August 18th 2017

Australia's dual citizenship crisis: Will the Malcolm Turnbull government fall?
18 Aug 2017

Another MP's name has emerged in Australia's dual citizenship crisis. Government Senator Fiona Nash, a UK citizen, will now have her eligibility decided by the High Court.

According to laws, a politician with dual citizenship cannot hold office.

In one month, the status of at least six MPs has been thrown into uncertainty- it appears many were in the assumption they were Australian citizens.

How did the crisis start?
The crisis

Section 44 of the Australian Constitution prohibits a person holding dual citizenship from contesting for parliament.

The recent crisis started when Greens party's co-deputy leader Scott Ludlam resigned on July 14; he has Australian-New Zealand citizenship.

Ludlam, who left NZ when he was three, said he was unaware of the situation till a week ago, when someone had "done the digging, for whatever reason".

What happened then?
The victims

In the next weeks, more names emerged: Matt Canavan (former resources minister, possibly an Italian citizen); Senator Malcolm Roberts (claims he has renounced UK citizenship); and Larissa Waters (former senator, Canadian citizen).

However, the highest-profile case is of Barnaby Joyce, Deputy PM (National). If Joyce is deemed ineligible for office, the government might fall.

Most claimed they weren't aware of their dual-citizenship status.

The close shaves
FACT

Politicians are doing their best to clear their citizenship status. Former PM Tony Abbott tweeted official documents of renunciation of his British citizenship. MP Justine Keay will probably be safe: she applied for renunciation of British citizenship before elections, though confirmation came a week later.

What will happen now?
Next

The first hearing to decide on these parliamentarian's eligibility is on August 24.

Disqualification of a House of Representatives member might trigger a by-election, throwing the coalition government into uncertainty; it has a majority of just one.

Meanwhile, others might get trapped too: according to 2016 census, almost half of Australia's 24mn people were born overseas or have at least one parent born overseas.

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