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Embattled former Australian former deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce is insisting he will contest the next election, despite referring to his unnamed colleagues 'scum' for trying to get his partner, Vicky Campion to have an abortion.

In a much-publicised interview that aired over the weekend, Campion revealed she had purchased the medicine needed to have an abortion after discovering she was pregnant.

Speaking to Channel 7's Sunday Night, Campion said she had been pressured to terminate the baby by "conservatives" within the National Party.

"They came to me and they said 'You're pregnant and you have to get an abortion'. And they said, 'If you don't, they're gonna come after you'," she said.

"And I said, 'it's too late, it has a heartbeat.' And they said, 'If you don't, they're gonna come after you.'''

"And they did," Joyce said.

Campion says she was deeply hurt by the headlines after Joyce made a statement that the paternity of the baby was a 'grey area'.

Refusing to name who had targeted Campion, Joyce said those involved were "absolute scum of the earth people".

"Their contribution to it is they're gonna try and make an incredibly difficult situation almost unbearable by saying to you that, 'Woman, you will do this if you want a career in this place.' And that's your Australian Parliament," he said.

Opening up about when their affair started, Campion said the pair was "close for a long time" before things turned romantic in "late 2016".

"I was close to him. I was going through some fairly difficult private circumstances of my own. He was also going through some things," she said.

However, Joyce became combative when reporter Alex Cullen asked who had made the first move.

"I don't know, mate. When did it happen with your missus?" Joyce retorted back.

The former Deputy Prime Minister said he and Campion "didn't stumble into this like we were kids" and hadn't set out to hurt anyone with their affair.

"You show me the person who has a perfect marriage and I'll show you a liar," Joyce said.

Vikki Campion claims she was told to have an abortion by conservatives.

"I apologise to every innocent party that was dragged through this, including Sebastian. I'm really sorry.

"But, you know, you can't really … You can't help who you fall in love with."

While the interview was touted by Seven as a "brutally honest" look at the political scandal, Joyce remained cagey when asked to comment on his estranged wife Natalie Joyce and four daughters.

"That's completely private," Joyce said, conceding he had been "living a lie" towards the end of his marriage.

But Campion acknowledged that a confrontation had occurred between her and Mrs Joyce in Tamworth but said she "can't repeat the words on television".

The former Deputy Prime Minister has faced criticism from both sides of politics after it emerged he and Campion were expected to receive the huge sum for their tell-all interview.

Turnbull told Tasmanian radio station LAFM he would be addressing the "widely criticised" issue in private with Joyce.

Joyce has since said the money will be put into a trust for their son Sebastian, who was born in April.