"It is by deference to the Prime Minister that when an instruction comes through it is obeyed. Otherwise the whole process of cabinet becomes chaotic. Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce. Credit:Andrew Meares "Do I think it would have been good to know a little bit earlier? Yes, it would be nice. But that's life, you take it on the chin." Mr Joyce said "no threat was made" from the Prime Minister but he felt there was no alternative but to obey his wish that no cabinet minister appear on the program. "If you get an instruction from the Prime Minister it's like getting an instruction from your [commanding officer] in the army," he said.

"You don't say, 'Oh look, I'll come back to you on that'. An instruction is an instruction and that's what happens, and that's it. He's made an instruction that until the processes of the review at the ABC is properly concluded that he doesn't want people from cabinet on Q&A. That's the instruction. It's not a case of alternative A or alternative B." Malcolm Turnbull lost the leadership of the Liberal Party in 2009 when conservative colleagues, many of who don't accept the science of climate change, ousted him in favour of Tony Abbott. Credit:Rob Homer Mr Turnbull - who has previously said he would not boycott the program - is scheduled to appear on next week's episode of Q&A. The Communications Minister is not commenting on whether he will keep the commitment. And a pair of Coalition backbenchers, Senator Cory Bernardi and Queensland MP George Christensen, have also weighed in to the debate, challenging Mr Turnbull and other members of the frontbench to obey Mr Abbott's edict. "Ministers are responsible to the Prime Minister," Senator Bernardi said.

"A request has been made by the Prime Minister - I don't think a minister should ignore that. "I would expect at the very least for the ministry and hopefully the backbench to go along with it [the request] ... If they don't want to accede to the request that's up for them, but I don't think we should go on." Senator Bernardi, who has been a persistent critic of the ABC but has appeared on Q&A himself, said the Liberal Party was "not a Stalinist party, but it's a reasonable request". Mr Christensen questioned the balance of the show and said that all cabinet ministers should follow the edict because "we are not happy with what they [Q&A] have done". "If the Q&A audiences were reflective of the Australian public, you would have to wonder how any Liberal or National was elected," he said.

"The whole thing needs to be looked at before another minister sets foot on the show again." Asked if Mr Turnbull should publicly declare he planned to join the boycott, Mr Christensen said: "No, he just shouldn't go on it, the Prime Minister has given a directive." A spokesman for Mr Abbott said on Monday: "Given the ABC is undertaking an inquiry into Q&A, it isn't appropriate for Minister Joyce to appear tonight." The ABC's editorial audit into Q&A, to be conducted by television veteran Ray Martin and former SBS managing director Shaun Brown, is expected to take eight to 12 weeks to complete, meaning the program could be without a government minister for three months. It is understood the Prime Minister's boycott instruction does not explicitly apply to backbenchers, though they may be frowned upon for appearing on the program.

Coalition MP Ewen Jones, who last week said boycotting Q&A "smacks of petulance", said he maintains his view the government shouldn't cede the program to the left. "I agree with the Prime Minister 100 per cent that it is a lefty lynch mob but if you void the area, if you cede the space then someone else will take up the space," he said. "As a matter of principle I believe we should be out fighting the good fight and we have good people who can do that. As a matter of principle, I think we should have people there [on Q&A]." Mr Jones added that Mr Joyce would not be in any "physical danger" by appearing on the program. Follow us on Twitter