Just days after accepting a $150,000 cheque for a tell-all interview, Barnaby Joyce has pointed the finger of blame at partner Vikki Campion and claimed it was her idea to sell the story.
The former deputy prime minister says the decision was made after weeks of relentless media pressure that showed no signs of ‘burning out’, as the mother of his newborn realised she may as well benefit from the ordeal, News.com.au reports.
‘We tried for privacy,’ said Mr Joyce. ‘In the last fortnight we’ve had drones over our house. We’ve had paparazzi waiting for us outside Armidale airport… we’ve tried just burning this out and that didn’t work.’
Just days after accepting a $150,000 cheque for a tell-all interview, Barnaby Joyce has pointed the finger of blame at partner Vikki Campion and claimed it was her idea to sell the story
The former deputy prime minister said his former staffer and the mother of his newborn Vikki Campion realised she may as well benefit from the ordeal after weeks of relentless media pressure
Joyce refused to accept sole responsibility for the revealing tell-all – which many are calling hypocritical given the politician’s previous demands for privacy – due to the fact that Vikki will be interviewed as well.
The former Nationals leader claimed that if it were an interview with just him as a politician he wouldn’t charge.
‘But that is not what they wanted,’ he said. ‘They wanted an interview… to get Vikki’s side of the story and like most mothers she said, ‘Seeing as I am being screwed over… if everybody else is making money then [I am] going to make money out of it’.’
Joyce refused to accept sole responsibility for the revealing tell-all – which many are calling hypocritical given the politician’s previous demands for privacy – due to the fact that Vikki will be interviewed as well
The interview, which is set to air on Channel Seven’s Sunday Night program this weekend, has stoked controversy with the public and politicians alike.
Financial Services Minister Kelly O’Dwyer said that while she didn’t go so far as to talk Joyce out of doing the interview, she could see that it didn’t sit right with the majority of Australians.
‘Ultimately it’s a matter for him and his judgment,’ she said in an interview with ABC radio. ‘[But] I don’t think it’s right, and I think most Australians are pretty disgusted by it.’
The storm of controversy surrounding the interview has prompted calls for a ban on serving politicians being paid for media comment.
Financial Services Minister Kelly O’Dwyer said that while she didn’t go so far as to talk Joyce out of doing the interview, she could see that it didn’t sit right with the majority of Australians