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Australia's deputy PM Barnaby Joyce resigns amid sex scandal

The Nationals will need to vote on a new party leader

metoo, #metoo, sexual harassment
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Bloomberg
Barnaby Joyce quit as Australia’s deputy prime minister after having an extramarital affair with his former media adviser, leading to allegations that he breached ministerial guidelines.

Joyce, 50, said he will also step down as leader of the National party, the junior coalition partner in Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s government, but remain in parliament. The resignation may relieve some pressure on Turnbull, whose ruling Liberal-National coalition has slumped further behind in opinion polls amid the scandal. The prime minister last week accused his deputy of making a “shocking error of judgment” after the story broke this month that Joyce was expecting

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