Skye Kakoschke-Moore resigns over dual British citizenship
Nick Xenophon Team senator Skye Kakoschke-Moore has resigned over her dual British citizenship but it’s unknown who’ll fill the vacancy.
Nick Xenophon Team senator Skye Kakoschke-Moore has quit parliament after confirming she was British, becoming the ninth MP forced out of the parliament due to the citizenship chaos.
Senator Kakoschke-Moore vowed she would run for the Senate at the next election after announcing she had British citizenship by descent because her mother was born in Singapore in 1957 when it was still a British colony.
She defended waiting more than three months after the citizenship issue came to light before asking the British Home Office to confirm her status.
She only made inquiries last week when it became apparent all MPs would have to prove they had renounced any entitlement to foreign citizenship.
“At that time I had no knowledge that Singapore was a colony at the time that my mother was born, Senator Kakoschke-Moore said.
“I had always acted in good faith based on information that had been provided to my family by a British Embassy that I was not a British citizen.
“I had no reason to doubt that. I thought it was in the best interests of the Senate that I get clarification and confirmation I wasn’t a British citizen but it turns out I am and that is why I am resigning today.”
The British Home Office told her she was a dual citizen on Friday and a barrister confirmed the advice was accurate last night.
Senator Kakoschke-Moore said she would run for the Senate at the next election rather than making a tilt into state politics in South Australia under the SA-BEST banner.
Former senator Nick Xenophon said the High Court would be asked to determine how her vacancy will be filled.
He said there were questions over whether former candidate Tim Storer could take the position because he had been kicked out of the party. Mr Storer — an Adelaide business consultant who was fourth on the ticket for the Nick Xenophon Team at the last election — attempted to take Mr Xenophon’s spot in the Senate despite the party leader choosing Rex Patrick as his replacement.
“He is a very good person but there are issues here about him not being a member of the party,” Mr Xenophon said.
“Our initial advice is that there are some important legal issues and it is uncharted legal territory.”
Mr Xenophon said it was a “completely set of circumstances” to his lower house MP Rebekha Sharkie who has referred herself to the High Court for fears she may be ineligible because she did not properly rescind her British citizenship before she was nominated as a candidate.
He said Ms Sharkie was in a “very strong position” but acknowledged there could be a by-election depending on the decision of the High Court.
“It is a completely different set of circumstances about reasonable steps and Rebekha Sharkie actually took steps to renounce any entitlements of UK citizenship on 19 April,” Mr Xenophon said.
“The election was called on 7 May, the Home Office pocketed the money, charged her credit card on 30 May, as I understand it. But it was a number of days before Rebekha Sharkie nominated.”
Senator Kakoschke-Moore outlined details of how she became a foreign citizen:
• My mother was born in the former Colony of Singapore before independence. This gave her citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies under section 4 of the British Nationality Act 1948.
• She was excepted from the loss of this status when Singapore attained independence (on 16/9/1963) because her father was born in the UK.
• She went on to obtain Right of Abode in the UK under the Immigration Act 1971 when it came into force — by virtue of her father’s birth in the UK and her birth in a Commonwealth country with a UK born parent.
• When the British Nationality Act 1981 came into force on 1/1/1983, the net effect of all this is that my mother became a British citizen under section 11(1) of that Act ‘otherwise than by descent’. She was therefore able to pass her citizenship on to any children born to her outside the UK. I am therefore a British citizen under section 2(1) a of the British Nationality Act 1981.
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