told Barnaby Joyce to go for sake of family values: Windsor

Tony Windsor says the Nationals should have asked Barnaby Joyce to step down in order to preserve “family values” brand.

Tony Windsor believes the Nationals should have dumped Barnaby Joyce earlier this week. Picture: Marlon Dalton

A key rival to Barnaby Joyce, Tony Windsor, has declared the Nationals should have asked the Deputy Prime Minister to step down earlier in the week in order to preserve their “family values” brand.

Yesterday Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull publicly shamed Mr Joyce, said his conduct was “appalling” and announced a new ban in the Ministerial Code of Conduct on frontbenchers having sex with their staff.

The move follows revelations Mr Joyce is expecting a baby with a former staff member in April.

Mr Windsor stirred controversy during the New England by-election by posting tweets alluding to allegations about Mr Joyce including allegations of poor behaviour after a rural women’s event in 2011.

Speaking to the ABC today, Mr Windsor denied his actions were motivated by his deep personal conflict with Mr Joyce.

“Not at all. If those women who were involved in various incidents with various players want to come out and make their statements they can. I’m not going to name those people,” he said.

“It’s up to the women ... I wouldn’t be surprised, particularly given the Prime Minister’s announcement yesterday, there are certain players [who] are going to expose poor behaviour.”

Mr Windsor said the Nationals should have stepped in earlier in the week.

“This week has shown very poor judgment by Mr Joyce. It was a shocking week. I think the Prime Minister having to do what he did yesterday afternoon was sheer frustration. There’s no way you can police something like the Prime Minister announced yesterday.”

“Barnaby Joyce should have stepped down earlier in the week ... If they want to keep their brand as a family values brand they should have asked him to stand down.”

Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne has been forced to defend Mr Turnbull’s decision to act now to change rules for minister, when he was aware of the situation prior to the publication of news about Mr Joyce’s affair.

“The private became the public ...[Mr Turnbull has] shown the leadership that is required as Prime Minister,” he told Channel 9’s Today Show.

Mr Pyne then called on Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to apply the same rules to his frontbench.

Deputy Labor Leader Tanya Plibersek said the ban on minister having sex with their staff was a distraction from questions of conflict of interest Mr Joyce should be answering.

Ms Plibersek said there is no point adding new provisions when the existing code is not being enforced.

“The Prime Minister is not even prepared to enforce the existing code of conduct,” she told the ABC.