Barnaby Joyce enjoying a beer in Gladstone 2022. The former Deputy PM said his Braddon incident was “very embarrassing”. Photo: Barnaby Joyce Facebook.
The national broadcaster should pay Barnaby Joyce a handsome fee for his efforts to ensure more Australians watched the final episode of its documentary series Nemesis.
Already must-watch TV for political tragics, the inside look at the Coalition’s decade in government before Labor swept to power in 2022 got a whole bunch of extra viewers thanks to the antics of the man who was Australia’s deputy prime minister not so long ago.
As everyone now knows, Mr Joyce was filmed by a passerby last week flat on his back in Braddon’s Lonsdale Street late at night and swearing into his phone.
The video was shared with a media outlet and has since gone viral.
The Prime Minister wanted answers, as did the Opposition Leader and the leader of Barnaby’s own party, the Nationals.
Mr Joyce has described the incident as a “big mistake” and “very embarrassing”, saying he had foolishly mixed alcohol with his medication.
“I’m on a prescription drug, and they say certain things may happen to you if you drink, and they were absolutely 100 per cent right,” he told Channel Seven.
“Obviously, I made a big mistake. There’s no excuse for it. It was a very eventful walk home, wasn’t it?
“I’m not looking for sympathy and I’m not looking for an excuse. I came back, sat on a planter box and I was videotaped.”
In a separate statement to the ABC, Mr Joyce said: “While on the phone, I sat on the edge of a plant box, fell over, kept talking on the phone and very animatedly was referring to myself for having fallen over. I got up and walked home.”
Peter Dutton and David Littleproud – the two Coalition leaders – committed to chatting with Barnaby about the episode but also expressed concern for the man himself and talked about providing support.
Before question time on Monday (12 February), however, Labor backbencher Tania Lawrence rose in the chamber to add a bit of perspective.
She said no one in the public service would have gotten away with such behaviour without facing discipline.
And shouldn’t politicians be held to a higher standard?
“Improper behaviour before, during or after work for anyone that has worked in the public service or the private sector well knows can mean disciplinary action and if it was part of a course of behaviour, maybe a sackable offence,” she said.
“What we have witnessed … is embarrassing not just for the member, not even just for his party. It’s embarrassing for every member of this parliament … We are examples to our community, young and old; we represent Australia to the international dignitaries and visitors we meet each week.
“We are under the spotlight, and we should act accordingly, and if we can’t, then we must also be able to understand that there isn’t a single member here who is irreplaceable.
“We come here, we make our contributions and we leave again. We need to help each other. We need to be hard on each other so that the respect of our institution is maintained and upheld.
“Our constituents are watching, our colleagues are watching, the world is watching.”
She makes some very good points. Public servants are held to high standards.
What about MPs?
Looking rather humbled, the former deputy prime minister entered parliament halfway through Question Time.
He was clearly not enjoying all the publicity.
But the ABC surely was.
Always good for some colourful turn of phrase and ‘calling it like it is’, Barnaby has been a star of the three-part Nemesis series.
His frank views on all the Liberal prime ministers he served under have made for riveting viewing.
His thoughts on how his own previous headline-making life choices played out have been compelling.
Barnaby was certainly one of the big stars of Nemesis.
But just in case anyone hadn’t seen him in episodes one and two – his drunken date with a Canberra footpath last week surely resulted in many more viewers for last night’s final instalment.
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