Barnaby Joyce has risked the wrath of Aussies right across the country after revealing he’s struggling to support two separate families on his staggering $211,000 a year salary – so much so he’s having to slaughter his own animals to feed himself.
The former deputy prime minister, who left his wife before starting a family with new partner and former staffer Vikki Campion last year, has exclusively revealed to the Courier Mail that he’s spread so thin he’s having to turn off his heater at night to save money – and considers a cup of coffee a treat.
“I’m not crying in my beer because there are thousands, thousands doing it much tougher than me… It’s not that I’m not getting money it’s just that it’s spread so thin,” he told the news outlet.
“I’m just saying these circumstances have made me more vastly attuned… it’s just a great exercise in humility going from deputy prime minister to watching every dollar you get.
“So the big thrill of the day to be honest is a cup of coffee. We [he and Vikki] rarely if ever go out for dinner.”
He reportedly added that he is now slaughtering his own sheep for meat and his experience struggling to get by has pushed him to break away from Scott Morrison and push for an increase in the Newstart allowance.
Morrison has outright confirmed there won’t be an increase to the welfare payment any time soon, but while Joyce insisted he agreed that finding people jobs is the main priority, he insisted it’s more complex than that – and the Newstart rate is too low.
The current Newstart Allowance sits at $555.70 per fortnight, or just under $40 a day for a single person, while married couples receive $501.70 per person to cover costs.
Joyce, who is now a father of six after welcoming two children with new partner Vikki, after already having four daughters with his ex wife Natalie, is reportedly still supporting his youngest daughter while she’s at boarding school, as well as his ex wife.
After being inundated with backlash over the interview following its publication just hours ago, Joyce has since appeared on Sunrise to defend his words, insisting he’s well aware he’s on a good salary – but reiterated that the experience has helped him sympathise with those on Newstart.
Asked if he’s going to get flack for the chat, he said: “Yes of course I am and I’m not skint, I’m far from skint, I’m on a very, very good wage. But circumstances [that are] my own fault have meant it’s spread very thin.
“Of course, I’m working out how, on a very good salary, you make two ends meet when you’re supporting two families, God knows how someone on $280 a week ever gets by, I don’t know how they do it. It would be near impossible… Basically it’s an exercise in humility.”
Unsurprisingly his words have come under fire, and leading the charge was One Nation leader Pauline Hanson who has labelled the words “ridiculous” and “stupid”.
“He feels skint? Where’s the tissues, my god,” Hanson told the Today show. “Sorry, a lot of Australians would say, ‘I wish I had $211,000 a year to help me put on the heaters in my house.’
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“What a ridiculous, stupid way to explain himself. He is saying the Newstart allowance people need an extra hand, which I’ve been saying for quite some time now. But the way he has explained it is not a good look.”