Member for New England Barnaby Joyce has told Sunrise he is ‘not looking for sympathy’, but it was a mix of alcohol and prescription medication that resulted in what has been dubbed the ‘footpath incident’.
Mr Joyce was filmed last Wednesday night laying down on the footpath on on Lonsdale Street in Braddon, a suburb of Canberra, with one leg up on a planter box, and mumbling obscenities into his phone.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said that Australians deserve an explanation for what happened and called on the Coalition to provide one.
Meanwhile National Party leader David Littleproud he would have a conversation with Mr Joyce about his front bench position today, but would not be drawn on whether he had a problem with alcohol, only saying that Mr Joyce would get the support that he needs.
“This is a personal situation that Barnaby’s deeply embarrassed about and I as leader want to create the environment where I lead,” Mr Littleproud said.
Sources told Daily Mail Australia, who broke the story, that Mr Joyce was sitting on the large pot plant while having an animated phone conversation with his wife, Vikki, when he fell off, rolled around on the ground and continued with his call.
That Mr Joyce has an issue with alcohol is not new information to the people of New England, nor to the National Party. He opened up about his drinking in an interview with Channel 9’s Today program while promoting his book ‘Weatherboard and Iron’ in 2021, although denied he was an alcoholic. Some of the complaints about Joyce and his inappropriate treatment of women, involved a mention of being intoxicated.
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