"But he must go to the back bench as soon as possible."

Another said the meeting agreed it was "a crucial time for the party'' and he, too, thought Mr Joyce should go.

The failure to resolve the issue means it could fester until Monday next week when the Nationals MPs are scheduled to have a party room meeting.

Former leader John Anderson renewed his call for Mr Joyce and his MPs to resolve the issue sooner rather than later.

"He must go to the back bench as soon as possible," one of Mr Joyce's colleagues said. Alex Ellinghausen

The meeting of the federal executive was called as Nationals MP and likely leadership replacement Michael McCormack repeatedly declined to endorse Mr Joyce nor rule out a move against him when Parliament returns next week.

'At the moment'

In an awkward interview with Sky News, Mr McCormack, who is Minister for Veterans Affairs, struggled to give a straight answer when asked at least eight times whether he supported Mr Joyce.


"Barnaby Joyce at the moment enjoys the support of the National Party," he said.

"Barnaby Joyce will continue to be the leader as long as he's got the support of the National Party room."

The failure to resolve the issue means it could fester until Monday next week. David Rowe

A significant number of Nationals MPs believe Mr Joyce must quit as leader but both sides are claiming a majority.

Asked on Sky News whether there have been discussions about replacing Mr Joyce, Mr McCormack said: "There's been talk about what may or may not happen but, at the moment Barnaby Joyce is the leader of the National Party."

Earlier on Monday, Prime Minster Malcolm Turnbull revealed Australia's first lady, Lucy Turnbull, had phoned Mr Joyce's wife Natalie to offer comfort in the wake of revelations of her husband's extramarital affair.

The latest Newspoll shows two-thirds of voters believe Mr Joyce should step down as Nationals leader, but Mr Turnbull's approval rating is also falling. Mr Turnbull told radio 3AW his wife Lucy had contacted Natalie Joyce but he would not be doing so.

"Barnaby Joyce at the moment enjoys the support of the National Party," his leadership rival Michael McCormack told Sky News. Alex Ellinghausen


"I know Lucy had contacted her. Luce reached out, as have a lot of people."

Professional relationship

Relations between Mr Turnbull and Mr Joyce plummeted on Friday after Mr Joyce labelled the Prime Minister's denunciation of his behaviour as inept, harmful and unnecessary.

The pair met in Sydney on Saturday to smoke the peace pipe and, should Mr Joyce survive as leader, Mr Turnbull said again Monday they could continue to work together as prime minister and deputy prime minister.

"We have to be very professional about the relationship and get on with it. There is not an issue or conflict between the Liberal Party and the National Party," Mr Turnbull said.

But Mr Turnbull made no apology for his strong comments on Thursday in which he described Mr Joyce's behaviour as a shocking error of judgment, urged him to consider his options and banned sex between ministers and their staff.

"It was very important for me on Thursday to speak from the heart, to speak frankly about what had happened, and most importantly to demonstrate to Australians that I was going to do everything I can to ensure it doesn't happen again," he said.

In a fresh development Monday, Labor leader Bill Shorten said if he won the next election, he would keep Mr Turnbull's ban on sex between ministers and their staff in the ministerial code of conduct. But he labelled it a distraction.


"We saw last week, Mr Turnbull blow his stack at Barnaby Joyce but it is very clear Mr Turnbull had a fair idea what has been going on for months," he said.

"But now, Mr Turnbull is feeling a bit of electoral pressure, then he has decided that what he knew before, now becomes is a scandal. What I want to just say about Mr Turnbull's changes to the code of conduct is, if we get elected, we're not going to overturn it, but it's not the main game."

Sex ban dissent

Coalition divisions over the sex ban also widened to include deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop.

On the weekend, former prime minister Tony Abbott criticised the sex ban and on Monday, Ms Bishop, who had previously criticised the idea when proposed by an independent MP, also declined to endorse it.

"There are still areas of a politician's life that are and should be private," Ms Bishop told Sky News.

"What the Prime Minister is seeking to do is ensure that there are not relationships within ministers' offices that can lead to an improper influence over a minister's decisions to conflicts of interest, to misuse of taxpayers funds."

Asked directly if she supported the ban, she said: "I will abide by the ministerial code of conduct."


The Newspoll published in The Australian shows the Coalition trailing Labor by 53 per cent to 47 per cent on a two-party preferred basis. It's the 27th consecutive Newspoll in which the Coalition has trailed Labor. Mr Turnbull cited 30 negative Newspolls as a reason for rolling Mr Abbott.

The poll showed 65 per cent thought Mr Joyce should quit as Nationals leader, 64 per cent supported the sex ban, while Mr Turnbull's preferred prime minister rating fell 5 percentage points to 40 per cent and Mr Shorten's rose two points to 33 per cent.

Mr Joyce has lost significant support in his own party with several sources saying the majority wants him gone. He is on leave for the week and next Monday's party room meeting looms as crunch time.

There was a further headache for Mr Turnbull courtesy of the Nationals when renegade MP George Christensen posted a picture of himself on social media holding a gun and advocating violence against the Greens.

Greens leader Richard Di Natale has asked the Australian Federal Police to investigate. Mr Turnbull called the behaviour inappropriate.