Deputy Australian PM Barnaby Joyce told to resign over affair with ex-employee

AMID speculation on the future political career of Barnaby Joyce following his media conference in Canberra this morning, some are suggesting Member for Dawson George Christensen could be the next deputy prime minister.

Joyce has been in the news since it was revealed last week that his former staffer Vikki Campion is pregnant with his child.

Likely front runners for the position, include Michael McCormack, who is now in the outer ministry as Malcolm Turnbull's Minister for Veterans Affairs and Defence Personnel, and Darren Chester, the former cabinet-level minister for infrastructure, dropped in the December reshuffle.

He again publically apologised to his family and voters and confirmed "without a shadow of a doubt" that he and Ms Campion were nowJoyce's office to work for other Nationals MPs was "a clear breach of the rules". "And Damian Drum was not a minister".

"Vikki Campion has also been the subject of unwanted and deeply hurtful commentary at a hard time, particularly as we are having a child together in mid-April", he said in the statement.

However that contradicts media claims the Turnbull told his colleagues in August past year that he believed the affair was over.

"The distribution of those staff members between Nationals offices is a matter for the National party", he said.

And then about how Joyce is living rent-free with Campion in a rural townhouse owned by a multi-millionaire businessman.

"I think they're all worthy issues, we did the republic once before, we had a complete failure when it comes to