A decision by Australia's former deputy prime minister to sell his story about having a love child with a former aide sparked derision today and calls for politicians to be banned from paid interviews.
Scandal-hit Barnaby Joyce, who was forced to quit in February and move to the backbench over his affair with his 33-year-old former media adviser, will reportedly be paid 150,000 Australian dollar (USD 113,000) for a tell-all television appearance by the pair on Sunday.
Malcolm Turnbull said he planned to raise the matter privately with the married Joyce, whose smaller National Party rules alongside the prime minister's Liberals. "It's certainly not... a course of action that I would've encouraged him to take, I'll put it that way," he told broadcaster ABC.
"I think you can understand how I feel about it but I'll just be circumspect, uncharacteristically circumspect, on this and leave it for a private discussion."