Malcolm Turnbull has defended himself after Barnaby Joyce accused him of using the scandal surrounding the former deputy prime minister's affair with a staffer for his own political gain.
"Well, I stand by everything I said," Mr Turnbull told reporters in Alice Springs on Wednesday.
After news broke in February about Mr Joyce's affair with his former media advisor Vikki Campion, the prime minister announced a ban on cabinet ministers having sex with their staff.
Mr Joyce said he was annoyed by the prime minister's "stupid" move.
"First of all, it's using someone else's personal dilemma for your own political advancement, which is a very poor form of politics," Mr Joyce told Macquarie Radio on Wednesday.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
"Straight away, you're burying your deputy. That's something you do in the change room, you don't do it on the football field.
"It didn't help him and it certainly didn't help me. It didn't help anybody else either. It just didn't look right."
