The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters tables its report into the problems with eligibility to be a member of federal Parliament under s44 of the Constitution and recommends that the Government put amendments to update the law at referendum. Predictably the PM trotted out his standard response to the idea of holding a referendum – on any subject – that there was no appetite for them and, besides, this proposal had no chance of success because voters wouldn’t tolerate dual citizens as parliamentary representatives. He did not say what his sources were for these opinions, other than his own prejudices having had his fingers burned in the republic referendum in 1999. The polls on this subject say otherwise: there are glaring problems with s44 requiring amendment, and not only on the subject of dual citizenship. In addition, there are no citizenship requirements for those seeking to be elected to State/Territory parliaments and local government. There’s a link to the Committee’s report below.
Woman for an Australian Republic, Adelaide Ironside, republican poet and artist 1831-1867
Self portrait 1855, Newcastle Art Gallery NSW
