Five Australian MPs quit parliament because of a 117-year old law that bans foreigners
Australian law bans dual nationals from federal parliament
Five Australian lawmakers were forced from Parliament on Wednesday in an ongoing legal wrangle over a 117-year-old constitutional ban on dual citizens standing for election.
The by-elections that will result from the latest turmoil create opportunities for Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s conservative coalition to increase its single-seat majority in the House of Representatives, where parties need a majority to govern.
But a firmer grip on power could be short-lived, with Australia facing a general election within a year and potentially as early as August.
Labor party opposition senator Katy Gallagher became a test case in the High Court in its interpretation of the ban on dual nationals being elected to Parliament. The ban had already ended the careers of nine lawmakers last year.
Gallagher had argued that although she was a dual national when elected in 2016, she had taken all reasonable steps to renounce the British citizenship she inherited from her father.
However, because the UK Home Office did not register that she was no longer a citizen until after the election, the court ruled that she was disqualified.
