I was born overseas and I have run for the federal parliament. This was in 1983, 34 years ago. Of course I checked to see whether I had a nationality other than Australian. It is a basic requirement that you have only Australian citizenship. This has been known for a long time.

Given the dire consequences of being elected and not checking, it is incomprehensible that the Greens candidates have been so negligent. But why should I be surprised when their platform is a fantasy, and many of their supporters break the law, because if the law is wrong, then it is their moral right to do so?

It seems that the potential successor to Senator Waters, Andrew Bartlett, may also be disqualified because he worked for a university when the election was held. His defence - that this can't be right because there has never been a challenge - suggests similar incompetence to the others.

And now we have academics like George Williams saying Section 44 of the constitution ought to be amended because of these disqualifications. Where were they when Senator Bob Day was ruled ineligible because of a very tenuous benefit from the crown?

In my view these senators should be excluded. The law is clear, and if you can't be trusted to get something so simple correct, surely you have failed the competency test for being a senator.

Graham,

I think that this is due to an overdeveloped sense of entitlement, and the belief that their cause is so just that anyone that disagrees with them is heartless or bigoted, that any law that obstructs them must be wrong and removed, and the irony that they were happy to have these same laws applied to others eludes them.

This sums it up:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DFFh557UIAAhMFu.jpg:large

"and many of their (Greens) supporters break the law, because if the law is wrong, then it is their moral right to do so?"

Graham, can you provide evidence to support that claim. Is it all encompassing? Would it apply to Jews who defied the Nazi Nuremberg laws, or Mahatma Gandhi's defiance of British Salt laws.
I take it from your post you are disparaging of law breakers. no matter the circumstances. I'm not suggesting you support the Nazi's or the British for that matter.

Just on citizenship, did the Liberal senator Eric Abetz, ever sit in the Federal Parliament whilst not being an Australian citizen? Something Abetz has not been quick to clear up.

I also note there is a well posted thread on this subject 'The Remarkable Mr Ludlum' I once submitted a thread that you rejected on the grounds "someone has beaten you to it!" Or are you just stoking the fire a bit on this one. I hope there is no bias here.

And since you raised it "I have run for the federal parliament" was that for a political party or as an independent?

It doesn't surprise that academics are just as prone to cognitive errors as the rest of the public. They each have their own world view to protect, whatever that is and that is fertile ground for error that is very hard for individual himself to identify. Then there are other influences, such as the present focus by Western humanities academics on being 'progressive'. A fad that is supported by a very sinister and systemic political correctness.

Then there is the effect of topical 'issues' that only look like a common 'problems' or of any consequence because some of the commentariat make it so and tabloids have columns to fill (and TV jocks precious sound bites to be 'controversial' or more usually now, to display their faux morality by conforming to the political correct 'Progressive' mantras. Say something often enough...

It would behove any who are going through tertiary study or have completed it (Everyone! But here I am focussing on products of Western universities) to force themselves to break out of the 'Progressive' bubble and seek company and inputs from elsewhere. That is to overcome a bias that is reinforced by Mr Google and ors who quickly detect confirmation bias especially and narrow attention, choices and attention even further. In universities for instance, humanities undergraduates, especially from sociology in certain universities, often judge the science-oriented professions as 'conservative'. They should think about and question earnestly, why they might believe that to be the case. It could be self illuminating and hopefully cause them too to value evidence.

The original poster is right of course to wonder about the politically self-serving indignation and flurry that demand Constitutional change just because the negligent few have had their chickens come home to roost. However it is just that.

Hi Paul, you demonstrate you're no respecter of rules either. Moderation decisions are not up for discussion on the site, but I'm going to show a little bit of flexibility and leave this one. You wanted to start a thread literally minutes after an identical one was started, which you know. No point having threads running in parallel minutes apart. The one to which you now refer is 6 days old, and there have been lots of developments since.

It's a bit rich to try and use Ghandi to cloak the criminality of the CFMEU or the actions of Greenpeace supporters in vandalising buildings, building sites, logging operations etc. in some scintilla of respectability. The Greens support all sorts of illegality, but in most cases it doesn't come close to reaching the standard of being a genuine conscience issue. Their protection of the CFMEU ought to be a scandal. Not only is it basically a criminal organisation, but it is raising the cost of building in this country, costing people jobs, and denying people housing. Having created the problems, the Greens will then go on to try and exploit the victims of them for votes.

You'll have to ask Abetz about his citizenship. I'm not commenting on it here. I have no knowledge one way or the other, and not sure why I should be concerned.

And as for what party I ran for - it is pretty well-known, because unlike you I am not an anonymous poster. Google will help you out if this is a serious question.

Thank you Paul, your post say it all regarding Greens.

Personally I would go much further. I would ban all not born & raised in Oz from any representative body. It takes a lifetime to become an Ozzie, not a just few years, & we deserve to be represented by no one but full born & raised in the country Ozzies.