After 2 Australian dual-citizens resign from Parliament, up to 23 others rush to clarify citizenship
11 replies, posted
[quote=ABC News]There are 23 other Australian politicians aside from Scott Ludlam and Larissa Waters who were born overseas.
Of the 23, almost half of them have now moved to clarify their citizenship in the wake of their colleagues' bungles.
Ms Waters resigned from Federal Parliament yesterday after realising she held dual citizenship and was ineligible to serve under section 44 of the Australian constitution, which states:
[i]"Any person who is under any acknowledgment of allegiance, obedience, or adherence to a foreign power, or is a subject or a citizen or entitled to the rights or privileges of a subject or a citizen of a foreign power shall be incapable of being chosen or of sitting as a senator or a member of the House of Representatives."[/i]
Mr Ludlam resigned on Friday after admitting he had been ineligible for nine years.[/quote]
Read more at [url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-19/australian-politicians-born-overseas-jump-to-clarify-citizenship/8721994]ABC News[/url]. The list of former dual-citizens who have made statements include Iranian-born, Halal Snack Pack enthusiast Sam Dastyari, UK-born former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, and Singaporean-born Ian Goodenough.
[QUOTE=Kiwi;52483941]This is becoming a bit of a shit show. Why are dual citizenships ships a problem? I'm someone who does hold one and I only see benefits honestly.
If you represent an Australian parliament with an Australian citizenship I don't see why its an issue when you have a British one.
[editline]19th July 2017[/editline]
I might be completely ignorant about it so I'm open to any reasons why us an issue but honestly it seems like it causes more trouble than it needs to be.[/QUOTE]
being a dual citizen, could potentially mean that your real allegiances might lay with a foreign country as opposed to the one you're actually representing.
[QUOTE=Kiwi;52483941]This is becoming a bit of a shit show. Why are dual citizenships ships a problem? I'm someone who does hold one and I only see benefits honestly.
If you represent an Australian parliament with an Australian citizenship I don't see why its an issue when you have a British one.
[editline]19th July 2017[/editline]
I might be completely ignorant about it so I'm open to any reasons why us an issue but honestly it seems like it causes more trouble than it needs to be.[/QUOTE]
One probable reason for that part of the constitution, aside from the whole 'agent for a foreign power' argument, is that in matters of international affairs, a politician with dual-citizenship may have a conflict of interest in acting in good faith for their constituents and Australia's interests, or voting in a way which would have a material difference to Australia's affairs with the other country that they are a citizen of.
For example, consider trade laws. If for some reason Australia wishes to place an embargo on another country, which would have benefits for Australia and would disadvantage that other country (potentially causing a recession, default and massive unemployment), a dual-citizen in Australia's parliament may have their decision-making process impacted by loyalty to one country versus the other.
[QUOTE=MrBunneh;52483952]being a dual citizen, could potentially mean that your real allegiances might lay with a foreign country as opposed to the one you're actually representing.[/QUOTE]
Which is silly given how many terrorists are born in the country they act in
NZ should not be listed as a foreign nation and I got no problem with people holding Dual Citizenship in Commonwealth countries headed by the Monarch because the likelihood to conspire with them is pretty much diminished since we're all on the same page
[QUOTE=MrBunneh;52483952]being a dual citizen, could potentially mean that your real allegiances might lay with a foreign country as opposed to the one you're actually representing.[/QUOTE]
ya but this sort of thing has happened in the US and to my knowledge no congressman/senator has ever resigned because of it, instead they just sort of fill out the proper forms and move on.
Huh, I'm surprised nobody brought this up when we had gillard.
[QUOTE=MrBunneh;52483952]being a dual citizen, could potentially mean that your real allegiances might lay with a foreign country as opposed to the one you're actually representing.[/QUOTE]
I really don't get what citizenship has to do with that though. If someone was actually colluding with a foreign country, one could assume they could simply renounce their citizenship of the other country, do whatever evil deeds you intended, and then the country they colluding with could just make them a citizen again after they were done.
[QUOTE=Sableye;52485182]ya but this sort of thing has happened in the US and to my knowledge no congressman/senator has ever resigned because of it, instead they just sort of fill out the proper forms and move on.[/QUOTE]
Australian politicians generally have integrity and honour. One classic example I always like to bring up is the case of a New South Wales Premier (head of government) who once resigned because he failed to declare receiving a gift of a bottle of wine.
[editline]20th July 2017[/editline]
[QUOTE=fruxodaily;52485112]NZ should not be listed as a foreign nation and I got no problem with people holding Dual Citizenship in Commonwealth countries headed by the Monarch because the likelihood to conspire with them is pretty much diminished since we're all on the same page[/QUOTE]
When you think about the context, that actually wouldn't have been a problem when Australia federated in 1901. Back then, Australians weren't considered Australian citizens, but rather, they were still subjects of the British Empire. I would wager that anyone who was a subject of the British Empire, whether an Australian, Brit, Kiwi or Canadian, would have been eligible to stand under section 44.
However of course, Australian citizenship eventually became a thing sometime in the post-war period (sorry that I can't be more-specific), and although we're still in the Commonwealth, we are no longer British subjects. So as far as the current wording of the constitution is concerned, British and New Zealand citizens would be ineligible to serve under section 44.
[quote=Shameless Wikipedia quote]The relationship between Australian citizenship and a citizen of the British Empire or Commonwealth continued to evolve. [b]In 1986, the Australia Act 1986 severed almost all of the last remaining constitutional links between the United Kingdom and Australia. Subsequently, in 1988, for the first time, the High Court ruled that anyone who was not an Australian citizen, whether or not a subject of the Monarch of the United Kingdom, was an alien.[/b][5][/quote]
[url]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_nationality_law[/url]
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