Labor backbencher Susan Lamb has responded to a Coalition push for her to be ousted under Section 44 by detailing the circumstances that led to the rejection of her application to renounce her British citizenship in an emotional speech to parliament.
Lamb applied to renounce her British citizenship two weeks before her election in 2016, but it was rejected because she was unable to provide her parents’ marriage certificate. Speaking to the House of Reps this afternoon, she explained that she was unable to access the certificate due to being estranged from her mother since the age of 6:
It is a complex and a traumatic story — a story that I don’t usually share. One day when I was around six years old my mum dropped me off at school and she never came back to pick me up. . .I don’t speak about this trauma. So when people ask me why I couldn’t just call my mother, well, this is why. I hope this story gives you the answer.
When her father passed away 20 years ago, after raising her as a single parent following the disappearance of her mother, she no longer had contact with anyone that would allow her to get the marriage certificate under Queensland law.
You can watch her speech below:
WATCH: Susan Lamb shared an emotional explanation in the House of Representatives as to why she can’t access her #citizenship documents #auspol pic.twitter.com/ubcCFfVggU
— ABC Politics (@politicsabc) February 7, 2018
I’m not an expert on constitutional law but I do know they’re going to look like a real bunch of cocks if they keep pushing this one, hey.
