QUEENSLAND senator Barnaby Joyce has come out in defence of Sophie Mirabella, calling her a “strong character”.
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The Nationals member contacted media unprompted yesterday with a letter to the editor stating: “Sophie is no pushover ... she is ferocious and I would like Sophie on my side if I was in the seat of Indi”.
His comments round out one of the grittiest weeks in the Indi election campaign so far, sparked by outgoing independent Tony Windsor saying Mrs Mirabella was the politician he would least miss and awarding her the “nasty prize”.
Mr Windsor then backed independent Indi candidate Cathy McGowan and even went so far as saying he might visit the electorate to help her campaign.
Mrs Mirabella quickly turned the tables, claiming the “GLI alliance” — Greens, Labor and independents — was targeting her.
Yesterday, Mr Joyce told The Border Mail he wrote the letter to restore “balance” to the discussion.
“Mr Windsor’s comments are unsurprising, but people should know both sides of the argument,” he said.
“The thing is she’s a strong character.
“There’s times when I’ve had some massive fights with Sophie, so I’ve been on both sides of it.
“But what I admire is she’s strong and when you’re representing an area, that’s what you want.”
Mr Joyce, who will be contesting Mr Windsor’s seat of New England in the election, spoke disdainfully of the outgoing member’s remarks.
“I think they’re inappropriate comments, especially when everybody is saying we should act better in Parliament,” he said.
Asked what he thought of Mrs Mirabella’s own attacks on other politicians in the past, Mr Joyce said: “I don’t condone that either”.
Mr Joyce said his support of Mrs Mirabella and criticism of Mr Windsor had “nothing to do” with the fact he was running in Mr Windsor’s electorate.
Mrs Mirabella was not available for comment yesterday.