Barnaby Joyce Is Expecting A Baby With His Former Staffer

Deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce is expecting his fifth child with his former media advisor, Vikki Campion.

According to The Daily Telegraph, the couple are living together. Campion, who once worked as the Daily Telegraph’s deputy chief of staff, left Joyce’s office in April and has since worked at a number of other Coalition offices.

While opposition parties are unlikely to use the news as a political tool, pundits are suggesting it will weaken Joyce’s ability to stand for conservative family values in his rural electorate. However, despite rumours of the affair spreading far and wide during the recent New England by-election, Joyce’s vote share in the electorate increased.

Joyce was a strong opponent of marriage equality during last year’s postal survey and was amongst the ten members of parliament who abstained from the vote that changed marriage legislation.

Near the end of the debate, Joyce acknowledged in parliament that he had separated from his wife, Natalie.

“The current definition of marriage has stood the test of time — half of them fail, I acknowledge that,” Joyce said. “I’ll acknowledge that I’m currently separated, so that’s on the record.”

The two had been married for 24 years, and had four daughters together.

While both Joyce and Campion are not commenting on the situation, other politicians have already started to be quizzed on the matter. The government’s new social services minister, Dan Tehan, was asked about the news this morning:

“Look my personal view is that this is a private matter,” Tehan told ABC’s Radio National, “It should be up to the individual, what they would like to put into the public domain or not.”

The Daily Telegraph broke the much-rumoured news in a ridiculously tabloid-y way, splashing their front page with the declaration that the two were “madly in love”. A headline reading “BUNDLE OF JOYCE” was placed over a paparazzi-style photo of Campion in exercise clothes. She appears heavily pregnant.

The baby is due in April.