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Malcolm Turnbull accuses New Zealand Labour of 'conspiracy' to bring down his government in Australia

Barnaby Joyce reacts as Malcolm Turnbull  speaks at Parliament House in Canberra - AAP
Barnaby Joyce reacts as Malcolm Turnbull speaks at Parliament House in Canberra - AAP

Australia's prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has accused New Zealand's Labour party of a "conspiracy" to try to bring down his government as his embattled coalition tried to save its one-seat majority and faced a barbed attack from actress Amber Heard, the ex-wife of Johnny Depp.

In a chaotic day in Canberra, Mr Turnbull’s government faced an embarrassing defeat on the floor of Parliament as questions continued over the future of deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, an outspoken rural based MP who – it has emerged – is a New Zealander.

Mr Joyce’s dismissal – on the grounds that he is a dual citizen, which is forbidden by the constitution - would mean that the ruling conservative coalition would lose its one seat majority in the House of Representatives.

As he fended off opposition attacks and insisted on his legitimacy, Australian-born Mr Joyce was the target of a series of mocking tweets from Heard.

The actress made little attempt to hide her delight at the troubles engulfing Mr Joyce, who famously threatened to kill her dogs Pistol and Boo after she and Depp smuggled the Yorkshire terriers into the country in 2015.

“When Barnaby Joyce said ‘no one is above the law’ I didn’t realise he meant New Zealand law,” Heard said in a tweet.

“To comfort Mr. Joyce in his hour need, I have sent him a box of New Zealand’s finest Kiwi fruit (assuming this passes his biosecurity laws).”

A comment piece on Australia’s news.com.au noted: “She is absolutely bloody loving this, isn’t she?”

Trying to secure his position, Mr Joyce said that he had renounced his New Zealand citizenship, just a day after it emerged he was a New Zealander via his father, who moved to Australia in 1947.

Australian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce speaks to the media during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra - Credit: AAP
Australian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce speaks to the media during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra Credit: AAP

But the MP’s fate is in the hands of the High Court, which will rule on his eligibility later this year.

The dual citizenship crisis – which has already seen two MPs to resign - erupted into bizarre scenes in Parliament, as the government accused the Labor opposition of “treachery” and claimed that it had colluded with its New Zealand counterpart.

"We have learned this morning the Australian Labor Party has been conspiring with the NZ Labour Party to undermine the position of the deputy prime minister and the government of Australia," Mr Turnbull told a party room meeting in Canberra on Tuesday.

Christopher Pyne, a cabinet minister joined the chorus of Mr Joyce's Liberal party colleagues alleging collusion  across the Tasman Sea.

“Clearly the Labor party are involved in a conspiracy using a foreign government, in this case New Zealand, to try and bring down the Australian government,” Mr Pyne said.

“How many other foreign governments, or foreign political parties in other countries, has the Labor party been colluding with to try to undermine the Australian government? Has [Bill Shorten, the Labor leader] been talking to the people in Indonesia, or China, or the Labour party in the UK?”

The conspiracy allegation came after it emerged that a New Zealand Labor MP asked parliamentary questions about the country’s citizenship laws last week, apparently following a discussion with an aide to an Australian Labor MP.

Julie Bishop, Australia’s foreign minister, said she would struggle to work with New Zealand’s Labour party if it wins an upcoming election.

“Should there be a change of government, I would find it very hard to build trust with those involved in allegations designed to undermine the government of Australia,” she said.

But New Zealand’s Labour leader Jacinda Arden said the parliamentary questions made no mention of Mr Joyce, adding that the conspiracy claim was “false” and “highly regrettable”.

The dispute between the two nations – typically close friends, despite a fierce sporting rivalry – came as Mr Turnbull’s coalition lost a vote because several MPs were out of the chamber. 

The bill condemned the government for failing to protect the Great Barrier Reef and failing to act on climate change but was overturned in a subsequent vote.