Photos that almost screwed up $150k deal
BARNABY Joyce and Vikki Campion will be paid an eyewatering $150,000 for their upcoming Sunday Night interview with Channel 7.
But the interview almost fell through, thanks to a bulletin run by the same network earlier this month.
According to The Australian, Ms Campion was furious after Seven News ran a story featuring candid shots of the family together at Armidale Airport.
The photos, which appeared in a May 8 bulletin, show Ms Campion cradling baby Sebastian in her arms as she and Mr Joyce sit in a cafe together.
The couple then took the story to the Nine Network's 60 Minutes, prompting a bidding war between the two networks, before finally settling on Seven.
The money will be placed in a trust fund for Sebastian, The Sunday Telegraph reported yesterday. The baby boy is said to also be featured on the program.
The pair's decision to go through with the interview has sparked a major backlash, with Coalition backbenchers describing it as "reeking of hypocrisy" and a "clear case of double standards" - remarks echoed on social media.
Why is an elected politician accepting payment for doing an interview?
— Hamish Macdonald (@hamishNews) May 26, 2018
And why are journalists paying our politicians to talk?
💰 https://t.co/qjTyNw4Xbd
If Barnyard Barnaby is getting $150,000 from Sunday Night, it makes a mockery of his pious crap in February that “ it's a private matter and I don't think it helps me. I don't think it helps my family. I don't think it helps anybody . I will keep private matters private".
— Derryn Hinch (@HumanHeadline) May 26, 2018
*Barnaby’s phone rings*
— Tom Gleeson (@nonstoptom) May 26, 2018
“Hello?
...
Sorry, I ask that you respect our privacy.
...
How much?
...
I’ll grab my hat.”
But Deputy Nationals leader Bridget McKenzie likened it to people writing memoirs, saying politicians tell their stories in a number of different ways.
"I don't think it's up to me to actually be making commentary on the morality of that or otherwise," she told ABC TV yesterday.
"What Barnaby Joyce and Vikki decide to do in their private life is their business."
Human Services Minister Michael Keenan described it as a "distraction" that "obviously we don't want to visit", telling Sky News it "ultimately isn't a matter for the government".
Mr Joyce was forced to resign in February after The Daily Telegraph revealed he had an affair with Ms Campion, who was his media advisor.
The affair was publicly slammed by Malcolm Turnbull, who accused Mr Joyce of making "a shocking error of judgment".
Mr Turnbull also introduced a sex ban prohibiting cabinet ministers from having sexual relations with staffers.
After resigning as deputy prime minister, Mr Joyce's salary went from $416,000 to $203,030 and he also lost a number of perks, including access to charter flights and travel allowance.
The couple's child was born on April 16 and is Mr Joyce's fifth child, but first son.
Mr Joyce is still married but separated from his first wife, Natalie. They have four girls together: Julia, Caroline, Odette and Bridgette.
