Barnaby Joyce takes leave from parliament after being filmed lying on Canberra footpath
Barnaby Joyce will take the week off from parliament after being filmed lying on a Canberra footpath earlier this month in an incident he described as a “big mistake”.
The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, on Monday confirmed his frontbench colleague had notified him he wouldn’t be coming to Canberra for the sitting week.
“He’s having the week off, which we gave him the opportunity to undertake with his family. And I respect that. And I hope he went to church yesterday and all he had was altar wine,” Littleproud told Nine’s Today show on Monday morning.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup
Daily Mail Australia this month published footage of Joyce in Canberra lying face up on the footpath with his feet on a planter box, having a phone conversation and uttering profanities.
Joyce later explained it was a “big mistake”, which happened after he had mixed alcohol and prescription drugs during an event at Parliament House.
Shortly after the footage became public, Littleproud asked the former deputy to take personal leave, alluding to “other driving forces” relating to personal and family circumstances that had not been made public, playing a part.
The party’s leader said the choice was Joyce’s to make before adding: “If he doesn’t want to take it, he’ll want to demonstrate to us that he can continue on unimpeded and I think that’s important and he’s made big steps towards that.”
Joyce has since said he is giving up alcohol for Lent but lashed out at his critics, accusing them of seeking to exploit the issue of parliamentarians’ consumption of alcohol.
“Sometimes I do get a sense of, ‘Let’s exploit this issue politically for all the purpose we can get.’ That’s an issue for the parties to decide, I’ll let them have that discussion,” he said.
The deputy Nationals leader, Perin Davey, was similarly criticised in the following weeks after footage emerged of her appearing to slur and stumble over her words during a late-night Senate estimates committee hearing.
Davey admitted to drinking two glasses of wine before the appearance but insisted she was not drunk. Davey later explained a 2019 medical incident had left her with ongoing speech issues and was a contributing factor to her estimates appearance.
The incidents coincide with
recommendations by a cross-party taskforce of politicians to implement new rules that would prevent members and senators from being adversely affected by drugs and alcohol while on the job.
Guardian Australia has contacted Joyce for comment.