Fairfax Media has spoken to five people, including Ms Chirlian, who were in the bar on Thursday night and witnessed the exchange but there are two markedly different versions of what led to Mr Joyce, who famously told Johnny Depp's dogs Pistol and Boo to "bugger off" back to the US, reacting the way he did. Barnaby Joyce at the Top Pub in Uralla. Credit:Facebook Uralla local Elizabeth Feitz, who was in the bar, said she was part of a group who asked bar staff to intervene on Mr Joyce's behalf because Ms Chirlian and her friend Megan Kuhn had been "getting in the face" of the Nationals leader. Another local Lisa Williams, who runs a farm machinery business in Armidale, said the pair were "badgering" Mr Joyce before the altercation. Ms Chirlian, who is a central figure in the battle against the proposed Shenhua mega coal mine for the Liverpool Plains and is convening a forum in Tamworth on June 23 said she approached Mr Joyce to ask whether he would attend.

"A group of us were having dinner and I saw him walk into the public bar. I decided I would go over and ask him to please attend the forum," she said. The Top Pub in Uralla. Credit:Facebook According to Ms Chirlian and Ms Kuhn, who accompanied her, Mr Joyce responded: "Nicky, I know what you're doing. You do this every time". A few minutes later, after he returned from the bathroom, Ms Chirlian made a final attempt to get his agreement to attend the forum. "He got really quite loud, other people in our group who were in the other room could hear him. He said 'Nicky piss off, just piss off, piss off'," Ms Chirlian said.

"He was physically quite close. He's a big bloke and I'm 5"6 and coming up on 60 years-old. I was pretty shocked. At that stage the bar staff woman came in beside me and she put her arm straight out between Barnaby Joyce and myself. "At that stage the bar staff woman came in beside me and she put her arm straight out between Barnaby Joyce and myself. "I'm a constituent. I'm pretty insulted because I felt like he was using a bullying tactic. He might not like me or want to come to our forum but I don't think that's appropriate behaviour for the Deputy Prime Minister." Ms Feitz, who runs the White Rose Cafe across the road from the pub, had a different view on the incident, saying Mr Joyce had arrived at 9.30pm and began chatting to a table of locals when Ms Chirlian and Ms Kuhn "ran across the bar and accosted him".

"I couldn't hear what they were saying but they kept following him around. They were absolutely in his face. They wouldn't go away," she said. "He asked them to go away and, yes, he did say 'piss off' eventually but they kept following him. We yelled across to the bar staff to intervene but it was more about getting the woman away from Barnaby Joyce. He'd given up on having a beer with us at the point and was getting takeways." Ms Williams, who was standing talking to Mr Joyce at the time, said he was clearly "off-duty" and did not deserve to be "attacked" in the pub. "I think they were just downright rude. They weren't locals and as locals we felt ashamed. We were talking about it for a good 45 minutes after he had left," she said.

Mr Joyce's office turned down repeated requests to clarify his language, instead releasing a comment on behalf of the Deputy Prime Minister: "I was talking to locals who invited me over to have a beer with them. I was approached by people who were persistent and badgering about a forum which I advised them I could not attend. I left to go the bathroom and when I came back they were pestering the group. The bar staff intervened and asked them to leave." Ms Kuhn said she did not see the physical standoff but heard Mr Joyce tell her friend to piss off. "It was quite loud. It was strong in the way he said it numerous times," she said. Following the exchange, the bar worker suggested Ms Chirlian return to her table and minutes later Mr Joyce bought some takeaway drinks and left in his car, driven by his campaign manager. The incident angered Ms Chirlian's friend Dan Robins, a fellow member of the Lock the Gate Alliance that he posted a report on the incident on Facebook on Friday.

"Pretty rude way for a Deputy Prime Minister to act in his own electorate," he wrote. On Monday, Ms Chirlian, who is a member of a number of local groups concerned about the effect of mining on agricultural land, asked Mr Joyce during Q&A "why should we vote for you if this is the best you can do to protect water and land?". She went on to suggest that the federal government could intervene to stop the Shenhua Watermark mine like it did to stop sand mining on Fraser Island but Mr Joyce insisted the matter remains in the state realm. Follow us on Twitter

