Deputy PM says he is ‘humbled’ by support and ‘people are starting to see this as a witch-hunt’

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Barnaby Joyce says he’s not going anywhere, blasting suggestions he should be ousted as Nationals leader by calling them a “witch-hunt”.

The deputy prime minister, who has taken personal leave after his relationship with a staffer was made public, also played down a phone hook-up on Monday afternoon betweens Nationals officials from four states and the federal party.

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“I am humbled by the support in my electorate and in the community,” he told Fairfax Media in an interview published on Tuesday. “People are starting to see this as a witch-hunt. I’m not going anywhere, I never would.”

Joyce said the phone hook-up was not an official meeting, reiterating that the leader of the Nationals is decided by party MPs.

His New South Wales Nationals colleague Michael McCormack, who has been touted as a potential replacement, dodged multiple questions about the issue on Monday, refusing six times to explicitly back Joyce’s leadership. “There is no challenge at the moment … he has the party’s support,” the minister told Sky News.

McCormack also missed five opportunities to rule out a challenge at next Monday’s Nationals party room meeting in Canberra. “There is no spill, there is no vacancy, at the moment,” he said.

He later added: “Of course I support Barnaby Joyce, he’s our leader, he’s been a very good leader.”

A Newspoll published by the Australian newspaper on Monday found 65% of Australian voters believe Joyce should quit as Nationals leader and either go to the backbench or quit politics.

The Queensland Liberal National party MP Llew O’Brien said while some people were concerned about the crisis engulfing Joyce, just as many, if not more, were supportive of him.



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Asked if there was any chance Joyce would be rolled as leader, O’Brien told ABC radio: “Twenty-four hours is a long time in politics. I don’t think there is.”



The Wide Bay MP does not believe Joyce should step down and would not be drawn on who he would vote for in the event of a leadership spill.



Malcolm Turnbull on Monday said he could not say if the deputy prime minister would survive as Nationals leader after his affair with his former staffer and now pregnant partner, Vikki Campion.



Speaking in London, the foreign minister and deputy Liberal leader, Julie Bishop, said there had been “more than enough commentary” on Joyce’s situation and she wasn’t going to add to it.

