(Seven Network/CNN) – Australian Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull laid down the law following a weeklong sex scandal involving his No. 2.
"They must not have sexual relations with their staff," Turnbull said on Thursday.
The prime minister announced a change in the country’s ministerial code of conduct, banning sexual relations between government ministers and the people who work for them.
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce is embroiled in a controversy over his extramarital affair with former staffer Vikki Campion.
"Barnaby made a shocking error of judgment to experience it in the full glare of the spotlight,” Trunbull said. “He's a dreadful business."
The prime minister called for a change in the way government officials behave.
"Let's not kid ourselves. There was a different culture here. That had gone on for a long time. It is truly deficient," he said. "It does not speak strongly enough for the values that we all should live, of workplaces where women are respected."
Joyce will take personal leave next week, following Turnbull’s suggestion, "and accordingly will not be able to be acting prime minister while I'm overseas."
Many of Joyce’s colleagues in parliament are calling for him to step down.
His future in Australian government is uncertain.
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