A wander
through mainstream media reports - on a subject Australian Deputy Prime Minister
and Nationals MP for New England Barnaby
Joyce had been determined to hide from the national electorate.
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The
Sydney Morning Herald,
12 February 2018:
A senior adviser to
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was warned that Barnaby Joyce had allegedly
misbehaved at an awards night, according to a series of text messages seen by
Fairfax Media.
The text message
warnings came from John Clements, a former chief adviser to Tony Windsor, the
former independent MP and Mr Joyce's political enemy.
They were sent on
December 30, 2015, to Sally Cray, who serves as Mr Turnbull's principal private
secretary.
Fairfax Media has been
told the "Qld senator" referred to in the text exchange was Mr Joyce.
Fairfax Media also understands the texts related to alleged misconduct at a
2011 Rural Women's Award dinner.
"I might add he was
reminded of his behaviour the following year in a speech," Mr Clements
said in one message. He also described Mr Joyce as having been in "full
flight".
At the time of the
messages to Ms Cray, Mr Joyce was the Agriculture and Water Minister in the
Turnbull government. He became Deputy Prime Minister and Nationals leader
nearly two months later.
Mr Clements told Ms Cray
in one text he was writing to her off the record.
"Agree
it's all off record," Ms Cray replied immediately.
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The Daily Telegraph, 13 February 2018, p.1:
As a “furious” Prime
Minister was yesterday again sidetracked by the fallout from the Joyce Affair,
The Daily Telegraph can reveal Mr Turnbull’s principal private secretary and
closest adviser, Sally Cray, looked into allegations in 2015 but didn’t take it
any further as there was no official complaint.
In text messages seen by
The Daily Telegraph, Ms Cray said “while I see that the behaviour too is
unacceptable”, she added: “It’s hard if there was not an official complaint at
the time to act.” It’s claimed Mr Joyce — who strongly denies the allegation —
pinched the woman after she confronted him over his interaction with another
woman at a Canberra pub in 2011.
“He was very, very drunk
and nearly falling over,” she said. “I said ‘Barnaby, I think you should go
home. You’re very drunk.’ He leant over and he pinched my bottom.
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The Courier Mail, 13 February 2018, p.6:
The man who was set to
marry Barnaby Joyce’s lover just months before she fell pregnant with the
Deputy Prime Minister’s child, has spoken of their split for the first time.
Journalist-turned-digital
consultant John Bergin said he and Vikki Campion were to have
been married in Bowral, in the NSW Southern Highlands, on November 5, 2016 but
broke up three months before the big day.
“We split in August 2016
and we haven’t spoken to each other since,” he said. Ms Campion, 33, was hired
by the Nationals in 2016 to assist the party at a federal level. She worked on
the federal election campaign and quickly became Mr Joyce’s right-hand woman.
In February 2017, Ms Campion was photographed in a Glebe bar with Mr Joyce.
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The Daily Telegraph, 13 February 2018, p.5:
Prime Minister Malcolm
Turnbull told his colleagues in August last year that Barnaby Joyce had assured
him his affair with a staff member was over.
Government sources said
Mr Turnbull is furious with Mr Joyce for allowing his personal crisis regarding
his relationship with former staffer Vikki Campion, 33, to develop
into a full-blown political scandal, but he remains limited in the action he
can take against the Deputy Prime Minister, who currently enjoys the support of
the National Party.
Amid concern that Ms
Campion had rejoined Mr Joyce’s office in early August 2017, Liberal MPs said
Mr Turnbull had told them in the week staring Monday August 14, 2017 that he
had been reassured by Mr Joyce the affair was over.
At the time Mr Joyce
gave Mr Turnbull the commitment that their liaison was over, Ms Campion would
have been in the early stages of her pregnancy. Her baby is due in April.
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Herald Sun, 13 February 2018, p.6:
Barnaby Joyce and his
pregnant lover are not only living rent free at a home owned by a millionaire
from his electorate, they have also holidayed for free at the businessman’s
$4000-a-week beachfront pad.
The Deputy Prime
Minister and his former media adviser, Vikki Campion, stayed at the
Pacific Dawn Luxury Apartments at Wooli, on the NSW north coast, last month for
about five days.
Promotional material for
the two apartments say they have been “designed to maximise mesmerising ocean
and river views. The chic two-storey, two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments sit
on a pristine stretch of coastline with showstopping, uninterrupted Pacific
Ocean vistas”.
The apartment where Mr
Joyce and Ms Campion stayed is owned by Vodata Pty Ltd, a company part-owned by
wealthy Tamworth businessman Greg Maguire.
Mr Joyce and Ms Campion
stayed there after returning from a trip to north Queensland, where they were
seen swimming at a popular Townsville rock pool and dining at Palm Cove, north
of Cairns.
In Wooli, the couple
visited the local pub where they befriended locals and visiting tourists.
Mr Maguire came to
prominence in 2004 when he was investigated by police after Mr Joyce’s
predecessor as member for New England, independent Tony Windsor, alleged Mr
Maguire tried to bribe him to quit politics.
Mr Maguire consistently
denied any wrongdoing. The AFP and Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions
decided against charges because “none of the versions of the conversations
related by any of the witnesses can amount to an ‘offer to give or confer’ a
benefit”.
Since separating from
his wife last year, Mr Joyce has stayed at a three-bedroom Armidale property
owned by Mr Maguire, who waived the rent for six months, saving Mr Joyce about
$14,000.
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The Australian, 13 February 2018, p.4:
Mr Maguire said he had
not been asked to pay for security upgrades for Mr Joyce’s townhouse,
which was fitted out by the Department of Home Affairs. Last year Mr Joyce told
homeowners complaining of being locked out of the housing market to move out of
capital cities and into the regions. “What people have got to realise is that
houses are much cheaper in Tamworth, houses are much cheaper in Armidale,
houses are much cheaper in Toowoomba,” he told ABC radio.
The Australian, 12 February 2018, p.6:
The upgrade, examples of
which cost up to $3 million, is attached to Mr Joyce’s role as Deputy Prime
Minister but includes additions to the property that are permanent.
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Sunshine Coast Daily, 13 February 2018, p.10:
Malcolm Turnbull has
come up with a strange reason for why he didn’t have to approve the series of
well-paid jobs given to the new partner of Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce.
His office says it is
because Vikki Campion, now carrying the Nationals leader’s baby,
“wasn’t Mr Joyce’s partner”.
This is an attempt by Mr
Turnbull to dodge a section of a five-year-old ministerial standards statement
that insists the Prime Minister must approve the employment of family and
partners.
The issue is drawing the
PM deeper into the drama surrounding Mr Joyce’s love life by a code of
ministerial conduct he has to enforce.
After leaving Mr Joyce’s
office, Ms Campion was given a job in the office of Resources Minister Matt
Canavan and then in the office of Nationals whip Damian Drum.
Mr Turnbull told
Parliament the Nationals had a staffing allocation as a share of the
Government’s overall pool. He said the distribution was a matter for the
Nationals, who had not taken up their full allocation.
Mr Turnbull had said on
February 10 “he had not discussed Ms Campion’s employment with me or my
office”.
He confirmed that the
Nationals were responsible for decisions relating to staffing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Australian, 13 February 2018, p.4:
Barnaby Joyce’s pregnant
partner and former staffer Vikki Campion has been drawing a
government pay packet over the past two months, with her employment formally
expected to cease later this week.
Ms Campion’s redundancy
payout was approved last December following Malcolm Turnbull’s ministerial
reshuffle and after she was moved between four Nationals offices in the space
of six months.
The Australian
understands the 32-year-old took stress leave last October, about two months
after taking a senior adviser’s role in the office of then Nationals chief whip
Damian Drum, which paid over $100,000. She remained on stress leave until her
employment was terminated.
The former Daily
Telegraph journalist’s moves between the offices of Mr Joyce, Resources
Minister Matt Canavan and Mr Drum, followed the departure of Mr Joyce’s former
chief-of-staff Diana Hallam last year.
Ms Hallam, understood to
be close to Mr Joyce’s wife, Natalie, and viewed internally as a competent chief
of staff, quit her job last year around the time Ms Campion moved to Senator
Canavan’s office in April.
The government was
forced to manage rumours of a relationship between Mr Joyce and Ms Campion
throughout last year, and Ms Hallam was understood to have left due to growing
dysfunction in Mr Joyce’s office.
A spokeswoman for Mr
Joyce, who became the Infrastructure and Transport Minister in December after
removing Darren Chester from the job, said yesterday that Ms Hallam had moved
to work with the Inland Rail project.
Applications for the
department job closed on April 3 last year, with a panel, including three
deputy secretary-level members, making recommendations to secretary Mike Mrdak.
“As a result of that
process, a number of positions were filled over ensuing months (the merit list
established remains open for up to 12 months from date of advertising),” Mr
Joyce’s spokeswoman said. “To date, six positions have been filled, one of
which was filled by Diana Hallam (who was an applicant in the round), who was
appointed to an SES 1 position on 21 August 2017”.
Mr Joyce, as leader of
the Nationals, had responsibility for authorising Ms Campion to claim jobs in
the offices of Senator Canavan and Mr Drum, co-ordinating social media for
Nationals MPs, including himself, and working with Nationals head office.
Ministerial staffing pay
scales published by the Finance Department show that senior advisers can earn
up to $191,000. Ms Campion, who fell pregnant to Mr Joyce last year, was
understood to have received a pay increase to shift jobs.
Mr Drum told The
Australian that, after his promotion to the frontbench in December, Ms Campion
chose not to continue with him.
“She decided to not seek
continued employment as a way of doing the right thing for the taxpayer,” he
said.
Once a staff member’s
employment is terminated with an MP, it is standard practice for them to
continue to draw a taxpayer-funded salary for a further eight weeks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Australian, 13 February 2018, p.4:
Faced with the prospect
of being dragged into a messy political farce, the Prime Minister ensured he
was prepared in question time yesterday and essentially cut Joyce adrift while
defending his own office.
Turnbull, and then
Treasurer Scott Morrison, declared the Nationals and “the leader of the
Nationals” were the masters of their own destiny when it came to staff
appointments and transfers — the key public-interest area of whether there was
a misuse of public funds.
Long gone was the
shirt-matching matey behaviour at the New England by-election victory in
December. It had been replaced with a cool detachment and outright blame
shifting.
Turnbull didn’t want to
be caught in a “travel rorts” style trap that cost John Howard three ministers
and his chief of staff in 1997, a year after he won office, because of
cover-ups and shifting responsibility.
Turnbull limited
admissions to the role of his office in signing off administrative arrangements
regarding Campion but determined by the Nationals. Unfortunately for Turnbull,
his parliamentary cauterisation was hampered by his office’s briefing that
Campion was not Joyce’s “partner” because he was still married.
The faux justification
of being unable to employ your wife but being able to hire your mistress and
observe the ministerial code will play out to Turnbull’s detriment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BACKGROUND
The
Sydney Morning Herald,
13 February 2018:
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby
Joyce charged taxpayers to spend 50 nights in Canberra when Parliament was not
sitting in the first nine months of 2017 - more than any other Turnbull
government cabinet minister.
Official expense records
show Mr Joyce claimed $16,690 in travel allowance for out-of-session nights in
the nation's capital between January 1 and September 30, 2017. That is
significantly more than top government figures such as Treasurer Scott
Morrison, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The
West Australian,
13 February 2018:
Barnaby Joyce spent more
than $10,000 on family reunion travel while having an affair with his former
staffer, raising more questions about taxpayer funds being used to support the
double life led by the Deputy Prime Minister.
Claims made under
parliamentary entitlements from January to September last year show that more
than $10,000 was spent on family travel, which is allowed so that MPs can
“balance their work and family responsibilities”.
The rules are also
designed to help MPs “reconcile the need for them to be away from home for long
periods with their family obligations”.
More than half of the
family travel expenditure was reported from July to September, while Mr Joyce’s
mistress Vikki Campion was already pregnant with his fifth child.
Most of the travel
reported is for airfares between Mr Joyce’s home base of Tamworth and Canberra
or Sydney.
From July to September,
three family travellers were nominated, taking a total of nine separate trips
at a total cost of $5820.
One of the trips was for
Mrs Joyce to attend the Mid Winter Ball in Canberra on June 14, which was
reportedly orchestrated to end the damaging rumours about the affair. The
return flights from Canberra to Tamworth for the event were reported at $1274.
Figures for the period
September to December, when Mr Joyce told Parliament that his marriage was
over, have not yet been made public by the Parliamentary Expenses Authority.
Mr Joyce’s office
yesterday refused to answer questions about the travel allowance, which was
used on several occasions for his now-estranged wife Natalie Joyce.
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The Daily Examiner, 14 February 2018:
Mr Joyce and his lover stayed rent-free at the $4000 a week Pacific Dawn Luxury Apartments owned by a Joyce friend, Tamworth businessman Greg Maguire…..
Mr Joyce and Ms Campion stayed at the Wooli bolthole after a north Queensland trip where they were seen swimming at a popular Townsville rock pool and dining on the seafront at Palm Cove, north of Cairns…..
When News Corp asked Mr Maguire about the Wooli accommodation he declined to comment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The
Sydney Morning Herald,
14 February 2018:
Grassroots Nationals
members had to foot the bill to pay Barnaby Joyce a salary for six weeks after
the Deputy Prime Minister was thrown out of Parliament and lost his
$416,000-a-year job.
Fairfax Media can reveal
the previously undisclosed arrangement involved the use of party funds to give
the Nationals leader a wage while he was campaigning to win the December 2
byelection triggered by the dual citizenship crisis.
The arrangement came to light
after another difficult day in Parliament in which the Deputy Prime Minister's
use of an Armidale apartment for six months rent-free formed the basis of a
Labor attack on Mr Joyce's authority and credibility.
Mr Joyce's office
confirmed late on Wednesday the Nationals leader was paid a salary during the
campaign, but said it had been advised by the party that it is "not
unprecedented for candidates to receive a form of income in exceptional
circumstances".
Fairfax Media has
confirmed Liberal MP John Alexander, who was also forced out of Parliament and
had to fight a byelection in the Sydney seat of Bennelong, was not paid a
salary by his party.
As Deputy Prime
Minister, Mr Joyce has received an annual salary of $416,000 since his
election to the role in February 2016. Six weeks of that salary represents
about $48,000……
One Nationals MP, when
told of the arrangement on Wednesday, said it was "extremely
unusual" and questioned why Mr Joyce "couldn't cover his own expenses
for six weeks" given he had only just departed a $416,000-a-year job.
Another MP who declined
to be named said it was likely party members would be disappointed they had to
pay Mr Joyce's salary.
The Nationals received
$152,992 in public payments for contesting the New England byelection, while
Labor received $26,199. Those payments are made in proportion to the number of
votes received by the candidate.
2GB
Radio, 13
February 2018:
The scandal engulfing
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce’s political career is not going away.
A confidential source
has told Ben Fordham the Deputy PM’s office drafted a Christmas card in
December last year to be sent out to friends and colleagues.
On the front of the card
was a photo of Barnaby, his wife Natalie and their four children.
Before the card was sent
out, it was sent to Ms Joyce for approval.
In response, she
allegedly told them they had to be kidding themselves.
At the time, Vikki
Campion would have been five-months pregnant with the Deputy PM’s baby.
Ben says, “it shows the
lengths Barnaby Joyce went to hide the truth from everyone.”
It follows allegations he created high-paying jobs for his
now-partner Ms Campion.
His office has been
contacted for comment but is yet to reply.
ABC
News, 13
February 2018:
Authority is a very
delicate commodity. Abuse it and it becomes unrespected authoritarianism. Fail
to nurture it and it withers.
Authority is now Barnaby
Joyce's gravest problem…..
Barnaby Joyce is very
different from his recent predecessors. Nothing like the affable but reliable
blandness of Warren Truss or the suave rural intellectualism of John Anderson.
And he's the antithesis
of the somewhat forgettable Mark Vaile.
This difference and
Barnaby's uniqueness has been routinely celebrated by his Liberal mates.
Tony Abbott praised him
as the nation's best retail politician. His knockabout larrikinism made his
commentary raw and genuine.
And seemingly
trustworthy.
The scandal that erupted
about his personal life shattered the Barnaby mystique. Now seen by his
Nationals colleagues as a philanderer who cheated on his wife of 24 years, he
has lost moral authority.
That moral authority was
further eroded, according to several of his parliamentary colleagues, in his interview with Leigh Sales.
It totally lacked
contrition. He made no mention of his wife Natalie or daughters. There was no
apology. It was selfish and self-serving.
Even Vikki Campion, the
former staffer now expecting his child, was reduced to a "pregnant lady
walking across the road".
It was an appalling
outing for the Deputy Prime Minister.
Judging by Mr Joyce's
statement today, he now recognises how awful that interview was.
In a monologue to an ABC
camera he strenuously rejected new allegations of inappropriate behaviour
involving a pinched bottom at a rural awards event.
He said it never
happened.
"On another issue,
I would like to say to Natalie how deeply sorry I am for all the hurt this has
caused," he said.
"To my girls, how
deeply sorry I am for all the hurt that it has caused them. To Vikki Campion,
how deeply sorry I am that she has been dragged into this."
They were words that
sought to belatedly plug the haemorrhaging respect.
Barnaby Joyce is a
diminished political figure. His future as Nationals leader is doubtful.
And the Nationals' dogs
are barking. Who will step up?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SBS
News, 13
February 2018:
Overnight the Daily Telegraph
and Courier Mail reported on an incident in 2011, separate to the affair with
Ms Campion, alleging inappropriate behaviour.
Mr Joyce strongly denied
the report and said he would consider legal action, claiming the story was
"peddled" by one of his "deepest political enemies".
"It's not
a case that I didn't recollect it. It did not happen," Mr Joyce
told reporters.
The deputy prime
minister said he had already engaged lawyers and was considering action.
"I have consulted
senior legal advisers and reserve the right to take action for what is serious
defamation," Mr Joyce said in a written statement.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Sydney Morning
Herald, 14
February 2018, p.7:
On the evening of May
24, 2011, Barnaby Joyce took his seat as a guest on a table at
the Rural Women's Awards inside the Great Hall of Parliament House in Canberra.
The black tie awards,
sponsored by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, honour
the role women play in rural industries, business and communities.. ..
The Herald has spoken to
several award attendees. The majority saw nothing more untoward than apparent
drunkenness from Joyce.
One source, who has
chosen not to go on the record, has stronger allegations, but the Herald has
chosen not to publish them because they are untested and have been denied in
the strongest terms by Joyce….
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ABC News, 14 February 2018:
The office of Deputy
Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has corrected his years of military service, after
the ABC pointed out discrepancies between his official biography and his
Australian Defence Force record.
It comes at an
uncomfortable time for Mr Joyce, who is facing a revolt from within his party over his
leadership.
Mr Joyce's office
initially advised the parliament he was in the Royal Queensland Regiment of the
Army Reserve from 1995 to 2003.
These dates appeared on
his official biography on the Parliament House website for 12 years.
But Mr Joyce only served
from 1996 to 2001, according to his official military service recordobtained by the
ABC.
It states his service in
the Army Reserves was four years and 10 months.
Mr Joyce's office has
confirmed he only served from 1996 to 2001, and requested a change be made to
his official biography after being contacted by the ABC last night.
It is understood Mr
Joyce provided the initial information to the parliament when he was elected in
2004.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The
Daily Telegraph,
14 February 2018:
But last night support
for the New England MP was waning. On Monday evening, a dinner was held at
Canberra’s Thai Chiang Rai restaurant where Nationals Darren Chester, Michelle
Landry, David Gillespie, Andrew Gee, Damian Drum (whose office Ms Campion was
also transferred to at one stage) and Kevin Hogan discussed the situation in
their federal party.
The
Daily Telegraph,
15 February 2018:
BARNABY Joyce and his
secret lover continued to work closely together months after she was
transferred to the payrolls of other National MPs to ensure the Deputy Prime
Minister avoided breaching the ministerial code of conduct.
New questions also
emerged about a weekend Mr Joyce spent in Canberra when he had no official
meetings, as the scandal over his affair with staffer Vikki Campion put
pressure on National MPs to declare where they stood on his leadership.
As Mr Joyce yesterday
pleaded with nervous colleagues for more time for the scandal to blow over, The
Daily Telegraph discovered that Ms Campion continued to assist him with media
events last June, August and September while in the employ of other ministers.
And in September 8-10,
Ms Campion assisted Mr Joyce with media at the Nationals’ Federal Conference.
Government sources said
Natalie Joyce stopped receiving spousal entitlements in August. At that time,
Ms Campion was in the very early stages of her pregnancy, with her baby due in
April……
There are also fresh
questions about a weekend Mr Joyce spent in Canberra, where Ms Campion owns a
unit, during a non-sitting period. Mr Joyce stayed in Canberra on Saturday July
15 and Sunday July 16 during a non-sitting period of Parliament, claiming $276
in travel allowance for the Saturday night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
9News, 14 February 2018:
May 2016 –
Vikki Campion assists Barnaby Joyce’s election campaign as media advisor. She
previously worked with NSW government ministers and, before that, was a
journalist with News Corp.
August 2016 –
Campion joins Joyce’s staff and a friendship between the two begins to bloom.
December 2016 –
Joyce’s chief of staff, Di Hallam, reportedly seeks her boss’s approval to have
Campion transferred out of the office. Hallam later quits to take up a
departmental role.
February 2017 –
Campion is photographed in a Sydney bar with Joyce
April 2017 –
Joyce’s wife Natalie reportedly confronts Campion in Tamworth. Campion joins
Nationals’ MP Matt Canavan’s office as an advisor.
May 2017 –
At a NSW Nationals conference in Broken Hill, colleagues describe Joyce as ‘a
mess’.
June 2017 –
Joyce attends the Canberra press gallery Midwinter Ball with his wife Natalie
as rumours of an affair with a former staffer circulate amongst politicians and
the media.
July 2017 –
Campion leaves the Canavan office after he quits the frontbench after finding
out he is a dual-citizen. She temporarily goes back to Joyce’s office.
August 2017 –
Campion moves to Damian Drum’s office in a social media adviser position, which
is reportedly a position specifically created for her. Joyce reportedly assures
PM Malcolm Turnbull the relationship is over.
On the 14th of August, the deputy PM
announced he was a New Zealand citizen through his father, who was born in the
country. Joyce did not stand down from his portfolio and continued to cast his
vote in the House of Representatives.
September 2017 – Natalie
reportedly seeks help from a family friend – Catholic priest Father Frank
Brennan – to counsel her husband. Campion is seen managing Joyce media events
at a federal Nationals conference in Canberra.
October 2017 –
Campion reportedly takes stress-leave.
On October 27, Joyce, along with four
other Senators, were ruled ineligible to be in parliament in a ruling by the
High Court.
A writ was issued for New England
by-election.
The Daily Telegraph hinted at Joyce’s
affair in an article discussing how he had been dealing with a crisis in his
personal life at the same time as he was preparing to fight for his New England
seat.
November 2017 –
Natalie holidays in Bali with one of her and Joyce’s four daughters.
Joyce campaigns in his New England
electorate. He is angered by a man in a pub in Inverell who reportedly said to
him: “Say hello to your mistress”.
December 2017 –
On December 2, the by-election in New England is held. Joyce was re-elected
with almost two-thirds of the vote and an increased majority. His wife Natalie
was nowhere to be seen when Joyce cast his vote alongside his mother nor when
he claimed victory. She was also absent when he was sworn back into Parliament.
On December 6, he returned to
parliament and reassumed his cabinet posts that same day.
On December 8, the same-sex marriage
bill went before the House of Representatives.
Joyce made a speech during the debate,
using it to acknowledge he had separated from his wife – a matter most news
outlets had been seeking confirmation on through Joyce’s media team, with the
team falling back on the public interest argument to deflect inquiries.
“I acknowledge that I’m currently
separated, so that’s on the record,” Joyce told Parliament.
“I didn’t come to this debate
pretending to be a saint,” he said.
Campion has a redundancy package
approved and they move into an Armidale property provided rent-free by
businessman Greg Maguire.
January 2018 –
Joyce and Campion kick off the new year with a holiday in north Queensland and
NSW north coast.
February 2018 –
On the 6th, the Daily Telegraph reveals its front-page splash for the 7th. It’s
a huge photo of Campion dressed in gym gear and heavily pregnant alongside a
story revealing her relationship with Joyce. His office declined to comment on
the story, only to state that she was no longer working for the Turnbull
government.
On the 7th, Natalie released a
statement saying she felt “deceived and hurt” by her husband.
She said she was “deeply saddened by
the news that my husband has been having an affair and is now having a child
with a former staff member”.
North Coast Voices, 11 February 2018 Why so many voters are annoyed by Barnaby Joyce's statement* that his private life is a private matterIMO Barnaby Joyce will not survive past forensic analysis of complete Parliamentarians' Expenditure on Entitlements for 2016-2017 https://t.co/9ThOvdxEr1https://t.co/lVoXVGmfQ8https://t.co/ipZdCQoSp4 https://t.co/Umx2BcxZu2 https://t.co/ozToqnnINR— no_filter_Yamba (@no_filter_Yamba) February 11, 2018
Q4 2017 yet to be published
