Barnaby Joyce looks set to stay away from parliament until August after it was revealed he will take extended personal leave ahead of his upcoming tell-all $150k interview with partner Vikki Campion.
Reports have emerged suggesting that Joyce requested some time-off from Nationals Party Whip Michelle Landry after he came under personal stress relating to the recent furore surrounding him.
The decision comes just days before the former deputy prime minister’s televised interview with Campion is due to be aired on the Seven Network’s Sunday Night programme, earning the couple a six-figure payday.
News of the lucrative media deal sparked outrage amongst the public and Joyce came under fire from his fellow politicians yesterday as a number of MPs weighed in on the debate surrounding Barnaby’s decision to sell his love story for $150,000.
And it has now been confirmed that Joyce will take six-weeks off from politics while the dust settles, with Senator Derryn Hinch even suggesting that he is now looking for a “way out” of Canberra.
The move came as Campion, Joyce’s former media advisor, broke her silence for the first time since it was revealed she was pregnant with Joyce’s child back in February.
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In a teaser clip for Sunday night’s show, the 33-year-old says: “I couldn’t help it. You can’t help who you fall in love with.”
In their first TV interview as a couple, father-of-five Joyce and his partner Vikki Campion will discuss their newborn son, Sebastian, as well as the details of their highly publicised relationship.
Defending his decision to accept the cash payout earlier this week, Joyce claimed that his efforts to keep his relationship private had been thwarted by the press, and went on to blame Campion for accepting the cash sum.
The 51-year-old said: “We tried for privacy. In the last fortnight we’ve had drones over our house. We’ve had paparazzi waiting for us….We tried just burning this out and that didn’t work.”
Details of the couple’s relationship emerged back in February when former staffer Vikki was spotted with a blooming baby bump.
Joyce had previously split from his wife of 24-years, Natalie, in December last year after admitting he was no saint.