Dual citizenship crisis: Five parliamentarians out in catastrophic day
DEPUTY Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce was one of five dual-citizen politicians yesterday booted out of federal parliament on a potentially devastating day for the Turnbull government.
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DEPUTY Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce was one of five dual-citizen politicians yesterday booted out of federal parliament on a potentially devastating day for the Turnbull government.
Mr Joyce was the most senior figure disqualified by an unprecedented verdict by the High Court, which stripped the government of its one-seat majority.
As well as Mr Joyce, Nationals deputy leader Fiona Nash, Greens senators Scott Ludlam and Larissa Waters and One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts were also all ruled dual citizens and therefore ineligible to remain in parliament.
However, the High Court ruled Nationals senator Matt Canavan, who was forced to resign from cabinet when he discovered he held Italian citizenship, and crossbencher Nick Xenophon are both eligible to remain.
Mr Xenophon has already announced he will be leaving to run for the South Australian parliament.
Mr Joyce had discovered he held New Zealand citizenship in August when the New Zealand High Commissioner requested a meeting with him to tell him he was eligible for a Kiwi passport as his father was born there.
“It’s clearly not the outcome we were hoping for but the business of government goes on.”
Making a point of wearing his trademark Akubra hat, Mr Joyce, who has recently been facing a crisis in his personal life, said he had felt in his “gut” the High Court was going to disqualify him.
“I always expected this was going to be tough going. We’re off to a by-election. Love me or hate me, I think I work pretty hard,” he said.
A by-election in Mr Joyce’s seat of New England will now be held on December 2, which Mr Turnbull said Mr Joyce would approach with “enthusiasm, determination and humility”.
One Nation is yet to decide whether to run a candidate while Mr Joyce’s archrival Tony Windsor is not running and research suggests Mr Joyce will win the majority of the primary vote.
He immediately went into campaign mode and last night was commiserating and chatting with locals at the Longyard pub in East Tamworth.
Mr Turnbull, who last night delayed a scheduled trip to Israel after infighting on who would lead the country in his absence, moved to try to restore confidence in his government yesterday, saying he still had a majority of members in the House of Representatives, even with Mr Joyce’s absence, and had the support of the crossbench.
The decision means the government will need the support of at least one crossbench MP on the floor of parliament’s lower house for confidence, supply and any legislation.
Labor has indicated it will seize on the High Court decision.
“It’s clearly not the outcome we were hoping for but the business of government goes on,” the PM said.
He chose to keep Mr Joyce in his cabinet and as Deputy Leader, saying he was confident the court would clear him.
Now the Prime Minister will ask a joint parliamentary committee to look at changing Section 44 of the Constitution and electoral laws to “ensure in our multicultural society that all Australians are able to confidently stand for and serve in our parliament”.
However, Labor has indicated it will seize on the High Court decision.
Opposition deputy leader Tanya Plibersek has threatened to challenge all decisions made by Mr Joyce and Ms Nash since October last year, declaring them “under a legal cloud”.
Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion will step into Mr Joyce’s shoes as Nationals leader until the New England result is determined.
Meanwhile, a relieved Mr Canavan, who had already been scouting new job opportunities, was sworn back into the Turnbull government as Resources Minister yesterday afternoon.
Mr Turnbull was sworn in as the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Communications Minister Mitch Fifield took control of the regional communications portfolio and Infrastructure Minister Darren Chester will act as the Minister for Regional Development.
The citizenship scandal that engulfed Canberra was set into motion by a lawyer in Perth who discovered the Greens Mr Ludlam was a New Zealand citizen.
This was quickly followed by the revelation his colleague, Ms Waters, held Canadian citizenship because she was born there.
Both resigned from parliament immediately.
Chief Justice Susan Kiefel delivered a 44-page judgment to a packed, silent court.
The court said that while some may suggest it is “harsh” to disqualify dual citizens who were born in Australia and never had a reason to consider themselves citizens of other countries, nominating for a federal election should be enough for them to check.
“Proof of a candidate’s knowledge of his or her foreign citizenship status … is not necessary to bring about the disqualifying operation of s 44(i),” the judgment reads.