Deputy Prime Minister Of Australia Is In Big Trouble For Having Dual Citizenship With New Zealand, Even Though He Didn't Know It
Credit: Stefan Postles / Stringer
NY Times- The citizenship scandal that has roiled Australia’s Parliament threatened to claim its biggest casualty on Monday after the deputy prime minister was revealed by the New Zealand government to be a New Zealander, unbeknown to him.
The Australian Constitution prohibits people with dual citizenship from holding seats in the national legislature.
He is the fifth Australian politician to resign or come under scrutiny over their citizenship.
New Zealand’s minister of internal affairs broke the news that under that country’s law, Mr. Joyce was automatically eligible for New Zealand citizenship, even though he was born in Australia. That’s because Mr. Joyce’s father was born in New Zealand, so citizenship could be passed on to his son.
Under New Zealand’s Citizenship Act of 1948, someone can be a New Zealand citizen by descent, even without ever applying to be one.
A government website says: “If you were born overseas and at least one of your parents is a New Zealand citizen by birth or grant, you are an NZ citizen by descent. To get yourself an NZ passport, you need to register your citizenship.”
New Zealand’s prime minister, Bill English, has weighed in, saying, “unwittingly or not,” Mr. Joyce is a New Zealand citizen. Mr. English said it was up to Australia to decide what implications that had.
Speaking in Parliament on Monday, Mr. Joyce said that his roots in Australia go back five generations on his mother’s side.
“I have always been an Australian citizen, born in Tamworth, just as my mother and my great-grandmother was born there 100 years earlier,” he said. “Neither I, nor my parents, have ever had any reason to believe that I may be a citizen of any other country.”
How much does Australia hate New Zealand? Well, it was just discovered that Australia’s #2 guy has a father who was born in NZ. And even though he had no idea he was technically a kiwi, this dude is now (probably) going to be kicked out of office. Never applied for citizenship in his life, has lived all his days under the Aussie flag, and probably shits on New Zealanders like the best of them. But “unwittingly or not,” he probably knows his way around sheep, has feet that are disproportionately large compared to his tiny Hobbit body, and misses the Shire. Because his old man was born there.
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Get this: we Americans allow elected leaders to hold dual-citizenship. So does Canada and Britain. Which means we’re more tolerant, in this regard, than Australia. Haha look at those xenophobic assholes down under! If only they were more open-minded, roight? Sucks to be Barnaby.
Of course, the country was built as an extension to Britain’s prisons and is basically crammed with criminals, so I can understand why they might keep a tight watch on who gets to lead. Lotta bad creatures there…