POLITICIANS – AUSTRALIA

Dual-citizenship debacle catches up with Shorten

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Rachel Baxendale, David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 5-Dec-17

Documents released on 4 December reveal that Labor Senator Katy Gallagher remained a UK citizen two months after nominations for the 2016 federal election closed. National Party leader Barnaby Joyce, who had to re-contest the seat of New England after being forced to resign over his dual citizenship, has accused Opposition Leader Bill Shorten of being a big hypocrite over the issue. Joyce noted that Shorten had claimed that no Labor MP would become embroiled in the dual-citizenship saga.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, COURT OF DISPUTED RETURNS, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Dastyari doubt after Shorten sacks him, again

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Original article by Primrose Riordan, Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 1-Dec-17

Bill Shorten says Sam Dastyari will have to work hard to regain the trust of his fellow Labor party colleagues. Shorten’s comments come after Dastyari was forced to resign from a Labor leadership role in federal parliament for the second time in just over a year over his links with Chinese political donor Huang Xiangmo. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has called for Dastyari to resign from parliament over the issue. Shorten does not believe Dastyari is "unloyal" to Australia, while he denied government claims that Dastyari is a "traitor"

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Windsor apology after Mundine defamed on Twitter

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 2 : 29-Nov-17

Tony Windsor has apologised to indigenous leader Warren Mundine after the latter claimed comments made by Windsor on Twitter amounted to defamation. Windsor, the former member for the federal seat of New England, had made the comments while watching Mundine on the ABC’s "Q&A" program on 27 November. Mundine said Windsor had implied he was "in the pocket" of mining company Adani. Windsor used Twitter to apologise to Mundine, and deleted the offending tweet.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, TWITTER INCORPORATED, ADANI MINING PTY LTD

Malcolm Turnbull under pressure to allow bank probe

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 28-Nov-17

Nationals MP Llew O’Brien has indicated he is prepared to cross the floor of the House of Representatives to support a private members’ bill to establish a commission of inquiry into the banking sector. Nationals MP George Christensen has already indicated he cross the floor to support the bill in the lower house. The bill has been instigated by Nationals senator Barry O’Sullivan, and already has enough support to pass through the upper house. O’Sullivan says the federal government should perhaps take control of the process to get the bill enacted, given the current state of the numbers.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, KATTER’S AUSTRALIAN PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Nats push much wider bank probe

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 7 : 24-Nov-17

Nationals senator Barry O’Sullivan released on 23 November details of his private members’ bill that calls for a commission of inquiry into the banking sector. Its release comes as efforts to have its tabling thwarted intensify. Former prime minister John Howard described the bill as "rank socialism", while Treasurer Scott Morrison met with the chairman of the big four banks, suggesting the need for them to come up with reforms that might reduce the impetus for an inquiry.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, SKY NEWS, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

NXT senator steps down over dual citizenship

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 23-Nov-17

Nick Xenophon Team senator Skye Kakoschke-Moore has become the latest federal politician to become caught up in the dual-citizenship saga. Kakoschke-Moore announced her resignation from the Senate on 22 November, after discovering she had inherited dual UK citizenship through her mother. She asked that the Senate refer her case to the High Court when it resumes sitting in the week beginning 27 November.

CORPORATES
NICK XENOPHON TEAM, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Citizenship showdown nears for Turnbull

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Original article by David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 14-Nov-17

The dual citizenship crisis is set to dominate the last weeks of federal parliament for the year, after the Coalition and the Opposition agreed that all MPs must provide evidence of their citizenship status by 1 December. The Government believes that at least four Labor MPs may be dual citizens, while Labor in turn has questioned whether an additional five Liberal MPs are eligible to be in parliament. The outcomes of by-elections in the seats of New England and Bennelong in December will determine whether the Government retains its majority in the lower house.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

Coalition rejects ACTU push to delay IR agenda

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 10-Nov-17

ACTU president Ged Kearney says the Federal Government does not have a mandate for industrial relations reform while doubts remain about the eligibility of some MPs to be in parliament. Five bills relating to unions are currently before the Senate, but Kearney argues that they should be shelved until the dual citizenship crisis is resolved. Unions have raised the prospect of a legal challenge if any of the bills are passed.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

PM ignites citizenship war over four Labor MPs

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Original article by David Crowe, Andrew Clennell, Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 10-Nov-17

The dual nationality crisis seems set to overshadow the final session of federal parliament for the year. Nick Xenophon Team MP Rebekha Sharkie has indicated that she is seeking legal advice as to whether her renunciation of British citizenship was completed before she was elected to parliament. Meanwhile, the Federal Government has received independent legal advice which suggests that four Labor MPs are likely to be disqualified from parliament if they held British citizenship when they nominated for the 2016 election.

CORPORATES
NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

ALP blocks scrutiny of dubious trio

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Andrew Clennell, Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 9-Nov-17

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten discussed parliament’s dual citizenship crisis on 8 November, although they did not reach an agreement on proposed disclosure rules. Meanwhile, the Australian Labor Party’s Justine Keay, Susan Lamb and Josh Wilson and the Liberal Party’s Jason Falinski are the latest federal MPs to come under scrutiny over their eligibility to be in parliament over dual citizenship concerns.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA