Kate Hawkesby: Former Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce cries poor - the buffoon is back

Barnaby Joyce has again reached for the tiny violin.

COMMENT: Step aside Boris Johnson, we have a new "buffoon".
I'd forgotten about Barnaby Joyce.

Which is a good thing given that for a while there he was in the news so often I wanted to tear my hair out.

The bumbling Barnaby, accused of having an affair with one of his staff members and getting her pregnant, promoting said girlfriend to a high-paying job within his office, allegations of drunkenly pinching the bum of a random woman at a function - all the while vowing to fight on for his job as Australia's Deputy Prime Minister.

But the walls eventually caved in, the bad press and the unimpressed wife got to him, and he threw in the towel.

He was going to vanish from public life he said. He didn't, more's the pity.
And now he's back - in the most tone-deaf way possible.

Barnaby Joyce is front and centre in the Australian press this week claiming hardship.

Claiming it's "a struggle" to support two families (ummm, your choice Barnaby on the two family thing just saying) but that his salary of $211,000 is not enough.

It gets worse. He goes on to say he has to turn his heater off, no!
And that he buys the cheapest groceries, kills his own meat, doesn't go out for dinner and barely buys himself a cafe coffee.
Mate, get some cafe coffee intravenously administered and give yourself an upper cut, stat!

You can imagine the fallout in Australia from his comments.

Those offering to hold a prayer vigil for him, those offering to start a Go Fund Me page for him, those suggesting he start by whipping his kids out of flash schools, and maybe give some thought to that whole two families thing.
And don't even get me started on the furious vegans outraged he's murdering his own sheep to eat in the name of financial hardship.

Why is he saying these things you may ask? Excellent question. In order to promote an increase in unemployment benefits.
But there were probably 211,000 other ways he could've done that than cry poor on his salary.

You know it's bad when even Pauline Hanson makes a good point against you. She cited his whingeing as "ridiculous", which it is.

So Barnaby finds himself back in the centre of yet another shit storm created simply by the opening of his mouth.

You'd think he may have learned from last time, but no, he's brought out the tiny violin once more.

Unfortunately for Barnaby, there's no sympathy coming in for him, only sarcasm, memes and fury. So despite Barnaby being a New Zealand citizen, we can just be grateful we don't have to deal with him here.