National Party Senate leader Barnaby Joyce has defended entering the legal battle between mining magnate Gina Rinehart and three of her children.
Ms Rinehart's three oldest children, John Hancock, Bianca Rinehart and Hope Welker, have accused her of "misconduct" in relation to the trust and claim she secretly changed the vesting date of the deed to 2068.
In September, they began proceedings in NSW Supreme Court action against their mother.
Senator Joyce said he's not embarrassed that private emails he sent to Ms Rinehart's children have become public.
"I suppose it's an approach to try and, as much as possible, throw it all on top of water, see if you can at all have some capacity to be a peacemaker then I suppose that's easier to do," he told ABC Radio.
"Obviously didn't work. That's life."
Senator Joyce said he understood media interest in the emails, but they were not intended for publication.
"The whole point about them is they're private and I'd want to try and keep it as private as possible," Mr Joyce said.
"I just know that there is no future in participation of a family's private business in the public media."
He rejected criticism by Independent MP Tony Windsor that he must have a financial interest in supporting Ms Rinehart.
"Tony Windsor would think I'm the second gunman on the grassy knoll. I mean it's absurd." the senator said.
"What Tony Windsor claiming? That if you try to basically make sure that people don't tear themselves apart in the media there's some vested interest involved. Well, there's not.
Senator Joyce said he has not benefited from his friendship with the mining magnate.
"I don't think that one cent has ever been donated to me by Gina Rinehart or Hancock Coal," he said.
"I'm pretty sure about that. I'll go back and check the declarations.
He said he and Ms Rinehart had been friends for less than five years.
"I get along well with her and..I like the idea of there being Australian billionaires
"I'd rather have Australian billionaires than American billionaires."
Senator Joyce said if people can make money in Australia everyone benefits.
"I want to make sure that people from our nation are capitalising on it.
"At the end of the day they're (billionaires) just human beings like the rest of us and I suppose a person in a public profile such as myself has some empathy for other people who are in the public gaze all the time as well."
