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Friendlyjordies calls out Deputy Premier John Barilaro for alleged corruption

CS

by Claudia Schmidt

CS

by Claudia Schmidt

Deputy Premier and Nationals leader John Barilaro has come under fire in an incisive video from friendlyjordies which points to alleged corruption.

Last week, tensions in the NSW State Government came to a head when Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Deputy Premier John Barilaro clashed over a koala protection bill. It may seem like a rather niche topic – except if you’ve been paying attention to the channel of YouTuber Jordan Shanks aka friendlyjordies, it’s probably all-too-familiar.

Whilst the koala stoush was seemingly resolved on Friday, Barilaro is now facing a vote of no-confidence. And the whole thing comes as Shanks’ latest video, released yesterday, alleges major corruption from the Deputy Premier.

john barilaro friendlyjordies

Today, a vote of no confidence was launched by the Labor Party against John Barilaro in the NSW Parliament. The move follows Barilaro’s threats last week to move National MPs to the crossbench, a decision which would prompt a minority Liberal Government, if a bill aiming to protect koala habitats was passed.

On Friday, Barilaro backed down; however, Opposition Leader Jodi McKay has since filed a vote of no-confidence after Barilaro’s leadership was described as “untenable”, appealing to Nationals ministers and backbenchers to reconsider their support for the Deputy Premier.

Due to take place tomorrow, the impending vote continues to expose tensions within the Coalition and it’s expected that some Liberal MPs may abstain in defiance of Barilaro. During Question Time this afternoon, McKay asked Barilaro whether he would step down from his position due to the waning confidence surrounding his leadership, to which the Deputy Premier responded that he would not.

Whilst there has been no mention of friendlyjordies in coverage of the unfolding events, the timing can’t help but feel pertinent.

In a video released yesterday titled bruz, Shanks has aimed his most incisive attack against Barilaro, calling out the Deputy Premier on everything from his response to last summer’s bushfires (including his eschewing of responsibility despite drastically cutting funding to National Parks) to his shaky stance on water theft (promising a commission into water corruption in 2019, before later voting against it).

Elsewhere, Shanks highlights numerous instances of pork barrelling – a process in which government funds are used in order to win votes – where Barilaro seemingly offered money to companies owned by his friends. This included the $3.3 million GO Equity Fund which was given to Australia’s Oyster Coast (a company chaired by former Liberal party member David Trebek) and a further $3.3 million given to a beef company part-owned by Roc Partners, the very private equity fund that Barilaro engaged to help decide where to allocate the funds.

To top it off, Shanks brings up Barilaro’s championing of the non-native Snowy Mountains brumbies through the 2018 Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Bill, a law which turned Australia into “global laughing stock” amongst experts and led to the devastation of native ecosystems – seemingly all because of a political donation of $10,000.

Friendlyjordies’ anti-Liberal, no prisoners approach means that he has a history of being avoided in the media. The only mention of his latest video comes from News.com.au, whose cherry-picked article, YouTuber Friendlyjordies brags of sex acts in NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro’s holiday house, fails to mention the entire point of Shanks’ video.

Nevertheless, the viewership for friendlyjordies’ videos continues to grow. Just how much impact they might have on current events remains to be seen; but one thing’s for sure, it’s high time politicians stop getting away with corruption. The vote of no-confidence against Barilaro will be considered tomorrow.

Watch friendlyjordies’ latest video in full below.

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