Newspapers and social media skewer New Zealand citizen Baa-naby Joyce

THINGS are baaaaad for Barnaby Joyce following the revelation of his dual citizenship, and the whole country can’t help but poke fun at him.

The internet is having fun creating memes of Kiwi Barnaby Joyce. Picture: Twitter

THINGS are baaaaad for Barnaby Joyce following the revelation of his dual citizenship — and the whole country can’t help but poke fun at the New Zealander. Newspapers across Australia had some fun with the latest parliamentary scandal, mostly in the form of sheep jokes with a side of Kiwi slang.

The Herald Sun opted for a sheep-related joke about the newly declared New-Zealand citizen, while the Courier Mail used the popular Kiwi phrase “bro” in its headline, along with as many New Zealand puns as possible, including “Ewe have to be joking!” and “haka-la-vista for Baa-naby”.

Today’s front page of the Herald Sun runs with a sheep joke about Barnaby Joyce.

The Courier Mail’s front page opted for as many New Zealand jokes as possible.

The Advertiser in Adelaide asked, “Why so sheepish, Barnaby?” and The Daily Telegraph simply said “It’s Barnaby Choice, bro”.

Adelaide’s Advertiser asked why Barnaby was feeling ‘sheepish’.

The Daily Telegraph pictured a shocked looking Joyce.

The Canberra Times also played along with the headline “Joyce, bro?”, and The SMH ran with “Coalition on the brink” and included a cartoon of Joyce as a “rare and endangered red-faced kiwi” bird.

Meanwhile, sheep, Kiwi fruit, Johnny Depp and the ‘beached az, bro’ cartoon were all common elements of the online mockery.

The fact that Joyce grew up on a sheep farm in Tamworth made things almost too easy for social media users wanting to have a dig at the Deputy Prime Minister, whose father was a New Zealander.

Barnaby Joyce a kiwi. The signs were there if only we knew to read them #auspol pic.twitter.com/Y8L9aurqEW

— Conor Murtagh (@conormurtaghRAW) August 14, 2017

Joyce’s strong condemnation of actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard for bringing their dogs Pistol and Boo into Australia illegally has also left people musing that the pair must be somewhere smiling.

Joyce forced them into an apology video after threatening to euthanise their dogs. Neither has commented on the revelation so far.

Barnaby Joyce has issued an apology pic.twitter.com/RSy1bmGPuM

— Tahlia Pritchard (@Tahls) August 14, 2017

Other social media users wondered how we couldn’t have guessed that Joyce was a Kiwi.

In hindsight we should've known Barnaby Joyce was a kiwi...#auspol #BarnabyJoyce pic.twitter.com/Ws1RtCP05h

— Paulie Stewart (@PaulieStewart) August 14, 2017

Oh Barnaby Joyce, if only there were signs #auspol pic.twitter.com/DMM8hcd4xX

— Josh Earl (@MrJoshEarl) August 14, 2017

my god... we were all so blind pic.twitter.com/dyzvuXSjTO

— mat whitehead (@matwhi) August 14, 2017

Barnaby Joyce right now. pic.twitter.com/JSpoP5AmH2

— Bondi Burger (@TheBondiBurger) August 14, 2017

Joyce said he was “shocked” to find out he was a New Zealander but would stay in his position while the matter was referred to the High Court.

Under New Zealand law, a child born to a Kiwi parent is automatically given citizenship without needing to apply.

Originally published as Newspapers and social media skewer New Zealand citizen Baa-naby Joyce