A woman who alleged she was sexually harassed by former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce said she never wanted her claims to be made public.
Her complaint was filed to the National Party earlier this week, the woman, named as Catherine Marriot, said through her lawyer on Saturday.
But she said she had ‘never intended’ for the issue to become in the public domain and had requested a confidential internal investigation by the National Party.
The statement issued to 9News said Ms Marriot hoped her actions would change the situation generally preventing alleged inappropriate behaviour from happening ‘towards woman in the future’ by people ‘in powerful positions’.
Catherine Marriott has been revealed as the woman who filed a sexual harassment complaint against former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce
It read: ‘On February 20, 2018, I wrote a formal letter of complaint to the Federal Executive of the National Party outlining an allegation of sexual harassment against Barnaby Joyce.
‘I want to stress that I never intended for this issue to become public.
‘I requested that a formal and confidential investigation into this incident be undertaken by the National Party to ensure there is accountability in relation to the incident I raise.’
The statement added she would wait to decide on potential further action based on the outcome of the investigation she had requested.
Mr Joyce, who has been on personal leave this week with his new partner and former staffer Vikki Campion, said the allegation of sexual harassment pushed him to resign on Friday.
He referred to Ms Marriot’s allegation as the ‘straw that broke the camel’s back’.
Mr Joyce has disputed the allegation, calling it ‘spurious and defamatory’, and claims that as an allegation it should have gone immediately to police, The Courier Mail reports.
Ms Marriott’s lawyer, Emma Salerno, said the complaint had not been taken to the police ‘at this stage’.
Ms Marriott’s (pictured) lawyer, Emma Salerno, said the complaint had not been taken to the police ‘at this stage’
Joyce has stepped down from his position as deputy prime minister and leader of the Nationals party in the wake of the allegations
Nationals MP Darren Chester says the men battling to replace Mr Joyce will need to ‘heal some divisions’ after a bruising 16 days of pressure on the outgoing leader.
‘I think someone like Michael McCormack from Riverina can pull together the Queenslanders, the New South Welshmen, the Victorians and unite,’ Mr Chester told Sky News on Friday.
Assistant families minister David Gillespie is also a confirmed challenger, and he told Sky News he wanted to address the GST carve-up and decentralisation if he became leader.
Deputy leader Bridget McKenzie refused to say who she would back, but Mr McCormack has been tipped to be the front runner.
Mr Joyce’s troubles have dominated headlines for more than two weeks, overshadowing Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s current trip to the United States.
Accusations against Barnaby Joyce emerged after his affair with Vikki Campion (pictured) was made public
Speaking to reporters in Washington DC on Friday (early Saturday AEDT) just hours before meeting President Donald Trump at the White House, Mr Turnbull thanked Mr Barnaby for his service as deputy prime minister.
‘He has personal issues that he has to address and he feels that he cannot do that from the dispatch box,’ Mr Turnbull said outside Blair House in Washington DC.
‘The issues that have been the subject of discussion over the past two weeks have not been issues between Nationals and Liberals, we have a 95-year-old political alliance, the longest in Australian history and it is absolutely enduring.
‘I look forward now obviously to working with the new leader of the National Party who will be elected on Monday,’ Mr Turnbull said.
Mr Joyce also acknowledged the government’s need to clear the air.
Mr Joyce was forced to quit as deputy prime minister and leader of the Nationals on Friday
‘It’s incredibly important that there be a circuit-breaker, not just for the parliament but more importantly a circuit-breaker for Vikki, for my unborn child, my daughters and for Nat (Mr Joyce’s wife),’ Mr Joyce told reporters in Armidale on Friday.
Mr Joyce faced repeated questions about jobs given to Ms Campion and his parliamentary expenses.
‘Over the last half a month, there has been a litany of allegations. I don’t believe any of them have been sustained,’ Mr Joyce said.
The Nationals will meet at 8am on Monday to decide their new leader.