All-or-nothing game only risks relations with New Zealand

The impression of the Turnbull government being in chaos and unable to restore order over Barnaby Joyce’s New Zealand citizenship was more deeply etched yesterday and threatens to get worse today.

The Coalition’s only option ­appears to be a stonewall to keep the Deputy Prime Minister in cabinet. There is no positive path and all the signs are that any strategy is butchered in execution.

Labor will push on in demanding his resignation. They will disrupt parliament and diminish the Coalition with ridicule.

Malcolm Turnbull appears politically unable to free himself from peripheral debates and concentrate on mainstream cost-of-living issues, such as energy prices.

Yesterday’s strategy of trying to turn the absurd constitutional citizenship debacle against Labor was clear: Bill Shorten is not trusted, he’s seen as a deal-maker, an opportunist, disloyal and prepared to do anything to get ahead politically.

The Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, Christopher Pyne and Julie Bishop threatened Labor with tit-for-tat retaliation on ­inherited citizenship and accused Shorten of treachery and “slithering” his way to The Lodge.

This was an understandable strategy with a reasonable chance of success. But, again, the ­execution of the strategy failed as the focus became not Labor’s collusion with New Zealand Labour MPs, but Australia’s relations with our closest ally.

There is ample evidence that the ALP was involved in getting questions into the New Zealand parliament about citizenship that would damage Joyce’s political position and could ultimately bring down the Turnbull government.

Turnbull accused Shorten of conspiracy and the Foreign Minister accused him of collusion. It was an attempt to get attention back on to Labor and away from the incontrovertible fact that Joyce was a New Zealand citizen and could be ruled ineligible by the High Court.

If the government had taken the blame for the mess when it ­referred Joyce to the High Court and stood him aside from cabinet while he remained in the house there may have been a more defensible position, no matter how uncomfortable.

But having decided to hang on to Joyce, the stakes are all or nothing and yesterday switching the focus from Shorten and the ALP to the Australian government’s ability to work with a future New Zealand government meant the Coalition ended with nothing.

Bishop overplayed her hand in trying to prosecute a case of collusion against the NZ Labour Party by declaring she would find it “difficult to build trust” with NZ Labour.

No matter how difficult some personalities and issues have been in recent years, no minister has called into question the future of Australia’s closest relationship. It was politically inept because it handed the carriage of the issue to the NZ Labour Party and didn’t help Joyce or Turnbull one jot.