The controversy surrounding section 44 of the Australian Constitution and the baffling amount of current Federal politicians who are only just now finding out they hold dual citizenship with another country is so all-consuming at the moment that it has its own goddamned Wikipedia page.
Fortunately enough though, and in a story that we have to assert quite firmly is not satire, it appears there could be some unintended benefit for Barnaby Joyce.
The deputy PM is part of the large group of politicians whose parliamentary eligibility is being scrutinised by the High Court after he discovered that he kind of, sort of, technically is (or was) also a Kiwi.
While his election to office could be ruled invalid, the flipside is that across the Tasman he’s now in with a red hot shot of being heralded by the land of the long white cloud.
Joyce has received the second-most number of nominations for the illustrious New Zealander Of The Year award, with hilarious, piss-taking legends nominating the leader of the LNP some 62 times since nominations opened in July.
The award, given out annually since since 2010, has been picked up in previous years by fellow notable Kiwis like Taiki Waititi and Richie McCaw. Now the deputy Prime Minister of an entirely different country is in with a chance of picking it up.
If it were up to a public vote, you’d imagine the opportunity for a good gag would prove too great for people to resist, but unfortunately Joyce’s attempts to keep his job may have ruled him – ironically – ineligible.
The number of nominations doesn’t hold weight for who gets the award; a panel of judges assesses the nominees suitability and awards the gong based on a shortlist of 10 nominees, which is due to be announced in December.
A spokesperson for the awards stated that Joyce’s citizenship status will be assessed once the nominations process has concluded.
Joyce renounced his NZ citizenship after discovering he was indeed one in the midst of the on-going constitutional scandal.
Poor ole’ Barnaby. He can’t win a bloody trick.
