Barnaby Joyce fears his child with Vikki Campion will attract so much attention that he will become a ‘public display’ and be seen as less worthy than his other children.
The Deputy Prime Minister, who has four daughters with estranged wife Natalie, is expecting a son with his former staffer Campion, 33.
‘The one thing that has deeply annoyed me is that there is somehow an inference that this child is somehow less worthy than other children, and it’s almost spoken about in the third person,’ he told the Sydney Morning Herald in an interview at his townhouse in Armidale today.
‘I love my daughters. I have four beautiful daughters and I love them to death. And now I will have a son. I don’t pick winners, I’m not gonna love one more than another, but I’m not going to love one less than another either,’ he added.
The Deputy Prime Minister, who has four daughters (pictured) with estranged wife Natalie (left), is expecting a son with his former staffer Campion, 33
Barnaby Joyce (pictured in the pub tonight) fears his son with Vikki Campion will be seen as a public display and less worthy than his other children
‘I don’t want our child to grow up as some sort of public display. I have to stop it from the start. It’s a fact we are having a child, it’s a fact it’s a boy, it’s not more or less loved than any of my other children.’
Speaking about the way the scandal has attracted national media attention, he said: ‘I don’t want to say have sympathy for me. I just want people to look clinically at the facts and basically come to the conclusion he is not getting a gold star for his personal life, but he has made a commitment, he is with her, they’re having a child, and in a 2018 world there is nothing terribly much to see there.’
Ms Campion was there during the interview but refused to be photographed, saying she is uncomfortable about media attention.
His comments come after Samantha Armytage claimed Vikki Campion only had an affair with Barnaby Joyce because she was attracted to his power, as she called the Deputy Prime Minister ‘not a great looking man’.
The Sunrise host said if every male politician who had an affair was asked to resign there would be none left because ‘they’re all screwing everybody’ in Canberra.
Vikki Campion only had an affair with Barnaby Joyce (left) because she was attracted to his power, Samantha Armytage (right) claimed today as she called the Nationals leader ‘not a great looking man’
Joyce, 50, and his former staffer Campion, 33. She is now expecting his son
Speaking about her experience reporting in parliament, she said: ‘There’s a lot of rooting around – in the press gallery and by politicians.’
‘There’s a lot of bad behaviour, it’s a naughty spot,’ she added.
‘When Canberra is on it can be very boring, but when it’s ON – it’s the place to be,’ she told the Daily Telegraph’s Miranda Live radio show.
Asked if Joyce, 50, should resign after his affair with former staffer Campion, 33, became public, she said: ‘Does it matter (the affair)? Because they’re all screwing everybody down there.
‘I’ve seen so many young female staffers drawn to that power — Barnaby Joyce, let’s face it, is not a great looking man — but that power, there’s something that attracts young girls.’
As he continues to refuse to resign, Joyce was seen drinking beers in a pub tonight. He said he had the support of local Nationals but admitted that the scandal had dragged on longer than he wanted.
From her role as his media adviser, Vikki Campion became a household name overnight when her relationship with Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce was revealed last week