Joyce not asked to quit but has ‘a lot to reflect on’, says Turnbull

AUSTRALIA: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says he has not asked Barnaby Joyce to resign and still has confidence in his deputy prime minister.

He announced on Thursday that Joyce was taking a week’s leave and would not be acting prime minister when Turnbull visits the United States next week, after making ‘‘a shocking error of judgment’’ by having an affair with a former staffer.

‘‘Barnaby has been considering his position, and I do not think there is any question about that, but I have not called on him to resign, I have not asked him to resign,’’ Turnbull told reporters in Tasmania yesterday.

‘‘He has to form his view on his circumstances; he has a lot to reflect on.’’

Turnbull said Joyce still had his confidence in his job, and cabinet minister Matthias Cormann insisted that the pair could still work together.

‘‘I think they’ll have a strong and productive and positive relationship in the future,’’ Cormann said.

Joyce this week stared down calls from within his own party to stand down, but his Nationals colleague Andrew Broad has warned that the matter is far from over.

‘‘I’m still waiting to see the evidence there’s been an abuse of power. If I see that and it’s clear, well then I’ll be one of the people talking about what should be the action as a result of that,’’ he said.

Broad, who is willing to change his support for Joyce, said the party wasn’t going to be pushed by the media or Turnbull.

Joyce’s relationship with exstaffer Vikki Campion, who is pregnant with their child, has prompted Turnbull to rewrite the ministerial code of conduct, which covers the behaviour of senior government MPs, to include a clause banning sexual relations between ministers and their staff.

Broad said the ban sent a message that ‘‘somehow the parliament is some . . . orgy’’.