Former cabinet minister Amanda Vanstone has hit out at apologists who enabled former deputy prime minister Barnaby Jones after Daily Mail Australia revealed exclusive video of him face up on a Canberra footpath muttering obscenities.
The Howard-era Liberal senator for South Australia criticized the embarrassing images of Joyce, recorded on Wednesday night on Lonsdale Street in Braddon.
He criticized anyone who tries to normalize his behavior or minimize the damage he has caused to his own reputation and politicians in general.
And he said the reaction would have been very different if it had been a prominent politician in similar circumstances.
“Imagine if Penny Wong, Bridget McKenzie, Linda Reynolds or Pauline Hanson behaved like Barnaby,” the former immigration minister posted on X, beneath a screenshot of the damning video.
‘The double standard from colleagues and the media is mind-boggling.
“As is his apparent inability to see the damage he is doing to himself, his party and parliament.”
Former cabinet minister Amanda Vanstone (pictured) hit out at apologists who enabled former deputy prime minister Barnaby Jones
Joyce has since blamed mixing alcohol with medication for her behavior.
Her comments garnered support from her social media followers, with one adding: “Well sure… I’d really appreciate it if you could make your party new with this.”
Another added: “Unfortunately he doesn’t get the right advice or worse he just ignores it because he thinks he can get away with it.”
Vanstone joined the outrage over Joyce’s behavior on Wednesday as calls grow for her to resign and seek help in the wake of the incident.
National Party leader David Littleproud has “strongly encouraged” the New England MP, 56, to take personal leave.
Joyce later admitted that he had fallen out of a flower pot he was sitting in before muttering “f***ing dead” as he lay on the side of the road.
Littleproud told Seven’s Sunrise on Wednesday that it was best for Joyce to take a break.
“Barnaby has embarrassed himself and his family, and while he has clearly expressed some of the underlying issues and circumstances, there are other circumstances over which I will not break his trust,” he said.
“I have made it very clear to him that my primary responsibility is his well-being and that if he wants to take some time to make sure that we can address all of these issues and get back to the level we expect, then he will.” d be fully compatible.
“He stood up and acknowledged that he has embarrassed not only himself but his family and he needs to make sure that he addresses this, and we think the best way is for him to take a break.”
Littleproud said the former Nationals leader needed to “sort himself out and come back when he’s done.”
“But that is Barnaby’s decision and obviously we will have more conversations in the coming days,” he said.
The former deputy prime minister explained Monday that he takes prescription medication and was told “certain things can happen” if he mixes alcohol with it.
Joyce said he had fallen out of a flower pot after walking home from a late-night function while talking on the phone to his wife Vikki Campion.
Breakfast show host Natalie Barr asked Mr Littleproud to confirm her advice for Mr Joyce to take a break.
“I have strongly encouraged it because I believe this is the best course of action, but obviously these are deeply personal circumstances that Barnaby needs to address and they go beyond medication,” she said.
National leader David Littleproud has “strongly encouraged” Barnaby Joyce to take personal leave after images of him lying on the pavement circulated.
“I don’t want to intrude on people’s private lives, that’s not my job, but my job is to create the environment for him to know that he has support, that his behavior was not acceptable, but there were circumstances that prompted that.” and that my job is to create the environment for him to address that.
“I have strongly encouraged him to take that leave.”
Littleproud also said that Joyce had some “personal circumstances” with his family and that “unfortunate circumstances have prevailed with other members of the family.”
“I have no intention of talking about it publicly,” he said.
That’s up to Barnaby. But he wants those things to stay private. If she does it, it’s up to him, if she wants to express it, it’s up to him. But I have no intention of violating his trust.
Joyce had previously told Sunrise that she had made a “big mistake”.
“There’s no excuse for it,” he said.
Barnaby Joyce returns to parliament for the first time since the video scandal
“There’s a reason…they say certain things happen to you if you drink (while taking medication) and they were absolutely right, 100 percent.”
His father-in-law, Peter Campion, called the politician a “surprise” for taking medication.
‘He’s onto something. I know when it comes to medication, it’s a surprise,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘Vikki always asks him to take them and he doesn’t.
“You forget to take them, you forget to follow the course of whatever you’re doing.”
Campion defended Joyce, saying his son-in-law had received devastating family news on the day of the incident.
‘He already lost a brother to cancer, that’s what you have to start with. He had similar very bad news, which is not my place to divulge but of the same magnitude and it affected him deeply,’ he said.