Australia's deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce has finally resigned, after a series of sex scandals that have plagued the Australian government and dominated the news agenda for weeks.
Mr Joyce, a major figure in Australian politics and the leader junior coalition partner the Nationals party, will not resign from parliament in order to maintain Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's wafer-thin majority.
But his move to the backbenches comes as a result of unsurmountable pressure over revelations of an affair he had with a former staffer, who was also appointed to a number of unadvertised roles in his team. Mr Joyce and Vikki Campion are now expecting a baby in April.
And Mr Joyce admitted that a new sexual harassment allegation against him, made in the media this week by an unidentified woman, was "the straw that breaks the camel's back". He has denied the allegation and asked that it be referred to police for investigation.
Other questions swirling around Mr Joyce include his current living arrangements. After leaving his wife of 24 years and mother of his four daughters, Natalie Joyce, he and Ms Campion now live rent-free in an apartment owned by a wealthy political donor.
He described his resignation on Friday as necessary for both parliament and his family. He has also denied a media report that he pinched a woman's bottom while drunk in a Canberra pub several years ago. The Nationals, the traditional party of farmers and rural voters, will select a new leader on Monday.
"It's incredibly important that there be a circuit-breaker, not just for the Parliament, but more importantly, a circuit-breaker for Vikki, for my unborn child, my daughters and for Nat," he told reporters.
Under the terms of the coalition agreement, whoever Nationals politicians choose to replace Mr Joyce will also automatically become deputy prime minister. It's unclear what
Mr Joyce, a political maverick who has led his party since elections in mid-2016, said he would not accept any ministerial portfolio. As well as deputy prime minister, he was minister for infrastructure and transport.
He said media reports that an unidentified woman had made a sexual harassment complaint against him was the "straw that breaks the camel's back". He denied the allegations, and said he requested they be referred to police for investigation.
Nationals president Larry Anthony, the party's senior bureaucrat, said in a statement: "The party will greet this news with a heavy heart but we understand and respect his decision to stand down as leader."
Mr Turnbull said in a statement that the coalition government "partnership is undiminished" by the Nationals' leadership change.
Mr Joyce and Mr Turnbull have openly attacked each other since news of the deputy prime minister's office affair broke.
Mr Turnbull accused his deputy of making a "shocking error of judgment" by having an office affair. Mr Joyce described his leader's remarks as "inept" and "completely unnecessary".
In a move interpreted by some as punishing his deputy for a politically damaging scandal, Mr Turnbull did not appoint Mr Joyce to the role of acting prime minister while the prime minister visits Washington this week.
Mr Turnbull explained that Mr Joyce was taking leave to consider his future.
Additional reporting by agencies
