The Australian Constitution, the ‘birth certificate of our nation' provides the basic rules for the government of Australia.
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It clearly states you are not eligible to run for parliament if you have dual citizenship.
Member for New England Barnaby Joyce (pictured) faces a high court cases over his citizenship and he has insisted on remaining in his cabinet post while the matter is heard, unlike his colleague Matt Canavan who resigned as a minister. Nationals deputy Fiona Nash, who discovered she has Scottish citizenship by descent, has also stayed in the cabinet.
There is a very real risk that if the High Court finds Nash, Joyce and Canavan should not have been elected, any decisions they have made as ministers could be open to legal challenge, according to Constitutional law experts.
Sydney University Professor of Constitutional Law Anne Twomey said it would be better if decision making was made by acting ministers until their cases are resolved.
“It would be prudent for those ministers who are currently under a cloud concerning their lawful occupation of office to cease to make decisions which are contentious or might give rise to legal challenges with significant consequences,” she said in an article she wrote last week.
It is simple, to avoid this outcome Nash and Joyce should stop playing games and step down from the front bench.
Greens Senators Scott Ludlum and Larissa Waters resigned from parliament when they discovered they had dual citizenship.
Nash, Joyce and Canavan would rightly be surprised by the developments. Mr Joyce was born in Australia, and one would think that would be enough to be a ‘valid’ representative of the people in our parliament.
But rules are rules. There should not be one rule for one party and one rule for another. They are all parliamentarians, and therefore they should all abide by the same standards.
If the High Court finds that Mr Joyce was not validly elected, his seat would be subject to a by-election. He would run again as he has now renounced his New Zealand citizenship and more than likely he would hold the seat.
But until then, the politicians who are due to face the High Court should at the very least step down from the ministry, to avoid further potential legal challenges against their decisions. Rules are rules, and no one should be exempt.