SYDNEY, Australia — Australia’s “accidental Kiwi” deputy prime minister renounced his New Zealand citizenship on Tuesday amid sheep jokes, Hollywood taunts and conspiracy theories about a left-wing plot to topple Canberra’s conservative government.

Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce revealed his New Zealand connection on Monday, sparking calls for him to stand down as it is illegal for dual citizens to sit in the Australian parliament.

By Tuesday afternoon, Joyce told parliament that authorities in Wellington had agreed he could renounce the New Zealand citizenship unknowingly acquired from his Dunedin-born father.

The development does not mean the end of the bizarre affair, which threatens Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s one-seat majority in parliament.

But Joyce will hope it bolsters the case to remain in his job, preserving the government’s wafer-thin buffer, until the High Court determines if he is eligible to sit as an elected official.

The 50-year-old is best known internationally for threatening to euthanize Johnny Depp’s dogs Pistol and Boo when they were brought into the country illegally.

Depp’s ex-wife Amber Heard, who kept the dogs after they split, was reveling in his discomfort, tweeting Tuesday “when Barnaby Joyce said ‘no one is above the law’, I didn’t realize he meant New Zealand law’.”

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

Joyce, who Depp once said, “looks somehow inbred with a tomato,” has long cultivated an image as a straight-talking Aussie bushman, usually sporting a wide-brimmed Akubra hat and elastic-sided farm boots.

The deputy Australian leader was “shellshocked” to learn last week of automatically qualifying as a New Zealander even though he had never applied for citizenship.

New Zealand officials said queries from Australian journalists prompted last week’s discovery about Joyce’s status.

The turmoil saw the Sydney Morning Herald label Turnbull’s center-right coalition government as “on the brink,” while The Australian opined “PM under a long white cloud,” referencing the Maori name for New Zealand.

Other newspapers chose to ramp up the trans-Tasman rivalry with New Zealanders, who Australians like to characterize as sheep-loving country bumpkins.

“Ewe have got to be joking... it could be haka-la-vista for Barnaby,” headlined Brisbane’s Courier Mail, with Melbourne’s Herald Sun chipping in “All Black for Baa-naby.”

The Adelaide Advertiser asked, “Why so sheepish Barnaby?,” while Sydney’s Daily Telegraph dubbed Joyce “Barnaby choice, bro” — a play on the politician’s name and a popular Kiwi phrase.

A tweet from the Northern Territory News harked back to the long list of Kiwi icons claimed by Australia.

“Still shocked about this Barnaby Joyce controversy. We always considered him as Aussie as Russell Crowe, Phar Lap and Split Enz,” it said. — AFP