3432 ACC Report f/a 1 - Australian Citizenship

The Council endorses the thrust of the
Committee’s views outlined above. The Council
believes this provision discriminates against
Australian Citizens who hold, for various
reasons including accident of birth, another
Citizenship in addition to Australian
Citizenship. The fundamental tenet underlying
Australian Citizenship is that of inclusivity and
full participation in all aspects of Australian
life. The Council believes that all Australian
Citizens should be able to stand for Parliament
irrespective of whether they hold another
Citizenship. Those who hold another
Citizenship are not required by Australian
Citizenship law to renounce their other
Citizenship/s when acquiring Australian
Citizenship and, as a general principle,
the Government encourages migrants/new
Citizens to maintain their cultural heritage
whilst living in Australia. Sub-section 44(i)
of the Constitution is therefore at odds with
Citizenship law and government policies of
successive governments.
The Council is in accord with the views of both
the Committee and the Government that there
is a need to protect the parliamentary system.
However, it could be argued that the holding of
another Citizenship does not of itself mean that
a person would necessarily act in a disloyal
manner. Any Australian Citizen whether or not
they hold another Citizenship potentially could
have split loyalties or conflict of interests for
various reasons. One circumstance could be
where an Australian Citizen who does not
possess another Citizenship has commercial
interests in another country. Sub-section 44(i)
as it currently stands assumes that if a person
holds another Citizenship there will
automatically be issues of conflict of interests
and divided loyalties. The holding of another
Citizenship is perhaps the most obvious way
of alerting others to potential divided loyalty.
However, it would appear that the issue is not
whether a person holds another Citizenship,
but rather whether a person might not act in
Australia’s best interests at all times. Therefore,
another measure or identifier relating to
loyalty may need to be found.
The Council supports Recommendation 2
in the report of the Standing Committee on
Legal and Constitutional Affairs, on Aspects of
Section 44 of the Australian Constitution,
in particular that there be a requirement for
intending candidates and members of
Parliament to be Australian Citizens, but
recommends that further consideration be
given by government to the issue of how to
more appropriately measure ‘undivided loyalty
to Australia’ for intending candidates for
Parliament and members of Parliament.
77