"Oops": NZ Confirms Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Is Indeed a Kiwi

Barnaby Joyce, the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, revealed he actually might be a citizen of New Zealand earlier this morning.

It was a bombshell that few expected, and Joyce decided he would refer the issue to the High Court to see if he's eligible to hold office in Australia (let alone be Deputy Prime Minister or a Minister for Resources and Northern Australia).

Joyce explained to Parliament that his father was born in New Zealand but moved to Australia in 1947 as a British subject (as New Zealand and Australian citizens were at the time). He went on to say that neither his father or he ever applied to be citizens of New Zealand but there was a possibility that he, indeed, was a citizen.

So, the Prime Minister of New Zealand stepped in and confirmed the news. 

"Unwittingly or not, he's a New Zealand citizen" - NZ Prime Minister Bill English confirms @Barnaby_Joyce is a citizen by descent #auspol

— Jane Norman (@janeenorman) August 14, 2017

Boom. It gets pretty legitimate when the leader of another country says you're definitely a citizen of their country.

Obviously, there were quite a few interesting reactions to the news that Australia's own Deputy Prime Minister was basically ineligible to hold office.

Can't wait to see Pistol & Boo's reaction to the Barnaby Joyce dual citizenship news!
"I don't care who you are...rules apply to everyone"

— lehmo (@lehmo23) August 14, 2017

Barnaby Joyce must be horrified to learn that he's a citizen of a country which has already legalised SSM....

— Peter van Onselen (@vanOnselenP) August 14, 2017

this continues to be a hugely entertaining chapter in Australian politics.

— MikamKciredor (@RoderickMakim) August 14, 2017

Joyce went on Channel 9's Today show two weeks ago and cracked jokes about definitely being completely Australian. When asked if he had triple-checked his citizenship, Joyce responded that he was "an Australian—no problems there."

It's just another of many recent cases where Members of Parliament and Senators have realised that they haven't been eligible for office due to being unaware of their citizenship to another country.

Just last month, two Greens senators, Larissa Waters and Scott Ludlam stepped aside from their duties after realising that they still held citizenship for Canada and New Zealand, respectively. Later, Liberal senator Matt Canvan quit the cabinet after discovering he was a dual citizen of Italy.

Prime Minister Turnbull also told Channel 9 that it was "extraordinary negligence" in regards to the two Greens senators' mistakes.

"It is pretty amazing, isn't it, that you've had two out of nine Greens senators who didn't realise that they were citizens of another country. And it shows incredible sloppiness on their part," Turnbull said. "It's extraordinary negligence on their part."

Bit awkward looking back on it now though, right?

Photo: ABC