The Great Goose
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- Sep 26, 2015
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CANBERRA, Australia — The 116-year-old constitutional ban on dual citizens sitting in Parliament is a problem Australia didn’t know it had until recently, but now it may struggle to fix it.
Seven lawmakers have revealed since July that they might have been citizens of another country when they stood for election last year. They include three ministers in a minor coalition party, The Nationals. The opposition has now dubbed the party “The Multinationals.”
Before the current crisis, only two dual-citizen lawmakers had ever been caught out by the prohibition. Critics say the ban no longer suits modern multicultural Australia, where almost half the population was born overseas or has at least one overseas-born parent.
AP Explains: How ban on dual-citizen lawmakers vexes Aussies
Seven lawmakers have revealed since July that they might have been citizens of another country when they stood for election last year. They include three ministers in a minor coalition party, The Nationals. The opposition has now dubbed the party “The Multinationals.”
Before the current crisis, only two dual-citizen lawmakers had ever been caught out by the prohibition. Critics say the ban no longer suits modern multicultural Australia, where almost half the population was born overseas or has at least one overseas-born parent.
AP Explains: How ban on dual-citizen lawmakers vexes Aussies