National leader David Littleproud has “strongly encouraged” Barnaby Joyce to take personal leave after he was filmed talking loudly on his phone while lying on the pavement at night.
Video published by Daily Mail Australia on Friday showed the shadow cabinet member, 56, on the ground in Braddon, Canberra, after sitting on a flower pot and falling on Wednesday night.
The former deputy prime minister could be heard muttering into the phone while on his back on the ground, including one outburst in which he said: “dead, you f***ing c***.”
Littleproud addressed the incident on Sunrise on Wednesday morning and said it was best for Joyce to take a break.
Joyce has since blamed mixing alcohol with medication for her behavior.
“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 that he needs to make sure that he addresses this, and we think the best way is for him to take a break.”
‘Let him fix himself and come back when he’s done. “But that’s Barnaby’s decision and obviously we’ll have more conversations in the coming days.”
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.
National leader David Littleproud has “strongly encouraged” Barnaby Joyce to take personal leave after images of him lying on the pavement circulated.
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 his advice as the Nationals leader said Mr Joyce should 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,” he said.
“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 he does, it’s up to him, if he wants to express that, it’s up to him. But I have no intention of violating his trust.
More to come