Federal Member for Eden-Monaro Mike Kelly has hit out at the hypocrisy of Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce following the public revelations of his affair with his former staffer Vikki Campion.
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Dr Kelly said that he usually stays out of the personal lives of other politicians, but Mr Joyce’s actions threatened the integrity of government.
“In my view it’s none of my business what he does in private, but this flows into issues of conflict of interest and administrative concerns,” he said.
Dr Kelly said the relationship was a matter of concern because Ms Campion was a parliamentary staffer.
Ms Campion left Mr Joyce’s office in April last year while the affair was ongoing to work for Resources Minister Matt Canavan. She was the only person interviewed for the role.
“These sort of arrangements send a negative signal and raise issues of propriety of power,” Dr Kelly said.
“We need to be careful that no-one is harassed or leaned on in these circumstances.”
Dr Kelly added that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s announcement banning sexual relationships between ministers and their staff needed to be followed up with action.
“He has laid down these standards but hasn’t taken any action to discipline the behaviour,” he said.
“What grates me is the hypocrisy of politicians who champion Catholic and family values for political purposes but don’t hold themselves to the same standards.”
Dr Kelly said juggling personal and public life as a politician is challenging, especially while managing an electorate as large as Eden-Monaro.
Dr Kelly said his previous career in the army prepared his family for long stints apart.
“We were in situations where we couldn’t make any contact for up to a year at a time, so my political duties sort of pale in comparison,” he said.
On Friday, he was accompanied by wife Shelly Sakker Kelly on his visit to Bega, but said he generally makes the effort to keep his family out of the spotlight.