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The ‘parliamentary eligibility crisis’ rocked federal parliament for nearly a year, from 2017 to 2018. The scandal exposed just how many MPs held dual citizenship, something strictly forbidden by the Constitution, even where, as in Barnaby Joyce’s case, MPs had unwittingly ‘inherited’ foreign citizenship from parents or grandparents. Joyce was forced to stand aside and re-contest his seat after having formally renounced his previously unknown NZ citizenship entitlements. He was returned in a landslide with an increased majority.
Astonishingly, though, some MPs with dual citizenship continue to sit in the parliament. In this case, Afghan-born Fatima Payman. Payman, who was elected on a micro-vote courtesy of a Labor party ticket, quickly resigned from Labor to stand as an ‘independent’. She’s been nowhere near so quick to renounce her Afghan citizenship.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson is writing to ask that Payman be held to the same standard as other MPs, including One Nation’s Barnaby Joyce.
Today, I have written to the prime minister concerning the citizenship status of Senator Payman.
Under Section 44 of the Constitution, there are serious questions about her eligibility to serve as a senator due to her dual citizenship.
With Senator Payman’s recent announcement about forming a new political party, likely utilising her position as a senator to form a parliamentary political party, it’s imperative that we address her status swiftly ahead of the upcoming federal election.
Hanson is challenging Payman to subject herself to the same scrutiny as other MPs were.
Senator Payman should be afforded every opportunity to refer herself to the High Court to clarify her eligibility to sit as a senator.
If she chooses not to take this step, it then falls to the Senate to make that referral.
Our commitment to upholding the Constitution must be unwavering. I urge the prime minister to act promptly to maintain the integrity of our parliament and ensure the Australian public can have full confidence in the legitimacy of their elected representatives.
We owe the Australian people thorough and decisive action on this matter.
Payman’s excuse for not renouncing her citizenship is about as convincing as an ‘asylum seeker’ who immediately holidays in the country they ‘fled’, as soon as Australia is gullible enough to grant them residency. And all that sweet, sweet welfare. (And the taxpayer-funded welfare doesn’t get much cushier than a parliamentary salary. Even for someone who got elected on just 1,681 votes, or 0.0077 of a quota.)
Senator Payman has cited the conflict in Afghanistan at the time of her nomination as a barrier to renouncing her citizenship. While this may be a valid concern, it raises the question of whether the opportunity to renounce her citizenship has since arisen and if she is obliged to take reasonable steps to do so.
And threaten her parliamentary income? Pigs will fly to Mecca first.
