A recording has emerged of embattled deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce arguing that politicians embroiled in scandals should stand aside.



Joyce is refusing to resign or step aside from his ministerial duties despite the issue of his affair dominating the news agenda more than two weeks. He has gone on personal leave for a week, but has given multiple media interviews and yesterday turned up to a National Party event in his electorate.

Joyce told Fairfax News this week that people were starting to view the scandal as a "witch hunt" and he vowed he was "not going anywhere".

However, it wasn't too long ago that the deputy PM was saying standing aside was the right thing to do.

Back in September 2016, when former Labor senator Sam Dastyari's Chinese donor scandal popped up for the first time, Joyce said during a press conference in Armidale that Dastyari should step down from his shadow ministry positions while there were questions around the scandal.

"When similar things happen to us, you know, with Stuart Robert [accepted a watch from a Chinese company], he was stood aside," Joyce said. "He had to step down. That was over a watch."

"When other similar issues happened with Mal Brough [stood aside over a police inquiry into a diary], he was stood aside. When it happened with Arthur Sinodinos, even though later on he was cleared, for the interim, he was stood aside."