CONSTITUTIONAL LAW – AUSTRALIA

More MPs under threat

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Original article by Mark Kenny
The Age – Page: 1 : 27-Jul-17

Australian Greens leader Richard Di Natale says an audit should be taken to determine the eligibility of all federal MPs to hold public office in the wake of the dual citizenship saga. University of New South Wales law expert George Williams says more MPs may fail the eligiblity requirements under section 44 of the Constitution. This would have major implications for the Federal Government, given that it has a one-seat majority in the lower house.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Canavan quits cabinet over citizenship

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 26-Jul-17

Senator Matt Canavan will seek a High Court ruling on his eligibility to remain in Parliament after discovering that he may hold dual citizenship in Italy. Canavan has stepped down as the Minister for Resources and Northern Australia pending confirmation of his eligibility to be elected to Parliament. Canavan was born in Australia, but recently found out that his mother had applied for him to become an Italian citizen in 2006 without his knowledge or consent. Foreign-born Greens senators Scott Ludlam and Larissa Waters were recently forced to quit Parliament due to their dual citizenship.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, COURT OF DISPUTED RETURNS, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

Red-faced Greens senators scrambling to prove their citizenship

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 20-Jul-17

The eligibility of Australian Greens MPs to hold public office continues to attract scrutiny after Scott Ludlam and Larissa Waters were forced to resign from Parliament due to their dual citizenship status. A Greens spokeswoman has indicated that party leader Richard Di Natale and Senator Nick McKim are in the process of obtaining documents to prove that they relinquished their citizenship of Italy and the UK respectively prior to being elected to Parliament.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, TASMANIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, ONE NATION PARTY, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

MPs rush to confirm true-blue credentials

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 19-Jul-17

Federal MPs who were born overseas have moved to clarify that they are eligible to hold seats in Parliament after Greens senator Larissa Waters was forced to resign after discovering that she had dual citizenship. Waters was born in Canada but was not aware that she was a Canadian citizen. Greens senator Scott Ludlam also resigned recently after discovering that he still held New Zealand citizenship. The resignation of Waters and Ludlam means the Government needs the support of just nine non-Coalition senators to pass bills, but cross-benchers have cautioned against taking advantage of this.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, COURT OF DISPUTED RETURNS, AUSTRALIAN DEMOCRATS

I won’t vote on any bills, vows Culleton

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 4 : 7-Nov-16

One Nation senator Rod Culleton has indicated that he will abstain from voting in the Senate while the constitutional validity of his election in July remains uncertain. The High Court may be asked to determine whether Culleton was entitled to be elected, as he had been convicted of a criminal offence at the time of the 2016 federal election. Meanwhile, there has been speculation of a rift between Culleton and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Reform plans in peril as second senator in strife

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Original article by David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 3-Nov-16

The Australian Government has become even more reliant on the support of Senate crossbenchers to pass its industrial relations bills. It will need eight crossbenchers to vote for the bills, with One Nation’s Rod Culleton advising that he will not vote in the upper house until uncertainty regarding the validity of his election is resolved. The issue will be referred to the High Court, which will also be asked to determine whether the election of Family First’s Bob Day was constitutionally valid. Day has resigned from the Senate, but the High Court’s ruling could determine with the party retains his seat.

CORPORATES
FAMILY FIRM INSTITUTE, ONE NATION PARTY, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, NICK XENOPHON TEAM

Senate chaos as Day challenged

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 2-Nov-16

The High Court will be asked to rule on the validity of Family First senator Bob Day’s re-election, due to concerns about the receipt of rent payments from the Federal Government for his electoral office. Day has a pecuniary interest in the property in question, and the court may order a recount if his re-election is deemed to have been unconstitutional. This could affect the Coalition’s prospects of passing its industrial relations reforms in the Senate, as Day has generally sided with the Government. Meanwhile, Day has resigned from the Senate with immediate effect, after a deal to bail out his home building firm collapsed.

CORPORATES
FAMILY FIRST PARTY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, COURT OF DISPUTED RETURNS, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT PARTY

Senate vote reforms ‘will beat challenge’

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale, Phillip Hudson
The Australian – Page: 5 : 21-Mar-16

Special Minister of State Mathias Cormann is confident that the Australian Government’s changes to the voting system for the Senate will be upheld by the High Court. The Family First Party’s Senator Bob Day intends to challenge the validity of the reforms, which were passed by the Senate on 18 March 2016. Constitutional law expert Anne Twomey of Sydney University does not expect the High Court to support any challenge to the reforms.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, FAMILY FIRST PARTY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN MOTORING ENTHUSIAST PARTY