ttbn,

Thanks. But I will wait on the High Court decision.

I just shake my head where some of them are concerned. Particularly in the Senate where there is time to get some interests and concentrate on them for the betterment of the country.

If anyone wants to go back over my posts on this subject I have always held the opinion that they should be judged as any ordinary person might and enjoy the same justice.

Dear Shadow Minister,

I acknowledge the tempered language thank you.

On your point about location of birth is correct, a person born here is regarded as a natural born Australian. If it is to a permanent resident or an Australian citizen, or if they live here for more than 10 years, then they are automatically deemed a citizen. But we are talking about something different, dual citizenship.

You would need to make the case that a person born to Australian parents while in another country would more likely need to validate their singular citizenship status than a person born here to an unnaturalised foreign national. I don't think it is sustainable.

Larrisa waters got pinged on a law that changed a week before she was born. She did not whinge and carry on but stepped straight up to the plate and resigned.

Ultimately Joyce has been deemed to have been a dual citizen at the time of the last election full stop. More than that all he had to do was go to the NZ government website to confirm his status.

http://www.news.com.au/national/politics/simple-new-zealand-citizenship-test-could-have-saved-barnaby-joyce/news-story/84aa3321f1e92a22eefb790ebcd755eb

He is about to cost the taxpayers a stack of money sorting this out and you seem to be giving him a free pass. Why?

SR,

Thanks for your restrained language too.

Just about every OECD country (and many others too) grant citizenship automatically on birth in the country with very few exceptions and exemptions. And even most superficial due diligence would have worked it out to the point where MW as a lawyer could be disbarred for signing a statutory document without checking. Whereas only very few grant citizenship to descendants without an application. (NZ is the only one I know of now)

For example, I have dual British Aus citizenship because my father who was born in the UK applied for it when I was 17. If he had not done so, I could only have gained citizenship after 18 if I resided in the UK for 3yrs.

Also if BJ had enquired to the NZ consulate as to his citizenship status without giving his lineage, the answer would have been in the negative, as he was not registered in any form in NZ.

To sum up, while LW's and SL's cases are non-existent BJ's depending on a liberal interpretation from the HC is weak but far from non-existent. And according to the law, he is entitled to continue to sit in parliament until his status is determined. If he loses there will be a by election which given the margin he won by last time is pretty much a shoo in. Noticeably the ones baying for him to stand down are the same people that insisted that it was OK for Thomson to remain in Parliament.

Given the previous don't ask don't tell nature of the Parliament up to now, the 5 Labor MPs whose dual citizenships are questionable are not obliged to reveal proof. However, MT is perfectly entitled to refer them to the high court.

Shadow, as one who calls for Barney to stand down I never thought it "OK for Thomson to remain in Parliament". The bloke was an utter grub, a known fact from the outset. The bloke you wanted gone was Slippery Pete.
Turnball's should refer the 5 Labor members to the High Court. He should do the same with any other MP's he has doubts about, including his own.

Cory Bernadi has called on Turnbull to suspend parliament until the dodgy matter of Joyce's citizenship has been cleared up. Not likely to happen, but it should happen.

To the end of June 2017 the Senate had only sat 25 days. With the 'gay this' and 'gay that' and other 'Progressive' priorities that waste Parliament's time, how many productive hours in that 25?

The problem for Senators is that their absence might be noticed and in a positive way. Many are tiresome nags who have never had an original idea and are experts on their own entitlements.

What about 2 + 2 yrs for Senators and having served two lots of two, that's it, give someone else a go. Or simply get rid of the Senate. While they are at it, ease out the ABC or SBS. Expensive redundancy that constantly finds meddling in politics a time-filling pastime.