Barnaby Joyce has pulled out of Monday night’s Q&A program after Tony Abbott ruled that frontbenchers should not go on the ABC show.
The agriculture minister withdrew late on Sunday night, despite having told the ABC’s Insiders program earlier in the day he would be appearing.
A spokesman for Joyce said the prime minister had decided no frontbencher would be allowed to take part, Fairfax Media reported.
Last week the prime minister’s parliamentary secretary, Alan Tudge, also withdrew from the program at the last minute, following the row over the appearance the previous week of the former terrorism suspect Zaky Mallah.
Joyce said on Insiders it had been “an absurdity” to allow Mallah into the audience for the program, but he thought the ABC was “dealing with that issue now”.
The ABC issued a formal warning to the program’s executive producer, Peter McEvoy, last week. A report by the federal communications program into the affair found the ABC had investigated Mallah’s background, but missed offensive tweets he had made about News Corp journalists and others.
The communications minister, Malcolm Turnbull, is scheduled to appear on the program next week. He has previously said he did not support a boycott by government ministers.
He said last week he was happy with the decision to sanction McEvoy.
“Directors have met, considered the issues relating to that program in the light of their statutory responsibilities and taken some action,” he said.
