Turnbull, Joyce in Talks After Spat Over Deputy Prime Minister’s Affair
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his deputy Barnaby Joyce have met in Sydney after publicly criticising each other in separate press conferences this week.
The frank discussion lasted for more than an hour and comes at the end of a tumultuous week for the Coalition Government, one in which Mr Joyce stared down a possible mutiny.
The ABC understands Mr Joyce expressed concerns about the forcefulness of Mr Turnbull’s comments on his personal life.
Shortly before announcing ministers would be banned from having sex with their staff, Mr Turnbull said his deputy’s relationship with a former staffer was “a shocking error of judgment”.
Mr Joyce had already endured days of damaging headlines about his affair with Vikki Campion, who is now pregnant.
In returning fire, Mr Joyce likened the Prime Minister’s remarks to ripping the scab off a healing wound.
The personal clash between the two leaders sparked concerns a rift between The Nationals and the Liberals could derail the Coalition Government.
Mr Turnbull stood by his comments on Friday but would not repeat them.
The ABC understands both leaders agreed in the meeting that they needed to work closer together to advance the interests of the Government.
Abbott weighs in as LNP senator tells Joyce to go
Greens leader Richard Di Natale said the public row between Mr Turnbull and Mr Joyce had become an international embarrassment.
“Look this is a farce, internationally it makes Australia a laughing stock,” Senator Di Natale said. The meeting came hours after former prime minister Tony Abbott took a thinly veiled swipe at Mr Turnbull’s comments on Mr Joyce’s situation.
He said if politicians wanted to give each other advice, they should do so by knocking on their door and picking up the phone to talk directly.
“I am just not going to get into any details about personalities or specifics, but certainly as a general rule one party doesn’t give another party public advice,” Mr Abbott said.
“That’s the general rule that I observed.”
The meeting also came after Queensland LNP senator Ian Macdonald openly called for Mr Joyce to step aside in the interests of his party and the nation.