The whole of Australia is now realising what meat workers have been talking about for years – that Barnaby Joyce is out of control.
Australian media have spent the last week revealing facts about Australia’s deputy prime minister that he would rather have kept secret.
We now know that while Barnaby Joyce was preaching about “the sanctity of marriage” as he campaigned against marriage equality, he was already in the middle of an affair with one of his staff members – who is now pregnant with his child.
We now know that while Barnaby Joyce was opposing life-saving cervical cancer vaccines because it could give 12 year-old girls “a license to be promiscuous”, he is alleged to have behaved extremely inappropriately towards several women at a rural women’s function.
We now know that while Barnaby Joyce was urging people to move to New England because the rent was cheap, he himself was living rent-free in a mansion donated to him by a powerful local businessman.
As the investigation into Joyce’s personal and political misconduct continues, some figures in the Coalition would prefer that Barnaby Joyce’s personal life be free of public scrutiny. Unfortunately for those people, Barnaby Joyce has crossed the line.
Joyce’s constant hypocrisy proves what meat workers have known for a long time – he simply cannot be trusted. Our elected representatives must be held accountable for what they say and do, and it is now clear that Barnaby Joyce sees politics as just a game with no real consequences.
For the people of New England, Barnaby Joyce’s mismanagement has very real consequences.
Under Barnaby Joyce’s watch, New England youth unemployment has skyrocketed to more than double the national average. Underground black market networks of visa worker exploitation have sprung up. Live export companies have received millions of dollars in government funding while local meat workers lose their jobs and local plants shut down.
Barnaby Joyce has spat on meat workers, calling their jobs ‘smelly’ and ‘unpopular’. He has enjoyed multiple free flights around Australia for him and his family, courtesy of one of the largest live export suppliers.
These are not the actions of a competent politician.
We call on Barnaby Joyce to resign immediately. The New England electorate, and its massive meat processing sector, should be in the hands of someone prepared to put local jobs first.
More information:
Grant Courtney
Secretary
AMIEU Newcastle & Northern NSW
PH: (02) 4929 5496
amieu@meatworker.com.au