Today, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce issued a statement in which he declared that he was not in an intimate relationship with staffer Vikki Campion while she worked in his office, and that their intimacy began after she was moved to a job invented for her in Senator Matt Canavan’s office, with a salary of some $190,000 a year.
Joyce stated:
I did not discuss these matters with the Prime Minister or his office as Vikki was not my partner, so they were dealt with in the usual course of staff deployments within the party.
The Ministerial Code of Conduct Section 2.23 states:
Ministers’ close relatives and partners are not to be appointed to positions in their ministerial or electorate offices, and must not be employed in the offices of other members of the Executive Government without the Prime Minister’s express approval. A close relative or partner of a Minister is not to be appointed to any position in an agency in the Minister’s own portfolio if the appointment is subject to the agreement of the Minister or Cabinet.
Joyce’s denial of his relationship with Campion is his attempt to circumvent the ministerial regulations, and to protect Prime Minister Turnbull and Minister Canavan from serious allegations of breaching the guidelines.
HOWEVER.
In this piece titled “How Vikki Campion came to work for Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce,” Malcolm Farr gives background to the affair:
Inside the Joyce office there were other clues and they were quickly picked up by the minister’s highly respected chief of staff Di Hallam.
Ms Hallam took two important steps: She sent Mr Joyce to the office of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to reveal the romance and Ms Campion was moved to the office of then Resources Minister Matt Canavan in late 2016.
“Clearly they thought her presence would be a problem, so she (Ms Hallam) made a decision,” said a source familiar with the situation.
In 2016, the affair was far more than a “rumour.” It was considered so serious that the Prime Minister was advised, and Ms Campion was moved to Canavan’s office to get her out of the way.
As Farr acknowledges: … the romance, by its very existence, became part of the delivery of public policy and taxpayer-funded staffing.
Joyce’s claim that the affair did not start until after Campion was moved to Canavan’s office contradicts Farr’s account, and the account of the source who identified Di Hallam as a key player in the removal of Campion from Joyce’s office. Ms Hallam is also alleged to have instructed Joyce to inform Turnbull of the situation.
Clearly, this is not a matter of someone getting the story wrong. Someone is lying. The liar is either Barnaby Jones, Malcolm Farr, Malcolm Turnbull, or Farr’s source.
It is absolutely unacceptable that we should be left in a situation in which we have no idea whether or not the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister Canavan breached ministerial guidelines, and furthermore, are lying to parliament and to the country.
It is absolutely unacceptable that the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister imply that senior journalist Farr, and highly respected public servant Di Hallam, are lying, without providing evidence that this is so.
No Place For Sheep 
The bunch of self serving hypocrites have so far thrown all the women involved under a bus, they have thrown an innocent unborn baby under the bus, they have thrown four rather gorgeous daughters under the bus.
All so fucking Truffles can keep swanning around the world with his eyes closed pretending to be PM
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Yes. Exactly.
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http://www.news.com.au/national/politics/does-the-public-have-a-right-to-know-about-our-politicians-personal-lives/news-story/fca4a28321720307b6c1497a59f98883
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Come to think of it, Lolita and Humbert.
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Barnaby is dead man walking; but his fate depends upon the other National Party MPs, hardly a predictable bunch. Turnbull can’t really sack him as the Nationals are theoretically a separate Party.
Poor Truffles, left looking like the weak leader he is.
Schadenfreude, the word of the decade?
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Turnbull is sly. He and Murdoch, they have thrown Joyce and the girlfriend under a truck.
Barnaby has to get out of politics and start afresh somewhere else. He has to realise this, all the vainglory, is over for him.
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There’s always a spot for a prize stud ram like Baaaarnaby.
And I thought he was only a sheep. 🙂
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Sheep or ram who knows? But can he wether the storm? (Sorry, I’ll get my hat and coat and be off.)
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He is a lamb to the slaughter..over reached by light years.
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Yeah, been wondering why News Corp is going hard on Joyce. Thinking this was a risk coming out in April and it would’ve been so much worse and Turnbull would’ve definitely have lost because of the implications of the story not breaking sooner, so this way it’s more expedient? (I mean this site and others via social media already breaking the story so it would’ve destroyed not only the Nats but Turnbull’s role in the two jobs etc, the whole who knew what when stuff.)
The longer Joyce stays as leader of the Nats the lower Turnbull’s chances are winning the election? Because this way they could still try and win Queensland? But with Canavan’s complicity in this sordid saga, not sure if this is possible because moral issues IS THE ISSUE for those who vote for the Nats generally. The sense of betrayal particularly for what Natalie Joyce and the Joyce daughters would have endured – how the story would have been framed if it only broke in April with the birth of the child etc.
Never forget how the press gallery let us down AGAIN.
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Conversely, it could highlight how utterly powerless Turnbull is? Jetting off to the USA hoping to look all Prime Ministerly (standing next to Trump does Turnbull hope he looks “better”?) and Barnaby will be DPM which highlights the sickening aspect of a “cheating husband” being rewarded (cos Murdoch isn’t really doing the Minister’s Code of Conduct stuff cos *yawn too ethical etc) – Perhaps this is about two birds, one stone?
Cos isn’t Dutton perceived as the real power behind this thar ‘democracy’? God if they think Dutton will be LOTO material (note the lack of adjective on my part) everyone is fucking delusional.
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And the Nationals aren’t exactly overflowing with talent. Or free from factional problems, I understand that if he’s to be replaced as leader it would need to be someone from Queensland or at least from “not Victoria”.
But hey, if we’re lucky we’ll get another bye-election in his electorate. So much democracy, I don’t know if I can cope.
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Joyce who seems to prefer to hobnob with various Millionaires and is rewarded accordingly has run his race with common man/woman. The Canberra “swamp” for a country boy is reminiscent of “how you gonna keep them down on the farm once they’ve seen Paree”.
Pistol and Boo humped fewer legs and sniffed fewer crotches than Barnaby.
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Count the amount of times Turnbull uses the word ‘democracy’. That *thing* that Ruddock got government funding for, is it now transparent?
I don’t think Turnbull quite understands what a democracy is supposed to be, and is.
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Maybe he has his business hat on and is thinking of managed democracy?
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Just an added thought regarding Turnbull and his selective language. It really bothered me how he dismissed the marches, people wanting to Change The Date as ‘a tiny minority bullying the majority’. You can unpack the words but you can also look disbelievingly at a Prime Minister dumbing down such a complex issue to a sound bite AND THAT’S WHAT HE CAME UP WITH as an explanation.
Yet Ruddock’s trumped up thingo re protecting Christians from those gosh darn contagion called LGBTQIA and it got funding without any sort of complexity by the mainstream (or transparency) media but then you look at who owns the media you kinda get how white straight males in power feel a tad persecuted, I mean, they could actually die out as a breed, the power thingo, sharing it, god forbid, with all sorts of other types of peoples. Guess the PM’s idea of a ‘minority’ is selective as well as his memory.
Turnbull, what a huge disappointment watching the decline and not even attempting to substantively address inequality and injustice. I am so very naive. What can I say? I used to be a massive idealist growing up and then you see how the world really operates, cos well, Gillard, and when Turnbull uses the words ‘fairness’ I want to vomit.
As an aside, the Nationals could use this opportunity to close a pretty despicable chapter in their history, and do a renewal thing and actually go with someone who stands for the actual people they’re supposed to represent and not self-interest, hubris, dodgy deals, inland rails that have suddenly changed plans and WATER, where’s that on mainstream media? Fracking? Coal mines against the interest of farmers? I guess when the Nationals realise we can’t eat coal then they’ll wake up, kinda like when Barnaby’s child is born (god how sad that the birth of a child is overshadowed with the actions of a guy thinking he could get away with it all) and the Nationals, especially that idiot Landry thinking this will all die down.
Do they have a clue how this is only going to get worse? Cauterise the wound while you can.
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I do marvel at the way Malcolm Turnbull has become a sort of oracle for his party members. He’s a great actor.
Initially I had some hope that MT might have had the fortitude to stick to the values that I still think he believes in… but it’s always unsettling when somebody subverts their own dignity and changes their politics in order to maintain their position.
Guess we’ll have to keep trying to oust this guy and hope the next lot can do better!
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It’s all a shambles, and I’d say the way this has been so badly mismanaged won’t be understood my most people for a long, long time, and many will say ‘good on him’ about Barnaby for being able to get his leg over a scrumptious little bird … the Privileged White Males all have a chuckle and (almost) everyone forgets about it …
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Jennifer – I was hoping your assessment would have been taken up today, though apparently not so… which is strange because quite apart from the fact that you’d hit the nail on the obvious head I thought these days journalists mostly drew their best idea from bloggers.
I tell you what though – this whole situation that the Liberal party rings itself in reminds me very much of a line from the Goon Show:
“Ah you can’t fool us you naughty German, we British are never caught napping”
“No, You’re alvays caught vide avake!”
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“rings”?? even computers are trying to tell us what to say/-;
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That Barnaby Joyce won’t resign and the Nationals by its majority support basically condoning his behaviour down to a kind of ‘boys will be boys’ sexist clap trap – “difficult time” not addressing the TWO jobs created for the “not partner” and that her salary is almost on par with that of a Senators, and what’s this stress leave business? Does this mean she took paid sick leave in a job created for her?
The Nationals by their behaviour are looking very very incompetent. This is going to hang over them for a long time, particularly since Joyce is not divorced yet. The rational won’t want to address the moral component of this because morals can be so subjective, but National voters KNOW this backlash is going to take place because Joyce can no longer pretend to be what he never was.
The longer Joyce drags out the inevitable – if he’d resigned from the Nationals leadership and gone to the backbench in the first place he could’ve at least remained in parliament, but now this delusion and selfishness, hubris really, it looks like resigning from parliament is now the only clear option. Joyce’s incompetence, the water stolen from the Murray-Darling Basin and the cover ups etc this has to be addressed.
On the plus side, the longer the Nationals support Joyce the more pathetic they look in the lack of THEIR moral fibre in standing up for ‘traditional values’ – doing this ‘mateship uber alles’ shtick is more dangerous because it’s promoting cheating in marriage and well, um, how do the CWA feel about this? As long as the husband comes back? And Joyce’s finances, supporting two households on his salary but getting free rent? That the Nationals needed to pay him out of their own pockets – the whole grassroots issue of how its members are doing financially to support two households while Joyce was not a MP.
The longer Barnaby Joyce stays in parliament the longer Turnbull’s government looks like a chaotic mess and the more powerless he looks. So there is that.
When Turnbull goes to the US next week it’s going to be All About Barnaby, the sequel.
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Be like admitting something is wrong. They want the media to sanitise it.
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Watching Joyce’s performance this morning, I wonder about this secret agreement between the two parties – is this some kind of payback for Joyce not to get too big for britches (ugh, the visual) and for him pull his head?
He appeared to be very smug and arrogant post his by-election, which makes this story breaking only now even more sickening.
And when he went to Qld with Turnbull and the audience wouldn’t have a bar (boom!) of it and wanted “Larrikin” Barnaby???
If only we had more transparency in this thar democracy. How’s *that* Star Chamber run by Ruddock going? Apparently you have to know the secret handshake to know when and where they’re being held.
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*getting too big for his britches
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The fallout from the type of politics Joyce practices turns up in unexpected places involving genuinely critical issue.
The outlaw politics of Joyce involving agribusiness cotton farming theft of what’s left of the Murray Darling is an example.
This type of lawless politics has been embraced by the worst government in Australia, the horrific Berejiklian government and its corrupt ministers, as it thrashes and kicks against the Senate attempt to claw back a little water for the system.
The real shock has been the Victorian government though in siding with NSW, the filchers of water Victoria needs, rather with those trying to salvage the system for its long term value, for all… here is the REALLY sad thing, the corruption of the WHOLE of Australian politics, infected epidemically from the criminality of QLD and NSW Nats and LNP pork barrelling.
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Agree, the water corruption/theft is huge but the lack of complexity and avoiding Barnaby Joyce’s involvement – tap dancing on the Titanic.
The Nationals will bring about this government’s downfall. It’s now turned into chaotic mess – Joyce “on leave” and Dutton’s reprehensible defence – there are issues of corruption of ministerial conduct and process – Turnbull at one point called Dastyari a “double agent” which was totally foolish coming from a Prime Minister, or anyone really because it was so baseless.
It looks like this government is now attempting to cover up the issue – “hiding in plain sight” when really it reflects Turnbull’s powerlessness.
Dutton seems to be way too comfortable huh? “He could’ve walked away?” Huh? As an explanation that’s pretty pathetic.
This is about the two jobs created and who knew what when. Plus that minor detail of the Murray Darling Basin’s corruption at its core of a deal.
Tap-dancing on the Titanic. Watching a useless government try to coral a recalcitrant child of a ‘junior partner’ who don’t quite seem to get the concept of walking the talk. Oh, and the press gallery who let us down so stupendously.
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Yeah, gobsmacked the Vic govt was supporting the rorting of a natural resource integral to the whole bloody basin not just selective mates rates bullshit – dumbing down the complexity of corruption during election years???
And what part of “it’s only going to get worse” didn’t Barnaby Joyce get? Hubris, and this delusion of power and not realising when to walk the plank.
Now Turnbull’s decision to collude that Barnaby Joyce is on PAID LEAVE makes both of them look so incompetent – Turnbull for thinking this is a solution when it makes Barnaby Joyce look even more incompetent, and Barnaby Joyce decrying his guilt as a ‘private matter’ but at the behest of taxpayer dollars.
See, people on Centrelink benefits don’t have this luxury. When Centrelink decides you’re guilty, you’re guilty. The lengths Centrelink will go to do the whole guilty until proven innocent shtick is pretty excruciating. And then I watch this sordid saga and watch men in positions of power protect each other and not address the wasted dollars but when demonising those ‘dole bludgers’ as ‘dole bludgers’ the cruelty and dehumanisation is almost universally accepted by mainstream media, not addressing the irony of politicians doing a faux sleep out to commiserate with the homeless.
Should we set ourselves reading matter for the chaos that is the Turnbull Tap Dancing on the Titanic? Animal Farm?
(once again apologies for all the comments, going through perimenopause on top of a range of other issues and the way in which “leadership” is conducted in this country is making me feel so distraught – also the whole the press gallery at full bore on rumour-mongering nonstop during Gillard, but they let us down so badly because well, a by-election, citizenship and no mention of $$$ at the time. Context is pretty integral and Joyce, contextually, looks like a giant fraud.)
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It’s time you replaced Kathryn Murphy.
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I just read this. It sums up my feelings and thoughts re: a kind of collusion “boys club” mentality when there IS the right way to behave. And Turnbull failed us all.
http://www.ethics.org.au/On-Ethics/blog/February-2018/loopholes-lies-the-real-scandal-of-barnaby-joyce
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Turnbull is now blaming the Ministerial Code of Conduct for being lousy? WTAF? Can Turnbull look even more ridiculous than even Barnaby Joyce?
I feel sick, sicker than I did five minutes ago.
Turnbull is a joke. “It’s the fault of the Ministerial Code of Conduct so let me change it because I know stuff????”
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This is an ineffectual PM clutching at his pearls because now MORALITY CLAUSE instead of addressing allegations of corruption and fraud?
So hey, don’t bonk each other cos well, that’s going to put this to bed?
Turnbull hasn’t been able to halt the chaos caused by Barnaby’s lack of judgement ie his penis – putting colleagues offside because TWO job created for his not partner and this is Turnbull’s solution? Don’t bonk each other?
Is this the 18th century? The speed of regression we’re hit is peak Turnbull Tapdance.
If any journalist can note how desperate Turnbull is because ineffectual, that would be great. Treating us as if we’re so incapable of reason?
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So you all know Cormann is acting PM?
Cormann’s WA factional rival is Bishop.
Is it a kick in the chops for Bishop and ultimately for Turnbull?
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Bishop is overseas as well.
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After Turnbull trying to outTurnbull Joyce, I realise I have to switch off from this level of corruption. Thank you for the article from OCTOBER last year when Turnbull was as complicit in my view and now doing sanctimony on a level that is just showmanship really.
But I know I need to back off when I start getting emotional at the degree of injustice and hypocrisy, kinda like what happened to Gillard. Thinking you can actually get PTSD or some kind of depression when you see how social injustice and really shyte leadership goes unexamined by this gosh darn democratic media.
Instead of “Know Thyself”, catchphrase is “heal thyself” – cos when psychologists stop bulk billing and the goods one don’t bulk bill there has to be a reason yeah?
Thanks for making me realise that perhaps ignorance is bliss but injustice never is, and when our leadership is so abysmal that they can’t be a voice for those that need it, instead using them as political footballs, yeah, nah, I’m getting too invested in how sickening our politics/media conflation is.
Also, Centrelink and lack of compassion and empathy because apparently, being bullies is now acceptable, I mean if you have a government that promotes bullying of the vulnerable, the marginalised and don’t attempt empathy or even context.
I have been so sick, I didn’t know I was sick and then I have been so sick I saw it as a weakness for a really long time. Two attempts by two separate doctors to get me on the disability pension (for at least a year or two in order to get ongoing help) were knocked back.
And now I’m going through the bliss of being bullied. Yay, ‘Straya, how about that fair go?
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I know where you are coming from. Intimately.
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Another interesting article on the real back ground of all this:
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/feb/15/barnaby-joyce-and-the-difficulties-avoiding-a-conflict-of-interest
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Shock horror, Truffles has overreacted again. In a declaration worthy of a 17th century Puritan or a wowser of the Victorian era, sex between consenting adults is now to be completely banned.
A slight exaggeration, but the absurdity of the Proclamation resembles the lesson King Canute tried to give his flattering nobles, by ordering the tide to recede.
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I wonder whether truffles has decided that it’s time to burn off the Nationals completely.
They don’t have a useful replacement for Joyce (really, they didn’t have one for Truss), and if they are forced to back down and dump him by Truffles like this they’re going to have a new junior undersecretary for making the tea suddenly trying to pretend they’re also the leader of the rabble *and* arguing that they should be deputy PM. Good luck.
If Joyce quits parliament the voters in that electorate are likely to be fed up. I suspect truffles is gambling that Barnaby will linger on until some new embarrassment is revealed, at which point the voters will be unable to bring themselves to vote Labour, so will welcome a Liberal-leaning “independent”
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Alternatively, he does not intend the above but might get them anyway. I’m not sure which is a worse outcome.
Let’s just hope I’m grossly wrong with that speculation, Barnaby settles down with his latest mistress, stops being quite so obviously corrupt and the new code of conduct is so effective that the impossibility of enforcing it doesn’t come up (“enforcement” is via the internal factional system that is working so very awesomely well right now… compared to the UK, anyway).
Then we can all slowly forget how useless the political class and their media parasites are and … hey, the footy finals are coming up.
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Agriculture as a percentage of GDP doesn’t pull it’s weight as it once did and yet the persistent mindset is that mining, infrastructure, regional development, natural resources ministries are still the purview and responsibility of the Nationals.
It’s quite bizarre that the “global” economy so lauded by the Country party is the same party hemmed by the bucolic, regional, isolated us versus them, big smoke hating regional communities.
Big Farmer like Big Pharma has its own interests and agendas and far and away produces most of the agricultural products for domestic and export markets and the Country Party has been very adept at sustaining the belief that they represent the small family farm which is dying at a rapid rate.
Joyce is a suck up to millionaires. And a huge part of BJ’s (yes BJ what an unfortunate set of initials) Parliamentary schtick has been lambasting Shorten for his ties to the rich and powerful as well as accusations of dishonesty, this week put an end to that particular avenue of BJ’s blowhard rhetoric.
The luxury rent free villa in Armidale buried BJ’s future as an “authentic” representative of genuine “country folk”.
Fuck him.
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