Another politician has had his savage views of Prime Minister Scott Morrison aired publicly, with text messages leaking over the weekend revealing exactly what deputy PM Barnaby Joyce thinks of his more-senior counterpart.
Joyce sent the text messages in March last year to Brittany Higgins, who was allegedly raped in Parliament House and has since become an activist, agitator and spokesperson for women in similar situations.
Joyce was on the backbench at the time he sent the texts after it was revealed he had engaged in an affair with a staffer.
Unrelated allegations were also levied at Joyce accusing him of sexual harassment, however he denied the claims, calling them "spurious and defamatory".
He became leader of the Nationals Party - and thus regained the Deputy Prime Minister title - in February this year.
It seems, however, that all may not be well with the country's two top men, with Joyce lashing out at Morrison's character.
"[Scott Morrison is a hypocrite and a liar from my observations and that is over a long time," he said in the texts leaked by Nine's newspapers.
"I have never trusted him and I dislike how he earnestly rearranges the truth to a lie."
Joyce also revealed the pair 'don't get along'.
In the wake of the scandal, Joyce has 'unreservedly apologised'.
"While the text message was supposed to be private, what I said in that message was wrong; and I have unreservedly apologised to the Prime Minister for my comments," he said.
"It is common knowledge that in the past, the Prime Minister and I had not always seen eye to eye."
Despite the contents of last year's texts, Joyce now says the PM is 'a person of high integrity and honesty'.
Morrison said he has 'immediately accepted' the apology 'in good faith'.
"I understand Barnaby was in a different headspace last year, both professionally and personally, and so I know he genuinely no longer feels this way," he said.
"Relationships change over time. Politicians are human beings too. We all have our frailties and none of us are perfect."
Joyce also offered to resign from the Deputy PM role, however Morrison rejected this proposal.
Topics: News, Barnaby Joyce, Scott Morrison, Australia
Vivienne Kelly