Barnaby Joyce says he’ll ask the High Court to rule on his citizenship (ABC News)
Oz Kiwi opinion
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce is the latest Australian politician caught out by citizenship rules that prohibit dual nationals standing for Parliament.
Born in Australia to a New Zealand Father, Barnaby Joyce may have automatically acquired New Zealand citizenship at birth.
Find out if your Australian-born child is a dual citizen.
Barnaby Joyce not expecting to be disqualified because of NZ citizenship ‘shock’
Louise Yaxley – ABC News
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce is the latest to be caught by uncertainty over his citizenship, asking the High Court to clarify if he is eligible to be in Parliament.
Mr Joyce told Parliament the New Zealand High Commission contacted him last Thursday to say he might be a citizen of New Zealand because his father was born there.
He said he was “shocked” to hear the news.
“I have always been an Australian citizen,” he said.
The National Party leader was born in Tamworth in New South Wales in 1967.
He said his father was born in New Zealand but moved to Australia in 1947 “as a British subject — in fact we were all British subjects at that time”.
He noted that the concept of New Zealand and Australian citizenship was not created until 1948.
“Neither my parents nor I have ever applied to register me as a New Zealand citizen, the New Zealand Government has no register recognising me as an New Zealand citizen,” he said.
The High Court will consider if citizenship-by-descent is a disqualification for being a member of parliament.
Mr Joyce said the Solicitor-General had advised that he would not be disqualified by section 44 of the constitution.
But he said that he was asking the High Court to make a ruling to clarify the situation.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Mr Joyce should remain as Deputy Prime Minister because the legal advice was so strong.
Last week the Senate referred four cases to the High Court to decide on eligibility.
Nationals Senator Matt Canavan and One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts will both argue in the High Court that they should not be disqualified as dual citizens.
Two Greens Senators — Scott Ludlam and Larissa Waters — have both quit after conceding they are dual citizens.
The High Court will make a ruling about the process for replacing the two Greens.
[Read the ABC article].
