Another Australian politician admits to being a dual-citizen
9 replies, posted
[quote=ABC News]New South Wales Nationals senator Fiona Nash has just told the Senate she is a British citizen by descent from her Scottish father.
She said she would be referred to the High Court but would not stand aside as deputy Nationals leader or a minister in the meantime.[/quote]
[url]http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-17/fiona-nash-says-she-is-a-british-citizen-will-not-stand-aside/8817998[/url]
[highlight](User was banned for this post ("Editorialized Title" - Mezzokoko))[/highlight]
I love this. Everyone was laughing at the Greens when it came out, now it turns out everyone is just as bad.
the only way this can get better comedy-wise is if the High Court gives them all the boot.
It's going to get to the point where only people that were ACTUALLY born overseas can become politicians because they can at least be sure they've renounced their other citizenships :v:
Why is there not some motion to have this whole farce dismissed as an unfortunate set of special circumstances?
I feel like the original rule's meaning was very clear, and no politician currently falling foul of it could be considered as actually acting duplicitous.
I get that the current party's majority is 1 seat I believe and so this could potentially change the majority party, but hasn't this left casualties on all sides?
[QUOTE=subenji99;52583146]Why is there not some motion to have this whole farce dismissed as an unfortunate set of special circumstances?
I feel like the original rule's meaning was very clear, and no politician currently falling foul of it could be considered as actually acting duplicitous.
I get that the current party's majority is 1 seat I believe and so this could potentially change the majority party, but hasn't this left casualties on all sides?[/QUOTE]
It can't be simply dismissed, because it's codified in our constitution. We aren't as batshit crazy about our constitution as America is, but the High Court is obliged to rule on potential breaches of it. Hence why half of the politicians caught up in all of this have referred themselves to the High Court.
The original meaning is very clear, but the problem we're facing is because of changing circumstances since the constitution was first implemented back in 1901. Back then, there was no such thing as an Australian citizen - Australians were British subjects, indistinct from British subjects living in New Zealand, Canada, or the motherland itself. But since then, each country had gradually implemented their own citizenship laws, and our High Court has already determined that to be a citizen of those other countries is to be a citizen of a foreign power. Hence why this is now a problem.
Politicians on all sides have been affected by this, yes. If members resign from the Senate, the countback rules will mean that someone else from their party will probably be thrust into that seat, but it can be a problem for the government if a member from a marginal seat in the House does resign and force a by-election.
I mean, this has the potential to topple the government
Not saying it will, just that there is a set of circumstances that exists now that could lead that to happen
[editline]17th August 2017[/editline]
[QUOTE=subenji99;52583146]Why is there not some motion to have this whole farce dismissed as an unfortunate set of special circumstances?
I feel like the original rule's meaning was very clear, and no politician currently falling foul of it could be considered as actually acting duplicitous.
I get that the current party's majority is 1 seat I believe and so this could potentially change the majority party, but hasn't this left casualties on all sides?[/QUOTE]
Not yet on Labor (so far)
Im just gonna quote myself from earlier
[QUOTE=Sableye;52570334]2017 shall go down as the Kiwi Scare, where dozens of kiwis and canucks were forcibly purged from the government.[/QUOTE]
Wait, I did some further reading: was this entire political Pandora's Box opened all because of one lawyer's personal witchhunt?
[url]http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:D8H0_H3WB50J:www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/greens-kiwi-senator-scott-ludlam-exposed-by-barrister/news-story/c6f419199a90be3830248777556503a5+[/url]
[QUOTE=download;52583245]I suspect they only intended to ensnare Greens.[/QUOTE]
Ah, that makes sense now.
[QUOTE=subenji99;52583229]Wait, I did some further reading: was this entire political Pandora's Box opened all because of one lawyer's personal witchhunt?
[url]http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:D8H0_H3WB50J:www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/greens-kiwi-senator-scott-ludlam-exposed-by-barrister/news-story/c6f419199a90be3830248777556503a5+[/url][/QUOTE]
I suspect they only intended to ensnare Greens.
[QUOTE=download;52583245]I suspect they only intended to ensnare Greens.[/QUOTE]
The dramatic unrealistic side of me always suspected it to be a plot by the greens to take down government, but that makes more sense
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.