Citizenship saga claims its ninth casualty
THE Federal Parliament is bracing for more referrals to the High Court after South Australian Senator Skye Kakoschke-Moore became the ninth MP to announce she will resign over the scandal.
Senator Kakoschke-Moore, of the Nick Xenophon Team, will resign from Parliament after discovering she was a British citizen by descent.
A December 5 deadline for MPs to disclose any dual citizenship concerns has the Turnbull Government and Opposition expecting more members to follow suit within weeks. The Government has already endured four of its MPs being dismissed over their citizenship, including deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce and Bennelong MP John Alexander, who are currently fighting by-elections.
Up to four Labor MPs face questions over whether they were dual citizens before being elected to Parliament. There are also questions over another NXT member – Mayo MP Rebekha Sharkie – after her UK citizenship was not formally renounced until after nominations for the 2016 election.