Finance Minister Mathias Cormann will replace embattled Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce as acting PM when Malcolm Turnbull flies to the United States next week.
Joyce, who was revealed to be expecting his first son with former staffer Vikki Campion last week, will be taking leave from February 19 to February 25.
Ordinarily, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party, Julie Bishop, would be next in line for the role, but she is currently overseas.
Barnaby Joyce (right) will take leave from February 19 to February 25 after revelations of his affair and unborn child with former staffer Vikki Campion (left) became headline news last week
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann (pictured) will replace Joyce as Acting Prime Minister while Malcolm Turnbull is in the United States
Earlier, Ms Bishop had told ABC Radio she would have been happy to cancel her trip to cover for Joyce if needed.
‘If circumstances change then of course I would change my plans, but that’s not my understanding,’ she told ABC radio.
‘The Prime Minister has confirmed the usual arrangements will apply when he is overseas, that is, the Deputy Prime Minister is Acting Prime Minister, and I understand that will be the case next week when Prime Minister Turnbull is overseas.’
The Deputy Prime Minister’s affair with 33-year-old pregnant former staffer Vikki Campion has caused controversy within the halls of Parliament, and many members of the Coalition are understood to have aired their concerns about Joyce standing in for Turnbull next week.
The Nationals leader (pictured in 2016 with wife Natalie and their daughter) has suffered a sharp drop in his primary vote, which fell from 65 per cent in December to 43 per cent as a result
Joyce’s former media adviser Vikki Campion (pictured) is carrying the embattled Deputy Prime Minister’s child. She is expecting a son in April
Labor leader Bill Shorten used the announcement to question if Joyce’s decision to stand down was a sign his role as Deputy was untenable.
‘Doesn’t the Prime Minister’s announcement just before Question Time about the arrangements of who will be Acting Prime Minister confirm the Deputy Prime Minister cannot do his job?’ he asked.
‘Or are we simply meant to believe it’s all a big coincidence?’
Politicians aren’t alone in their concerns about the New England MP.
A ReachTEL poll conducted in Joyce’s seat on Tuesday night revealed there had been a dramatic slump in his primary vote.
At the December 2 by-election, Joyce held 65 per cent of the primary vote, while only 43 per cent of those polled said they would vote for him following last week’s revelations.
Despite this, he smirked when asked by TV reporters in Canberra if he was confident he would survive politically after Nationals MPs rallied behind their embattled leader.
‘Yes, I am. I am very confident,’ he said.
Barnaby Joyce smirked for the TV cameras on Thursday and told reporters he was ‘very confident’ he would survive in his high-powered role within the National Party
The Nationals leader’s very public split from his wife of 24 years, Natalie, is turning off more men than women, the poll of 1,206 residents commissioned by Fairfax Media found.
Almost half of voters surveyed in his rural northern New South Wales seat believe their local member should either resign as Deputy Prime Minister or leave parliament altogether.
Mr Joyce faced voters at a December 2 by-election, triggered by the discovery he was a dual New Zealand citizen through his father.
His affair and separation from the mother of his four daughters has divided voters in his electorate, with 47.2 per cent of them believing he should either resign as Deputy Prime Minister or quit parliament altogether, compared with 45.3 per cent who say he should stay as Nationals leader.
Men appear to be more offended by his affair, with 49.6 per cent of male voters in his seat believing he should quit his party leadership or leave politics, compared with 44.9 of women in New England.
Despite the bad political news, the poll found Mr Joyce would hold his seat 52 per cent to 48 per cent, after preferences, if he faced a challenge from his long-time nemesis and former independent MP Tony Windsor.
Mr Joyce’s affair with his wife Ms Campion (right) has divided voters in his New England seat