Wife hurt by baby revelation
AUSTRALIA: The estranged wife of Australian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce says she and their four daughters are devastated by the news he is having a baby with a former staffer.
Natalie Joyce said her husband’s former media adviser Vikki Campion, 33, had been a welcome visitor to the family home.
‘‘Naturally, we feel deceived and hurt by the actions of Barnaby and the staff member involved,’’ she said.
‘‘The situation for myself and the girls has been made worse by the fact it’s been played out in public at this time.’’
Rumours of the affair and pregnancy surfaced during the byelection in Joyce’s New England seat in northern New South Wales in October, but weren’t publicly confirmed.
After winning the byelection, Joyce told federal parliament that his 24-year marriage was over.
He and Campion have reportedly moved in together, and the baby is due in April.
Labor frontbencher Tony Burke said the news was ‘‘something I view as none of my business’’.
Greens MP Adam Bandt agreed. ‘‘Unless it impacts on his job, or unless she chooses voluntarily to step into the public eye, it’s not really anyone’s business.’’
However, gay rights campaigner Rodney Croome unloaded on the ‘‘hypocrite’’ deputy prime minister, who had opposed legalising same-sex marriage.
‘‘You can’t put the lives of tens of thousands of your fellow citizens under the microscope and then expect to avoid scrutiny yourself,’’ Croome said.