Barnaby Joyce will step down as deputy prime minister and from cabinet on Monday, three weeks after it was revealed he had had an affair with a former media adviser.
Barnaby Joyce will step down as deputy prime minister and from cabinet on Monday, three weeks after it was revealed he had had an affair with a former media adviser.
Mr Joyce said he planned to recontest the seat of New England at the next election, but would sit on the backbench in the interim.
He did not rule out a future spell at the helm of the National Party, however.
Mr Joyce said his priority had always been creating opportunity for those people on the periphery of society, particularly those in rural areas.
That could not happen while he was leader, he said.
It follows allegations of sexual harassment broken in the past few days which Mr Joyce denied and said he would refer to the police.
Late last week, The Nationals WA leader Mia Davies, a member of state parliament for Central Wheatbelt District, said he should leave the role.
Mr Joyce said the continued focus on his issues had to stop for the benefit of his new partner and unborn child.
“There has been a litany of allegations, I don’t believe any of them have been sustained,” he said.
“The current cacophony of issues has to be put aside … it is my responsibility to do my bit.”
Mr Joyce also thanked the people of Armidale, and said he had received broad support from everyday people during the saga.
He had some parting words both on the media and recent criticism from the Nationals WA.
The WA party was not part of the state coalition, and did not send a representative to federal parliament either.
The media was cautioned on it they treats private matters.
“(It's) not who we are, going after private individuals,” he said.
“(You need to think) what if that was me, what if that was my mother, what if that was my wife.”
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull thanked Mr Joyce for his service and his role as an advocate for rural and regional Australia.
“The coalition between the Liberals and the Nationals is Australia’s most successful political partnership, having endured for more than 95 years,” Mr Turnbull said.
“This partnership is undiminished and will continue to deliver opportunity and security for all Australians.
“Pending the Nationals’ election of a new leader and consequent ministerial changes, the Hon. John McVeigh MP will act as minister for infrastructure and transport.”
Mr Joyce was elected as a senator for Queensland in 2004, and was in that chamber until 2013, when he moved to the lower house seat of New England in NSW.
One early move was famously holding out his vital vote on the full privatisation of Telstra, although he eventually supported the move.
In 2013, he was appointed a cabinet minister, while he became Nationals leader in February 2016.
He took a break from that role in 2017, however, as a result of a byelection caused by questions over his citizenship.
