Greens’ Kiwi senator Scott Ludlam exposed by barrister
THE mystery informant who ended the parliamentary career of Greens deputy co-leader Scott Ludlam has been revealed.
National
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A BARRISTER with a strong interest in the Constitution was the mystery informant who ended the parliamentary career of Greens deputy co-leader Scott Ludlam, who earned more than $1.6 million while sitting in the Senate illegitimately for nine years.
John Cameron’s discovery that Mr Ludlam had never renounced his New Zealand citizenship could see the former senator asked to repay his salary as well as that of his staff, reports The Weekend Australian.
Mr Cameron, a former Aboriginal Legal Service lawyer and social justice advocate, told the paper that he was not politically motivated when he applied three weeks ago to the NZ Department of Internal Affairs to search its register of citizens.
He added: “I think the Australian Constitution is important. It is the basic law of our country.”
Mr Cameron wanted to know whether either Mr Ludlam or senator Derryn Hinch had retained their citizenship, which would have made them ineligible to be Australian senators under section 44 of the Constitution.
He learned that while Senator Hinch renounced his NZ citizenship before the last election, Mr Ludlam had remained a NZ citizen after leaving the country where he was born — in Palmerston North — when he was three.
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