3432 ACC Report f/a 1 - Australian Citizenship

from the base of having Australian Citizenship
and acquire another Citizenship lose their
Australian Citizenship.
At issue is not whether Australia should allow
plural Citizenship but whether an Australian
Citizen who applies for and receives the
Citizenship of another country should lose
Australian Citizenship, as is currently the case
under section 17 of the Act.
The Council specifically raised this issue for
comment in its Issues Paper.
Nearly three-quarters of the submissions to
the Council addressed this issue of loss of
Australian Citizenship upon acquisition of
another. Only a small proportion of these
submissions argued in favour of such loss.
Overwhelmingly, the submissions called for
the repeal of section 17.
Those in favour of such loss believe the
acquisition of another Citizenship represents
disloyalty to Australia. They argue that seeking
and acquiring the Citizenship of another
country indicates a deliberate choice to place
allegiance to another country over and above
their commitment to Australia. They argue that
to allow people who take up a foreign
Citizenship to retain their Australian
Citizenship is essentially to depreciate the
value of Australian Citizenship.
Many of the submissions in favour of repeal of
section 17 came from Australians living and
working overseas, including a former Nobel
Prize winner and Australian of the Year.
Many of these people are Australians who
have gone abroad and helped to advance
the reputation of Australia. Many wrote
about their own personal circumstances where,
by working and living overseas for some
period of time, they have the opportunity to
acquire the Citizenship of their country of
residence, without which their prospects are
severely prejudiced.
These people argued that seeking the
Citizenship of another country in no way
diminishes their commitment to Australia.
Many quite literally call Australia home, return
to Australia regularly and wish to return to
Australia permanently in the future. Others,
whose job prospects have required them to go
overseas, are keen that their children do not
lose their Australian Citizenship and heritage
because of their own need to take up an
overseas work opportunity which requires
acquisition of another Citizenship.
In addition, were it not for the existence of
section 17, following recent changes in many
countries, for example the collapse of the
former Soviet Bloc in Eastern Europe, as well
as liberalisation of laws in some Western
countries, such as Italy, many Australian
Citizens who were former migrants would
have the opportunity to access the Citizenship
of their birth. Many former migrants have a
deep-felt longing to reacquire the Citizenship of
their birth, often for nostalgic reasons but also
as a result of more practical considerations,
including the existence of property rights.
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