Barnaby Joyce was on a taxpayer funded business trip to Sydney when he was seen drinking at a bar with the staffer-turned-lover now pregnant with his fifth child.
The Deputy Prime Minister was photographed with Vikki Campion – his media advisor at the time – at Different Drummer, a bar in inner-west Glebe, on February 23, 2017.
Photos obtained by Daily Mail Australia show the pair looking happy together almost a year before Mr Joyce’s marriage break up and affair was revealed.
Publicly available documents showed The Nationals leader charged taxpayers a total of $1868.66 for his visit to Sydney from February 23 to 25 for his business trip.
Barnaby Joyce was on a taxpayer funded business trip when he was photographed drinking at a Sydney bar with then staffer Vikki Campion (pictured), who is the mother to his fifth child
The deputy PM charged taxpayers a total of $1868.66 for his three-day business trip to Sydney during which time he was seen at Different Drummer Bar in Glebe with Ms Campion (pictured)
British journalist Roger Tavener was in the Different Drummer that night and took the pictures published by Daily Mail Australia.
Mr Tavener said he got a surprise to see the Deputy PM in a small bar in Glebe and he was recognised also by other patrons.
‘There’s other people in the bar going: “It’s Barnaby Joyce”,’ he said.
‘He just came across to us and shook hands, said hello, he was really nice.’
Hours before his Thursday night catch up with Ms Campion at the bar in the city’s inner-west Mr Joyce flew from Tamworth, in regional New South Wales, to Sydney.
The one-way domestic flight came at a cost of $356.69 to taxpayers.
He was then chauffeured by an official commonwealth driver into the city at a cost of $72.88.
Mr Joyce’s office refused to provide a statement or access to his diary from his trip to Sydney, avoiding countless questions other than to say: ‘Work purposes mate’.
When asked what the purpose of the visit to the bar was, Mr Joyce’s office did not answer that directly.
A spokesman said: ‘The Deputy Prime Minister was in Sydney for those dates to attend three Cabinet committee meetings as well as meet with the Prime Minister of Israel.’
Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Mr Joyce and Ms Campion were having an affair at the time of his trip to Sydney, nor that he claimed bar expenses from that night.
Ms Campion was a media advisor for Mr Joyce until April last year, when she was shifted into a job for MP Matt Cannovan. It was this week revealed that she is pregnant with Mr Joyce’s child
Mr Joyce married Natalie Abberfield (left) in 1993 and the pair share four daughters. The leader of The Nationals announced last December that the pair had split
In a statement, Mrs Joyce (far left) said she had been ‘hurt’ by her husband’s affair: ‘I am deeply saddened that my husband is now having a child with a former staff member,’ she said
During the weekend that he was in Sydney the Deputy PM attended Cabinet committee meetings and met the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu
The day after his drink with Ms Campion, Mr Joyce travelled to Scone in north-east NSW for a visit to the Scone Saleyards (pictured)
During the same business trip Mr Joyce videoed himself at a bar in the neighbouring suburb of Annandale and shared it to Facebook as a joke for opposition MP Anthony Albanese.
The next day, Friday, February 24, Mr Joyce travelled to Scone in north-east NSW for a visit to the Scone Saleyards. He returned to Sydney that night.
Mr Joyce also cancelled two more commonwealth cars that day.
Overall he cancelled three commonwealth cars in the space of 48 hours, costing the taxpayer a total of $120 in wasted trips.
Mr Joyce charged taxpayers $442 for his accommodation on the Friday night, with a total of $884 spent on hotels.
On Saturday the deputy PM caught a commonwealth car to the airport, coming in at a cost of $78.60, before flying back to Tamworth, with his airfare costing $356.69.
BARNABY JOYCE’S EXPENSES FOR SYDNEY TRIP ON FEBRUARY 23-25:
February 23
Tamworth to Sydney domestic flight – $356.69
Accommodation in Sydney – $442
Ms Campion (pictured) drank with Mr Joyce on the evening of February 23
Car cost – $72.88
Car cost – $40.00**
February 24
Accommodation in Sydney – $442
Car cost – $40.00**
Car cost – $40.00**
February 25
Car cost – $78.60
Sydney to Tamworth domestic flight – $356.69
TOTAL: $1,868.86
**Indicates a cancelled or no-show commonwealth car