Barnaby scorn of PM surely on parly agenda

Greg Hunt insists a leaked text in which Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce calls the prime minister “a hypocrite and a liar” won’t be a distraction when parliament resumes on Tuesday.

The health minister’s assertion is sure to tested by an opposition not convinced by Mr Joyce’s change of heart since sending the message in March 2021.

Mr Hunt issued a guarantee on Saturday he had never privately criticised Scott Morrison and considered the prime minister a “deep personal friend”.

“He’s one of the finest human beings I have ever had the opportunity to meet or work with,” he said.

Mr Joyce’s apology over the matter should be accepted and everyone should just move on, Mr Hunt said.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said the remarks in the leaked message had made his position “untenable” and dismissed the suggestion the deputy prime minister had since reconsidered.

“Hang on a second here,” Mr Albanese told reporters.

“That was after Barnaby Joyce had served in the cabinet for over half a decade.”

After the text was sent to an unnamed party on March 22, it was passed on to former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, who in the previous month had gone public with allegations she was raped in a parliamentary office in 2019, sparking a national conversation about treatment of women in the workplace.

“Tell BH (Brittany Higgins) I and Scott, he is Scott to me until I have to recognise his office, don’t get along,” a screenshot of the text reads.

“He is a hypocrite and a liar from my observations and that is over a long time. I have never trusted him and I dislike how he earnestly rearranges the truth to a lie.”

Mr Joyce was a backbencher at the time but returned to the Nationals leadership three months later.

“My view from the backbench about the prime minister was based on assumption and commentary, not from a one on one working relationship,” Mr Joyce said on Saturday in a bid to downplay the remarks.

“From a one on one working relationship, I found a man who has honoured every agreement that he’s made with me.”

He would not say what prompted him to write the text and insisted he never intended it to be forwarded to Ms Higgins or made public.

Mr Joyce said he was made aware it was circulating among third parties this week and immediately called Mr Morrison to apologise and offer his resignation, which the prime minister did not accept.

In a statement, Mr Morrison said he understood Mr Joyce was in a “different headspace last year” and believes he “genuinely no longer feels this way”.

The prime minister’s character was called into question last week when leaked texts revealed former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian labelled Mr Morrison a “horrible, horrible person” during the 2019/20 bushfire crisis.

In the exchange, a unnamed federal cabinet minister branded Mr Morrison a “complete psycho” as well as “desperate and jealous”.

Barnaby scorn of PM surely on parly agenda
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