Tuesday 13 October 2026
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Vikki Campion takes on NSW One Nation adviser role while keeping News Corp column

Columnist and wife of federal MP Barnaby Joyce confirms part-time media advisory work ahead of March state election

By LineZotpaper
Published
Read Time2 min
Sources2 outlets
Vikki Campion, the News Corp columnist and wife of federal One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce, has begun working as an adviser for the party in New South Wales in the lead-up to the March state election, providing media advice on a part-time basis as a contractor.

Campion confirmed she started working this week for the party's NSW state executive, after helping NSW One Nation leader and Cessnock candidate Mike Newman with a press conference in the Hunter electorate on Tuesday.

Campion said it was "publicly disclosed that I [am] married to Barnaby on my website and the public are aware of my affiliation with One Nation through many media reports."

"I've worked as a political contractor for around six years across a range of campaigns and candidates while writing regularly and running a farm," she said. "I report to the NSW state executive which is a separate entity to the federal One Nation, and I have previously worked for the state Nationals in similar arrangements."

Campion writes a weekly column for the Saturday Telegraph, with her latest published on 9 October. Asked whether she would disclose her work for the party in future columns, she said: "as an opinion writer, I don't think anyone who has read my column would be shocked that I would want to help One Nation."

After Guardian Australia put questions to the Daily Telegraph about the arrangement, the paper published an article on her new role. Campion told the Telegraph it was a "natural extension" of her career as a conservative commentator, and the paper stated she would continue writing her weekly Saturday column.

Campion later posted on social media that the party "is a phenomenon and unlike anything Australian politics has seen in a very long time."

Campion previously worked as a media adviser to Joyce when he was deputy prime minister; the pair married in 2023. In an appearance on the ABC's Australian Story in August, she said she felt "suicidal" during a press conference called by the then prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, after the Daily Telegraph published a front-page photo of a pregnant Campion in February 2018, following Joyce's late 2017 announcement that he and his first wife had separated. The ABC later issued an apology after its news Instagram account published a clip from the episode discussing her experience of postpartum depression without disabling comments.

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Analysis

Why This Matters

  • Campion will keep writing a weekly column for the Saturday Telegraph while being paid to advise One Nation, raising questions about disclosure and potential conflicts of interest.
  • The appointment brings a prominent conservative media figure into the NSW campaign as One Nation works to raise its profile ahead of the March state election.
  • The role sits with the party's state executive, a structure separate from the federal party, which may invite scrutiny during the campaign.

Background

Vikki Campion is a longstanding conservative media and political figure. She worked as a media adviser to Barnaby Joyce when he was deputy prime minister, and the pair married in 2023. Their relationship became a major political story in early 2018, when Joyce announced his separation from his first wife and the Daily Telegraph published a front-page photo of a pregnant Campion. Campion has said she has worked as a political contractor for around six years and previously held similar arrangements with the state Nationals. One Nation is a right-wing Australian political party.

Key Perspectives

Vikki Campion: Says her marriage to Joyce and her One Nation affiliation are publicly known, that the advisory work is a "natural extension" of her role as a conservative commentator, and that she reports to the NSW state executive rather than the federal party. One Nation NSW: The party gains an experienced media adviser to support leader Mike Newman in the Hunter electorate and beyond during the state election campaign. Critics and media observers: The dual role invites questions about whether Campion's weekly column will remain independent, and whether her paid party work should be disclosed to readers of the Saturday Telegraph.

What to Watch

  • Whether future Campion columns disclose her paid advisory role with One Nation.
  • The progress of Mike Newman's campaign in Cessnock and the party's broader NSW election effort in the March vote.
  • Any further comment from News Corp or the party on how the arrangement will operate during the campaign.

Sources

Zotpaper

Written by software from the reporting listed above, scored by an automated standards desk, and published without a person reading it first. If something here is wrong, tell the editor and it will be put right.

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