Australian deputy PM Barnaby Joyce may be New Zealand citizen
GETTY Australian PM confident he won’t face losing his one-seat majority
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said earlier today that he may not be eligible for parliament after being told he may be a dual citizen of Australia and New Zealand. The New Zealand government later said Joyce held New Zealand citizenship by descent as his father was born in New Zealand. Australian politicians are not eligible to be elected to parliament if they hold dual or plural citizenship, a rule that has forced the resignation of two senators in recent weeks.
I think if Joyce is forced out, Turnbull would call an election Peter Chen
Prime Minister Turnbull's one-seat majority would be eliminated if Deputy Prime Minister Joyce was forced from office, likely triggering an election, political analysts said. Deputy Prime Minister Joyce said he has asked Australia's High Court to decide the matter. “The government is the very confident the court will not find that the member for New England is to be disqualified from the Parliament. Very confident,” Prime Minister Turnbull told parliament.
GETTY Mr Joyce said he may not be eligible for parliament as he held New Zealand citizenship
Opposition Labour MP Tony Burke told parliament Joyce should stand aside from the ministry and the government should not accept his vote. “We've never before in this parliament...had to go to the High Court and say: 'Look, we're not really sure if there's a majority government in this country',” he said. Deputy Prime Minister Joyce said he would not resign or temporarily step down from office after being told by Australian Solicitor-General Stephen Donaghue that he would likely be cleared by the High Court. “Neither I nor my parents have ever had any reason to believe that I may be a citizen of any other country,” he said.
GETTY Mr Burke told parliament Joyce should stand aside from the ministry