Via The Australian:
Constitutional law expert George Williams says he’d be “surprised” if Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce survived a High Court challenge after discovering he was a New Zealand citizen, and Malcolm Turnbull’s confidence was “misplaced”.
In a largely pessimistic address to the National Press Club, Professor Williams also said the current law was not favourable to the seven MPs set to have their eligibility tested in court as it was difficult to see how any had “taken reasonable steps” to renounce their foreign citizenship.
Noting the push behind an audit of all 226 MPs to resolve the citizenship crisis, Professor Williams said an independent inquiry could be conducted after the High Court rulings and would offer a more streamlined, permanent process.
The dean of law at the University of New South Wales and a constitutional lawyer, Professor Williams said citizenship by descent through a parent or grandparent was common and well-known and ignorance was not a “plausible explanation”.
“The barest inquiry would have identified the problem. Joyce’s case, and those of the Greens members, speak less of a problem with the Constitution, and more of complacency and inadequate party vetting processes,” Professor Williams said.
“If Joyce had consulted a lawyer, he should have been told that he was a New Zealand citizen. Even if he did not want to consult a lawyer, he could have discovered this through a simple check.
“The Prime Minister has said of his Deputy that he is ‘qualified to sit in the house and the High Court will so hold’. Such confidence is misplaced. Joyce may survive the High Court challenge, but I would be surprised if he does so. No more can be said, as the High Court can be notoriously difficult to predict.”
Get you gone, Baaarnaby.
More:
Professor Williams also said he expected the same-sex marriage postal survey to be struck down. The government has bypassed Parliament using a special fund reserved for “urgent and unforeseen” matters, but given MPs have spoken publicly about the issue for so long, that would be a “tough ask” to justify in court, Professor Williams said.
“It has the appearance of a round peg in a square hole,” he said. “What about this survey is urgent, except for the fact that it is necessary because of the government’s own political imperatives?”
Competence all around.
