Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce has been disqualified from office by the country's High Court because he held dual citizenship. 

Australian Minister for Agriculture Barnaby Joyce. Photo: Simon Chamberlain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Australian Constitution excludes Australians with dual citizenship from holding office in the House of Representatives or the Senate, and has caught a string of politicians by surprise over recent months.

Joyce had previously said he was not a New Zealand citizen despite his mother coming from the country, stating one had to apply for citizenship and could not simply obtain it by descent. 

The High Court of Australia also ruled that four other politicians were wrongly elected because they held dual citizenship. 

Joyce, who renounced New Zealand citizenship in August, has pledged to re-contest his lower house seat.

"I respect the verdict of the court," he was quoted as saying immediately after the verdict.

"We live in a marvelous democracy, with all the checks and balances they have given us all the freedoms we see. I thank the court [for] their deliberations."

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