Baaaanaby Joyce is a Kiwi and the excuses are flowing as the government could fall in a by-election:
The deputy prime minister’s case has been referred to the High Court along with that of his colleague, Nationals Senator Matthew Canavan, who has stood aside from cabinet until it is resolved.
On several occasions in past weeks Mr Joyce has openly mocked questions from journalists about whether he had any Kiwi ancestry but on Monday, New Zealand’s prime minister Bill English confirmed Mr Joyce is a citizen. The revelation came one week after Fairfax Media sent Mr Joyce’s office questions about his citizenship status.
Section 44 of the constitution proscribes disqualification for “any person who is under any acknowledgment of allegiance, obedience, or adherence to a foreign power, or is a subject or a citizen or entitled to the rights or privileges of a subject or a citizen of a foreign power.”
But the attorney-general says Mr Joyce’s election won’t be invalidated, insisting the court will accept Mr Joyce’s explanation that he didn’t know he was a citizen of another country, as it was inherited through his father.
Experts are not so sure at The Guardian:
…two leading law experts, George Williams from the University of New South Wales, and Anne Twomey from the University of Sydney, cautioned the prime minister against such unqualified confidence.
“On the face of it, [Joyce] is disqualified,” Williams told Guardian Australia on Monday.
Williams said Joyce was “in clear difficulty” unless the high court resolved upon a more “generous interpretation” of the current constitutional requirements which forbid dual citizenships.
Twomey said the government had reasonable arguments to present to the court, but “to be utterly confident is somewhat optimistic”.
She added the government also needed to be careful in its public statements about what the court might do. “You have to be a little bit careful not to prejudge the issue.”
Domainfax assesses Do-nothing Malcolm’s rubbish nicely:
…the Prime Minister’s handling of it has deepened the mess, blurring the separation of powers, reducing confidence in the integrity of his parliamentary majority, and smudging the independence of the highest court in the land.
The reason for that is political. Joyce’s unwitting dual citizenship – since confirmed by the NZ government – may be the latest in a succession of such eligibility bungles, but it raises the stakes dramatically.
As a lower house MP, Joyce’s legal capability to stand for election has obvious implications for the government’s authority given its one-seat buffer.
With the High Court now set to rule on that, Joyce, along with his former chief of staff-turned cabinet minister Matt Canavan, will rely on a defence as simple as it is thin: ignorance.
Ignorance of the law is never an excuse. At least according to the law.
The Australian has gone on the offensive:
Malcolm Turnbull is prepared to escalate a fight with Bill Shorten over control of parliament by challenging more than five Labor MPs over their citizenship, defending the government’s one-seat majority after it was thrown into chaos with the revelation that the Nationals leader, Barnaby Joyce, is a New Zealander.
The government will retaliate against Labor attempts to exploit the crisis over the Deputy Prime Minister, whose New Zealand parentage may disqualify him from sitting in parliament, with a “live option” being to refer the Labor MPs to the High Court to force them to prove they have renounced their foreign citizenship.
The Opposition Leader warned the Prime Minister yesterday that the doubts over Mr Joyce raised questions over the legitimacy and integrity of the government, turning the citizenship debate into a test of the Coalition’s hold on power.
The government appears willing to use its numbers in parliament if needed to challenge Labor MPs including Justine Keay, Susan Lamb, Brendan O’Connor, Maria Vamvakinou and Tony Zappia on the grounds they have not done enough to end doubts over their citizenship.
And the politics, via the AFR:
The Turnbull government faces months of having to defend its legitimacy and then possibly fighting a damaging by-election after Barnaby Joyce was referred to the High Court on the basis he is a dual citizen.
Greens step down from parliament. Canavan steps down from the front bench. But Baaaanaby stay on. Salt of the earth there.
He’s got to go. They all have to go. Bring on the by-election.
