Barnaby Joyce’s girlfriend Vikki Campion (pictured) has declared the pain of having an affair with Australia’s former deputy PM and ending his 24-year marriage was worth it
Senior Nationals have strongly denied claims made by Barnaby Joyce and Vikki Campion that they were pressured to have an abortion.
Claims by Ms Campion that some members of the coalition tried to ‘stop the baby being born’ are expected to be aired in Channel 7’s Sunday Night interview.
Senior Coalition staffers, a National Party official and a National Party MP are rumoured to have made the comments, the Herald Sun reported.
All four were approached for comment by the publication. Three denied the claims and one was not able to be reached.
‘I certainly didn’t do it and I can’t think of anyone that would have had the guts to,’ one said.
Another said: ‘It seems a very weird thing to say to a female staffer.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Leader of the Nationals Party Michael McCormack for comment.
It has also been revealed that nearly half of the $150,000 the pair stand to make from the interview may be taxed.
Despite the pain the affair caused to her much older boyfriend Barnaby Joyce, Vikki Campion said that was the price of love
The couple controversially accepted the sum from the Seven Network to tell their side of the political scandal.
Ahead of the Sunday Night program airing that interview, Seven’s Sunrise breakfast show aired a clip of Mr Joyce’s 33-year-old former media adviser.
‘Everything was worth it for this,’ she said, as she held the hand of her baby son.
Barnaby Joyce is estranged from his wife of 24 years Natalie and their four adult daughters as a result of the extramarital affair that forced him to quit as Nationals leader and deputy prime minister.
The affair between Barnaby Joyce and his former media adviser Vikki Campion caused his salary to halve from $416,000 to $203,000 as backbencher with no portfolio (the couple are pictured here at a bar at Glebe in Sydney’s inner west last year before the news broke)
The backbench MP for the New South Wales seat of New England told the Seven Network he had let his family down.
‘I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed,’ he said.
The former accountant’s salary has also halved from $416,000 to $203,000 after the affair raised character questions about the Catholic, family values politician who had last year campaigned against gay marriage.
Despite the personal and political pain that caused to her boyfriend, Vikki Campion said that was the price of love.
‘I couldn’t help it. You can’t help who you fall in love with,’ she said.
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 pair’s decision to go forward with the interview has angered Mr Joyce’s own conservative side of politics.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he was opposed to the paid media interview.
‘It’s not a course of action I would have encouraged,’ he said.
Mr Joyce said the money from the interview would go into a trust fund young Sebastian and his mother.
His successor as Nationals leader Michael McCormack had a similar view point as the Prime Minister when it came to a federal MP accepting cash, albeit indirectly, for a paid interview.
‘I wouldn’t have done it, but you know that’s a decision that Barnaby has taken,’ he said.
Mr Joyce has taken personal leave for several weeks to spend time with Ms Campion and their son Sebastian.
Mr Joyce has 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 deputy prime minister said 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, New Corp reported.
‘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.’
The couple, who now have a five-week old son Sebastian, has controversially accepted $150,000 from the Seven Network to tell their side of a major political scandal
The former deputy prime minister (right) said his former staffer (left) and the mother of his newborn Vikki Campion realised she may as well benefit from the ordeal after weeks of relentless media pressure