Constitution says
THE issue of dual citizenship is making an absolute mockery of our federal parliament.
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The constitution is clear, if you hold dual citizenship or bear allegiance to a foreign country, you are not eligible to either run as a candidate or sit in the parliament.
A declaration is signed by candidates on nomination, that meet these fundamental requirements.
If there is any doubt at all about current sitting members, they should all be referred to the High Court for ruling.
Here in Tasmania, Justine Keay is refusing to produce documents to confirm that she has renounced her dual citizenship with the UK.Not good enough.
Nick McKim has produced a letter of receipt of his application RN form, but not confirmation that he has been renounced.
He sent the RN form via post and didn't bother even checking if the UK received it until a couple of weeks ago.
How could he sign a declaration in 2016 that he was not a UK citizen, when he didn't even know if the form had been received?
Had he bothered to check, he would know he had not been renounced. Again not good enough.
We deserve better than this from our elected politicians.
Send them off to the High Court and hopefully this will be the last we see of them.
Then we might get some people who respect the privilege of the position they are elected to hold, and the respect of the people they represent.
Chelsea Stuart, Devonport.
Does it matter?
ON THIS morning's news the controversy regarding citizenship is becoming quite a bore.
If they carry on in this way soon there will be no government left.
Why is it so important to be all Australian?
Does it really matter that Barnaby Joyce has a Kiwi father?
Aren't we supposed to be neighbours with New Zealand?
Apparently friends from other countries aren't what our government wants.
Every day the parliament's question time is an all out sniping war to see who can outdo the other instead of running the country.
Everybody argues but that is not the point.
Mr. Cecil Neil Guy, Youngtown.
Just words
APPARENTLY our Constitution states that any person holding dual nationality may not serve in our Parliament.
This seems pretty clear to most of us, but not to two prominent politicians serving in the present government.
They seem to believe that the High Court may redefine may not as maybe can.
I wish them luck.
If the High Court is able to reinterpret “No” as meaning “Yes”, then surely they shouldn’t have much trouble in accepting our indigenous people into our constitution.
After all, it just requires a few words and, what’s in a string of words? Even politicians take no notice of them.
Chris Hayton, Trevallyn.
Barnaby Joyce
WITH REFERENCE Barnaby Joyce’s borderline intelligible verbiage, which has confused and confounded many Australians for quite a period of time, a reason for the Deputy Prime Minister’s elocution prowess has emerged – he was a New Zealander until his recent citizenship announcement.
Kenneth Gregson, Swansea.