BARNABY Joyce has postponed a planned trip to Indonesia on the back of the ongoing spying scandal.
The Member for New England and Agriculture Minister said he had been having ongoing talks with Indonesia about visiting the country.
“We have agreed in the circumstances to postpone the visit proposed for this week,” he said.
Mr Joyce was scheduled to lead a delegation to Indonesia for an official visit aimed at expanding cattle exports, which have not recovered from the Labor Government’s suspension of the trade in 2011 in response to mistreatment of animals.
The MP would have been the first Abbott Government minister to visit Jakarta since the revelations Australia attempted to listen to phone calls of the Indonesian President.
“My focus is purely on the live cattle trade, which is something that is of benefit to both the delivery of food to Indonesia and the market for northern Australia,” Mr Joyce said last week.
Since being elected in September, Mr Joyce has consistently said expanding live cattle sales to Indonesia was a priority.
