If you wanted to sum up the last month or so of Australian politics to someone, it might go a little something like this: a whole shitload of pollies have worked out they’re ineligible to sit in Parliament under a section of the Constitution few people understand, and most of Australia couldn’t give two shits about it.
Well… there’s more. Centrist darling of the Senate Nick Xenophon might also have a bit of a dual citizenship problem. Apparently, he’s “seeking clarification” on whether he might be a British citizen.\
#BREAKING South Australian senator Nick Xenophon is seeking clarification to establish whether he is a British citizen.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) August 18, 2017
Basically, Xenophon’s old man came to Australia as a British citizen. He was from Cyprus, which was a British territory until 1960. So it’s entirely possible that Nick has inherited British citizenship, which would present the exact same issue under section 44 of the Constitution that has plagued Parliament since Scott Ludlam resigned.
.@Nick_Xenophon is ‘seeking clarification’ on whether he may be a British citizen. More: https://t.co/PlTWQVATPe #auspol pic.twitter.com/vIFT1xrMbf
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) August 18, 2017
He’s checking with the Home Office to confirm.
At this point, we should dissolve Parliament and govern this country as a loose confederacy of fiefdoms ruled by biker warlords, a la Mad Max. Might be a bit more stable.
