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AUSTRALIAN DEPUTY PRIME Minister Barnaby Joyce’s political future is in doubt today after it emerged he has dual citizenship.
Australia does not allow dual citizens to sit in parliament.
New Zealand confirmed that his citizenship was automatically granted via his father.
The revelation has major implications for Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s Liberal-National coalition government, which won national elections last year with 76 seats in the House of Representatives — a narrow one-seat majority.
Joyce has refused to step aside, instead referring the case to the High Court, saying that the solicitor-general was confident he would not be disqualified.
Several lawmakers have fallen victim to the obscure rule in recent months, leaving parliamentarians scrambling to clarify their ancestral ties.
Dual citizenship
“Needless to say, I was shocked to receive this information,” Joyce told parliament after hearing he may be a dual citizen.
“I’ve always been an Australian citizen born in Tamworth. Neither me or my parents had any reason to believe that I may be a citizen of any other country.”
The dual citizenship crisis kicked off in July when the minor Greens party’s co-deputy leader Scott Ludlam resigned after revealing he had dual Australian-New Zealand citizenship.
The crisis soon claimed other victims, including Canadian-born Greens senator Larissa Waters and Resources Minister Matt Canavan, who left Cabinet after finding his mother signed him up to Italian citizenship in his 20s.
Joyce said he had been contacted by the New Zealand High Commission last week to advise him that he “could be a citizen of New Zealand by descent”.
While Joyce — the leader of the Nationals party — was born in Australia, he told parliament his father was born in neighbouring New Zealand and moved to Australia in 1947.
A spokesman for New Zealand Internal Affairs Minister, Peter Dunne, said there is no doubt about Joyce’s status, stating that “as far as New Zealand law goes, he is a New Zealand citizen under the Citizenship Act”.
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It’s a 116 year old law that nobody took notice of or cared about until some journalist took up a vendetta against a politician and blew the whole thing open! It is quite funny really, especially now that Barnaby is implicated.
@The Guru: “It is pretty amazing, isn’t it, that you have had two out of nine Greens Senators didn’t realise they were citizens of another country.
“It shows incredible sloppiness on their part. You know, when you nominate for Parliament, there is actually a question — you have got to address that Section 44 question and you’ve got to tick the box and confirm that you are not a citizen of another country.
Prime minister Turnbull’s comments don’t look so clever now that his deputy is involved!
@The Guru: It was probably passed its sell-by-date even 116 years ago at a time before any Australian nationalist movement.
@The Guru: it’s n
It’s not a “law” it’s the constitution…big difference
Ridiculous rule should be done away with. So he automatically gets citizenship because of his father’s heritage and that makes him less able to do his job?
@Deborah Behan: it would be ridiculous if it where a rule but it’s not, it’s the constitution, and it cannot be ignored, it requires a referendum to change it and a referendum would fail
@Boganity: what happens if you agree entitled to dual citizenship, and never take it. I reckon a lot of Australians may be eligible to Irish citizenship under the GFA – can Ireland just decide to automatically grant these and bar them from parliament. Australia could fix this by stating Australian citizens cannot be granted citizenship of any other country unless they ask for it.
@Gulliver Foyle: the constitution is clear, it’s if another country grants you citizenship, not if you choose to accept it. The Irish citizenship example you mentioned is a good one: If one of your parents is an Irish citizen you are entitled to Irish citizenship and even if you’ve never applied for it you must renounce that entitlement in writing to the Irish embassy to be legally entitled to stand for parliament
Its not that to “fix” for one it’s in the constitution and requires a referendum to change. Secondly the voters expect their representatives to be Australian, that doesn’t mean born in Australia, it means to have no other allegiances so a referendum would fail.
@Boganity: It’s more than ‘entitled to’. You are an Irish citizen. I was born in Malaysia to Irish parents. Under Malaysian law with foreign parents I was a non-citizen. I am a naturalised Australian. Dad was born in Down so I am really a citizen of 3 countries…
@Niall Connolly: yes I would say under the Australian constitution you would be considered to hold 3 citizenships. Which is not an issue unless you intend to stand for Parliament, then you’d need to renounce all but the Australian one before you sign the nomination papers. It’s really a very easy process to renounce
@Boganity: So should be straightforward for Joyce to renounce being a Kiwi. Maybe his dad was from Rotarua (NZ’s Cavan) and doesn’t want to pay the $400?!
@Gulliver Foyle: he can renounce now but he will still not be eligible to stay in parliament as he was an NZ citizen when elected. He would have to contest a by-election which would be tricky as the government only has a one seat majority and have been trailing badly in successive opinion polls fir a long period
It is fairly ridiculous. As it stands, some foreign country, say Ireland, could find out the names of the Australian members of parliament, and pass an Irish law that granted them Irish citizenship, without their consent, just for the craic. Then they’d be ineligible for the Australian parliament and would have to resign.
@Metempsychosis: the high court of Australia would see such act as an attempt to subvert the constitution of Australia and would over rule it
@Boganity: How could an Australian court overrule an Irish citizenship law? It’s out of their jurisdiction.
@Metempsychosis: Right now, Australian citizens are being disqualified from political positions because of citizenship that was foisted on them by a foreign government, without their knowledge or consent. Same thing.
@Metempsychosis: you’re right they wouldn’t, and they can’t. What I was referring to was them declaring the citizenships granted under your theoretical situation as invalid under Australian law so they would have no impact on MP’s eligibility under section 44
Sure Ozzies and Kiwis are all the same?..
@Diarmuid: sure are, almost the same as British and Irish
@Boganity: Why would it fail, looking from afar it seems a pedantic 116 year rule that does not take into account the ability of the person to do a job?
@Boganity: Almost,but not quiet.
@Billy McNamara: (a) because voters are suspicious of politicians trying to change the constitution so referenda rarely get up (b) voters agree with the requirement that their politicians do not have split loyalties (c) voters are aware of how easy it is to renounce a potential second citizenship and see a failure to do so as laziness or arrogance by their politicians
@Diarmuid: Nah, the key difference is that Kiwis pronounce ‘six’ as ‘sucks’.
@Boganity: Sure aren’t they mostly Irish and British convicts
@Jon Snow: yes the white ones are
Flintstone legislation
@Anthony Gallagher: “legislation” that’s the quaintest description of a constitution.
@Boganity: How many more times are you gonna say ‘constitution’ on this thread?
@Stephen Lyons: until idiots stop calling it a rule
It’s a stupid rule, personally i’m not sure if I have dual citizenship or not.
@Ariana: The Journal have gotten it wrong: its the constitution not a “rule”
I don’t care.
@Pat Troy: I yuh don’t why bother comment ?
@Boganity: 949 15 20
@Pat Troy: 42
In Ireland it doesn’t seem to matter how many countries you are citizen of as a flag of convenience.
Just repudiate the NZ citizenship if you’re never going to use it. It only requires going to the embassy (in the same city) and following the procedure.
@Steven C. Schulz: you don’t even have to the embassy it can be done by email
If he can do the haka then he should be allowed to keep his job.
What a complete load of rubbish.
So Leo Varadker will have to go.
@gerry fallon: No. That’s Australia. Leo Varadkar is in Ireland. Different countries with different laws.
@gerry fallon: the constitution of Australian constitution is “a complete load of rubbish” ?
@Camroc: doh! Oh really camroc?
Are they different countries camroc?
God,you are so intelligent mate,you really are.
@gerry fallon: Varadkar is not a dual citizenship because Indian nationality law would not permit him to be a citizen in his case, even if he wanted to be.
Johnny Depp will be laughing his bum off!
( Barnaby Joyce was the idiot who said he would euthanise Depps dogs when they were brought into Australia without the full customs checks)
@Dave Harris: poor Barnaby he always looks like his head is about to explode
It’s a reasonable law, politicians elected to make national laws should not be beholden to any other country.
Catherine Zappone good you chose Ireland not NZ.
@John Flood: oops … not Oz.
Oh please let it be true
have your say