Barnaby Joyce is trying to be the best dad he can be to his new son Sebastian despite the hoopla surrounding his conception.
And he thinks partners of federal politicians should be allowed to work for MPs in Canberra as it could help keep families together.
Mr Joyce and his partner Vikki Campion welcomed their baby boy last week at Armidale Hospital in NSW.
Sebastian is the fifth child and first son for the former deputy prime minister, and Ms Campion's first child.
Mr Joyce quit as deputy prime minister in February after 16 days of scandal over his affair with Ms Campion, his former media adviser.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull later introduced a ban on ministers having sexual relations with their staff.
But Mr Joyce says he's now focused on spending time as a regular family and being a good father and partner.
"Seb, Vikki and I went out to the national park today," Mr Joyce told ABC television on Sunday night.
"We're just enjoying our own company, trying to be a family and hanging around the dinner table. I really enjoy that.
"I know it's peculiar circumstances and people have their pluses and minuses about it.
"But I'm going to try to do the very best job I possibly can and make sure that Seb has the very best dad he can possibly get."
Mr Joyce said partners of federal politicians should be allowed to work for MPs in Canberra.
He believes it would help keep families together and would not amount to a conflict of interest.
"Canberra's a weird place," Mr Joyce said.
"It's like a big old boarding school up on the hill.... Everyone travels from miles away to get there.
"And we should be allowing partners, as much as possible, to be there as well.
"It's insane to think that if she [Vikki] did want to work for me, she couldn't."
But acting prime minister Michael McCormack said he agreed with government policy that partners and family members were not allowed to work in offices.
"Quite frankly, I don't think my wife would want to work with me," he told reporters in Brisbane.
Cabinet minister Michael Keenan said the rules were changed a couple of years ago for a reason.
"It's not best practice for people to be employing their family members in any workplace, quite frankly," he said on Monday.
