Barnaby Joyce is stepping down as Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Nationals.  He'll stay on as the backbencher representing New England.

"I will say on Monday morning at the party room I will step down as the leader of the National Party and deputy leader of Australia," Joyce told reporters gathered at his favorite scenic lookout in Armindale.  "I don’t deserve the support that you've given me," he told constituents.

Joyce entered the week taking personal leave but doggedly refusing to buckle as the scandal around his personal life emerged.  After leaving his wife of a quarter century in December, it was revealed that Mr. Joyce's former aide Vicki Campion was pregnant with his child.  They say you find out who your friends are when you need one, and Joyce's fellow Nats distanced themselves from him - refusing to support him publicly or saying that he should resign. 

What little support Barnaby had left disappeared when word emerged of a sexual harassment complaint in WA.  He denied it and claimed it was not "the straw that broke the camel's back" when it came to his leadership.  But it was clear this was just too much drama, and the Nats will pick a new leader on Monday morning.  Veterans affairs minister Michael McCormack is seen as the front runner.