AUSTRALIA Deputy PM Who Led Campaign Against Marriage Equality Exposed

[Stonecold]

He’s the man who strongly opposed gay marriage, arguing it was against traditional family values. Now it’s been revealed Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce is expecting a baby with his former staff member, after leaving his wife of 24 years.

Mr Joyce’s former wife, Natalie, said she was “deeply saddened” by the affair given her husband’s former media adviser-now live-in girlfriend Vikki Campion had been a welcome visitor to the family home. “This affair has been going on for many months and started when she was a paid employee,” Mrs Joyce said in a statement.

Gay rights campaigner Rodney Croome unloaded both barrels on the “hypocrite” deputy prime minister, who vehemently opposed same-sex marriage and demanded the issue be put to a national vote. “You can’t put the lives of tens of thousands of your fellow citizens under the microscope and then expect to avoid scrutiny yourself,” Mr Croome said.

He argued the scandal exposed what “traditional marriage” meant for people like Mr Joyce. “It is not a set of standards for heterosexual couples to live up to. It is a euphemism for prejudice against LGBTI people and our exclusion from the core institutions of society,” Mr Croome said.

http://www.joemygod.com/2018/02/07/australia-deputy-pm-led-campaign-marriage-equality-exposed-knocking-mistress/

https://thewest.com.au/politics/federal-politics/barnaby-joyce-and-ex-staff-member-expecting-baby-ng-b88737083z

 

[haiducii]

I'd have more respect for the "traditional values" people if they weren't ALL complete hypocrites.

 

[jeansGuyOZ]

Ummm.. the thread heading is a little misleading. It seems to imply that he was a closet homosexual, which is not the case.

I certainly don't approve of his behaviour, and I can't help feeling sorry for his wife, but really, the only reason it's anyone else's business but theirs is because the other woman was a member of his staff. The Daily Telegraph has been strongly criticsed, from all sides of politics i might add, for this piece of sensationalism.

It's also perfectly possible, as he says, to believe in "traditional family values" and marriage only between a man and a woman, even though his own relationship didn't work out. Gay marriages sometimes break down too, you know. We don't go calling a same-sex marriage advocate a hypocrite just because they happen to split up with their same sex partner. The issue of Barnaby Joyce's marriage breakdown really has nothing to do with the SSM debate.

I've always admired Rodney Croome, but in this case I think he is wrong, or at least guilty of conflating the two issues as if for some kind of payback.

 

[ihno]

He's just creating a "patchwork family", a modern form of family. A modern man!

My family, or part of it, is a patchwork family too.

 

[Bluezh]

those are the worst

 

[Stonecold]

The Double Standards At Play
So why now, with the New England by-election safely out of the way, are we only just hearing the full details of the Joyce’s affair? If the story is in the public interest now, why wasn’t it before? And why was the Deputy Prime Minister given lighter treatment then, say, Julia Gillard?
Let’s just look at some of the ways the former Prime Minister’s personal life was considered fair game by the press and fellow politicians:
Long before she became PM, Gillard was criticised for her apparent lack of homemaking skills — her crime was to have an empty fruit bowl in her home. Two years later, she was called “deliberately barren” by Senator Bill Heffernan for daring to choose not to have children. Her relationship was constantly scrutinised (her partner, a hairdresser, just had to be gay), as were her outfits. Even her dead father wasn’t off-limits.
Yet for some reason, a horde of journalists and commentators all appear to have signed up to some kind of silent bargain in which Barnaby Joyce’s affair was off-limits. We don’t get to know the details of that bargain, because the participants themselves set the terms and acted as the gatekeepers of information that has only now been dubbed in the public interest.
Predictably, now that the story has broken, every other major outlet (including Junkee) has rushed to cover it themselves, using the logic that once the dam wall bursts there’s no holding the flood of information back.
What we do know is that Joyce was given a lot more leeway than others might have been in his situation. We also know that we’re only finding out now because the gatekeepers in Canberra decided we needed to be let in on their secret.
Let’s Not Forget Barnaby’s Hypocrisy
Speaking in opposition to Dean Smith’s marriage equality bill at the end of 2017, Joyce quietly acknowledged that his marriage had broken down.
“The current definition of marriage has stood the test of time — half of them fail, I acknowledge that,” he told parliament. “I’ll acknowledge that I’m currently separated, so that’s on the record.”
In all the excitement of the big day, Joyce possibly thought that his quiet admission would go relatively unnoticed. He was then one of a handful of MPs too cowardly to vote on the bill that was presented following the postal survey he demanded be held. Instead, he chose to flee the chamber.
At the same time Joyce was fighting tooth and nail to exclude same-sex couples from the institution of marriage, his own relationship was crumbling because of his actions.
It takes a particular kind of gall to, in a single speech, defend the sanctity of marriage while also acknowledging that your own marriage has ended because you had an affair with a staffer who is now pregnant.

The silver lining to Joyce's hypocrisy is that he has exposed what "traditional marriage" really means for people like him. It is not a set of standards for heterosexual couples to live up to. It is a euphemism for prejudice against LGBTI people.
It’s wasn’t the first time Joyce, who has always presented himself as a salt of the earth, conservative, family values Catholic from the bush, spoke out against marriage equality. In 2015 he warned that our Asian neighbours may see us as “decadent” if we embraced marriage equality.
How decadent is it then to conduct an affair with a staffer while in Canberra, supposedly representing the interests of your constituents?
One of the few times it’s acceptable to talk about the private life of a politician is when their private actions fail to live up to their public statements — when a politician’s hypocrisy is so clear and egregious that it can no longer be ignored.
Under that logic, the time to discuss Barnaby Joyce’s affair passed long ago.

 

[SoleLove]

Ummm.. the thread heading is a little misleading. It seems to imply that he was a closet homosexual, which is not the case.

I certainly don't approve of his behaviour, and I can't help feeling sorry for his wife, but really, the only reason it's anyone else's business but theirs is because the other woman was a member of his staff. The Daily Telegraph has been strongly criticsed, from all sides of politics i might add, for this piece of sensationalism.

It's also perfectly possible, as he says, to believe in "traditional family values" and marriage only between a man and a woman, even though his own relationship didn't work out. Gay marriages sometimes break down too, you know. We don't go calling a same-sex marriage advocate a hypocrite just because they happen to split up with their same sex partner. The issue of Barnaby Joyce's marriage breakdown really has nothing to do with the SSM debate.

I've always admired Rodney Croome, but in this case I think he is wrong, or at least guilty of conflating the two issues as if for some kind of payback.

He committed adultery! According to his own beliefs, adultery is a serious and grave sin; it was not just his own relationship not working out. Therefore, yes—he IS a hypocrite. The typical type of fundie who'll excuse everything ("my divorce is okay", "my abortion is okay") but homosexuality.

Makes me think of the backlash regarding a lesbian/bisexual storyline on The Young and the Restless. A show filled, filled, filled w/ adultery, cheating (totally based on that!) + all the jealousy, greed, envy, attempted murder, murder, etc., but two women kissing is a no-no, corruption, Sodom & Gomorrah all over again! You get my point!

 

[topdog]

...The silver lining to Joyce's hypocrisy is that he has exposed what "traditional marriage" really means for people like him. It is not a set of standards for heterosexual couples to live up to. It is a euphemism for prejudice against LGBTI people...

I think that is the gist of it right there. As a human being, most of us have been on one side or the other of Joyce's situation, and we know these things aren't all up to us to decide.

But, Joyce pushed forward an idea of the family that he knew first hand was phony. And he did it despite the fact that it would have devastating consequences for gay people. Since he obviously couldn't really get behind the former, that only leaves animus for gay people as a motivating factor.

And that is what so much of this has been around the world - people looking for legal ways that they can register their disapproval for gay people - with just enough moral cover so they don't look like bigots.

 

[Stonecold]

Rodney Croome
@RodneyCroome

The silver lining to Joyce's hypocrisy is that he has exposed what "traditional marriage" really means for people like him. It is not a set of standards for heterosexual couples to live up to. It is a euphemism for prejudice against LGBTI people.

Rodney Peter Croome AM is an Australian LGBT rights activist and academic. Croome worked on the Tasmanian campaign for decriminalisation, was a founder of Australian Marriage Equality and currently serves as the spokesperson for the Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group,[1] and is a spokesperson for Just.Equal.[2]. He resigned from Australian Marriage Equality to successfully campaign against a national plebiscite on marriage equality.

 

[jeansGuyOZ]

Rodney Croome
@RodneyCroome



Rodney Peter Croome AM is an Australian LGBT rights activist and academic. Croome worked on the Tasmanian campaign for decriminalisation, was a founder of Australian Marriage Equality and currently serves as the spokesperson for the Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group,[1] and is a spokesperson for Just.Equal.[2]. He resigned from Australian Marriage Equality to successfully campaign against a national plebiscite on marriage equality.

Correction: the campaign against the national plebiscite was unsuccessful. the plebiscite went ahead, as you should know if you read the news at any time in the last three months.

I have no doubt Croome campaigned for a yes vote in that plebiscite, and as we know now that was successful.

 

[Stonecold]

I got the info here, maybe you can edit it on wiki. I thought they meant an attempt to make in a binding national vote.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney_Croome#cite_note-4

Australia is lucky to have such a great Gay leader fighting for civil rights.

Tasmania's Australian of the Year for 2015
Mr Croome gained international attention in 1994 when he walked into a police station with his partner and confessed to homosexuality.

At the time sodomy was illegal in Tasmania, which was the last state to decriminalize homosexuality.

Mr Croome's actions led to the campaign to repeal the laws all the way to Australia's High Court and the United Nations.

Since then Mr Croome has been a vocal activist for gay rights, campaigning for anti-discrimination protections and the recognition of same-sex relationships and families, including marriage.

It really is a symbol of how much Tasmania has changed for the better ...that someone who was once arrested for standing up for gay rights now is honoured for that.
Rodney Croome, gay rights advocate

The Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group spokesman has also challenged homophobia in schools and the police force and worked to normalise same-sex relationships.

 

[Stonecold]

Deputy Australian Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce resigns

Deputy Australian Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce resigns over sex scandal
Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said Friday he will resign following weeks of controversy after he announced he was expecting a baby with a former staff member.
Earlier in February, Joyce had admitted to the affair, confirming long-running rumors, but refused to resign saying it was a private matter.
Then on Thursday, the National Party said it had received a separate, formal complaint against its leader, accusing him of sexual harassment, Australia's national broadcaster ABC reported.

Speaking to journalists, he said he was resigning from his role as leader of the National Party to put aside "this current cacophony of issues" and avoid further harassment of his family and partner.
"(It has been an) incredible privilege, that I'm so humbled by, to have been the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia," he said.
Joyce told reporters he had requested the latest allegation against him be referred to the police. "Over the past half a month there has been a litany of allegations ... I don't believe any of them have been sustained," he said.
CNN contacted the National Party but didn't receive an immediate response. The Nationals govern in a coalition agreement with the Liberal Party led by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Speaking to journalists, he said he was resigning from his role as leader of the National Party to put aside "this current cacophony of issues" and avoid further harassment of his family and partner.
"(It has been an) incredible privilege, that I'm so humbled by, to have been the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia," he said.
Joyce told reporters he had requested the latest allegation against him be referred to the police. "Over the past half a month there has been a litany of allegations ... I don't believe any of them have been sustained," he said.
CNN contacted the National Party but didn't receive an immediate response. The Nationals govern in a coalition agreement with the Liberal Party led by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Joyce added he would step down as leader of the Nationals on Monday, forcing a vote to select a new deputy prime minister.
Relationship ban
Joyce revealed in December he had split from his wife in a statement to the Australian Parliament.
It was Joyce's affair which led Turnbull to announce in February all relationships between ministers and their staff would be banned in the future.
In a statement Friday, Turnbull, who is away from the country on a visit to the United States, said Joyce had been a "fierce advocate for rural and regional Australia."
Joyce has been a controversial figure in the Turnbull Coalition government. In December he was forced to resign and stand for his seat again at a by-election after it was revealed he was a dual New Zealand citizen.
Australia's constitution doesn't allow members of parliament to be dual-citizens of other countries.
In 2016, he made headlines around the world when he threatened to euthanize US actor Johnny Depp's two dogs, Pistol and Boo, after they were brought into the country illegally.
Depp later referred to Joyce as looking like he was "inbred with a tomato."
Joyce also said that he will carry on as a member of parliament, moving to the back bench.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/msn/deputy-australian-prime-minister-barnaby-joyce-resigns-over-sex-scandal/ar-BBJtIDD

 

[cban]

Politician is a sexual hypocrite shock!