Scramble to prevent dual citizenship vote
Inquiry recommends Turnbull government prepare for referendum but warns it might not be well-received
Candidates will have to disclose the birthplace and citizenship of themselves, their parents and grandparents before the next federal election under changes announced by the Turnbull government to try and put an end to Australia’s citizenship crisis without a referendum.
Yesterday an inquiry examining Section 44 of the constitution warned that, without a referendum, elections could be subject to “manipulation” by challenges against candidates with dual citizenship or other disqualifications.
Despite the electoral matters committee’s bipartisan push for a referendum to reform or repeal section 44 of the constitution, the special minister of state, Mathias Cormann, confirmed the government is “not inclined to pursue a referendum”.
Eligibility issues
Instead the government will pursue steps “to minimise the risk of a recurrence of the eligibility issues” that have plagued the 45th parliament, in which 14 parliamentarians have resigned or been ruled ineligible since mid-2017 due to dual citizenship.
The Turnbull government set up the inquiry into section 44 by the joint standing committee on electoral matters after the high court ruled five senators and MPs ineligible in October. In a bipartisan report released yesterday, the committee recommended the government prepare a referendum question to either repeal all the disqualifications for standing for parliament in section 44 or to give parliament the power to set the disqualifications itself.
But the committee acknowledged a referendum “will not be positively received by Australians and the outcome ... is uncertain”.
It accepted the “pre-conditions for a successful referendum on this issue will take time” and cannot be achieved before the “Super Saturday” by-elections triggered by the high court’s ruling against Katy Gallagher or before the next federal election.
In November the Turnbull government introduced a new citizenship register requiring current and future parliamentarians to reveal their birthplace, that of their parents and grandparents and to produce documents showing renunciation of foreign citizenship 21 days after their election.
Yesterday an inquiry examining Section 44 of the constitution warned that, without a referendum, elections could be subject to “manipulation”.