Barnaby Joyce Pulls Into Second Place for 'New Zealander of the Year'

Some silver lining for Australia's deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce as he faces the prospect of losing his job and government over dual citizenship allegations: he's pulled into second place in the nominations for "2018 New Zealander of the Year." Out of the 371 esteemed New Zealanders nominated, Barnaby has racked up the second most votes—just behind Metiria Turei, the former co-leader of the Green Party.

Turei has strong support after she was forced to resign over her admission she'd lied about her number of housemates when she was a single mum receiving government benefits, so she could claim accommodation supplement. But with three weeks left to go in the voting, there's every chance Barnaby could move into the top spot.

If he does, it's not quite clear what will happen. "At the conclusion of the nominations period the Awards office will assess Mr Joyce's eligibility based on his citizenship and other criteria," the awards have said in a press release. The nominees will then be judged by an "independent judging panel" who, hopefully, can see that crowning Barnaby Joyce New Zealander of the Year would be the greatest thing to ever happen to awards/snarky Australian internet journalism.

For readers outside New Zealand it needs to be said, these are legit awards. They've been running for the past nine years and have gone to such high profile New Zealanders as Taika Waititi and also Taika Waititi. The only criteria is that the nominees need to be New Zealanders who've "contributed to making New Zealand a better place to live."

The awards also acknowledge, "It's also not unusual for people of the moment to attract significant support during the public nominations period."

So Barnaby, you've got this mate.

The deputy PM's eligibility to sit in Australian parliament has been up in the air for the past fortnight, after it came to light he's a dual citizen of both Australia and New Zealand. Section 44 of the Australian constitution explicitly bans anyone who "is under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience, or adherence to a foreign power, or is a subject or a citizen or entitled to the rights or privileges of a subject or citizen of a foreign power."

In recent weeks, this pesky section has toppled Greens senators Larissa Waters and Scott Ludlam, and thrown the jobs of the LNP's Matt Canavan, One Nation's Malcolm Roberts, Nationals deputy Fiona Nash, and South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon into doubt. The High Court of Australia is currently hearing cases from everyone, bar Xenophon and Nash, and will weigh in on whether they can keep their jobs.

So it seems like a win-win: either Barnaby isn't a New Zealander and he gets to keep his job. Or he is and he's welcomed home with open arms by a country ready to embrace him as their best and brightest, their Taika Waititi of 2018.

Good luck, Baaaaaaa–rnaby.

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