Fowler’s newly elected MP, Dai Le, has accused the Labor Party of “trying to discredit her” after denying speculation that citizenship issues could make her ineligible to sit in parliament.
Key points:
- Article 44 of the Australian Constitution disqualifies citizens of dual nationality
- Labor had held Fowler’s seat for 12 years
- Ms. Le described the questions about her eligibility as “defamation.”
Mrs. Le, a Vietnamese-born refugee, won the seat in south-west Sydney from Labor and its high-profile candidate Kristina Keneally.
Fowler was a previously secure Labor seat and the 16-point change the party suffered against him has been attributed to the decision to parachute Mrs Keneally as a candidate.
Today, questions have been raised about whether the independent Ms Le had incorrectly stated in her Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) statement form that she had never been a subject or a citizen of another country.
“Over the last few days, the Labor Party has been trying to slander me and try to damage my reputation by dragging my family, including my son, into the stories,” Ms Le said on social media.
“There have been many media inquiries this morning regarding my eligibility to comply with Section 44 of the Australian Constitution to run in the elections.
“I can confirm that the AEC accepted my application to run in the federal election and that I am not a subject or a citizen of another country, and that I was not a candidate when I submitted my nomination form to the AEC before the closing of the nomination. “
Mrs Le, a former ABC journalist, was born in the now-disbanded nation of South Vietnam before moving to Australia at the age of 11.
Dai Le with his mother and sisters. (Provided by: Dai Le)
The federal parliament is no stranger to citizenship issues.
After the 2016 election, more than a dozen senators and MPs revealed themselves as unconscious dual citizens during a period of chaos in Canberra.
It started when Green Senator Scott Ludlam resigned after learning that he was a citizen of both Australia and New Zealand.
This provoked a number of references to the High Court while other MPs came forward with their own citizenship issues.
Then-Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce was forced to run again in a by-election after it was revealed that she was also a citizen of New Zealand.
Anne Twomey, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Sydney, said that under the Australian constitution, anyone who is a subject or a citizen of another country “is unable to be elected as a Member of Parliament”.
Professor Twomey said any citizenship issue must be resolved even before a person applies to run for parliament.
“The assumption is that if you want to be a member of parliament, you want to make laws, then your only allegiance should be to Australia,” he told ABC Radio Sydney.
Professor Twomey did not specifically speculate on Mrs Le’s case, but said there were “all sorts of problems” with delivery in modern multicultural Australia.
Laws that affect citizenship can vary from country to country and can also be changed retroactively, he said.
“It’s a little crazy to be completely dependent on what’s happening in another country,” he said.
“Everything is ready, is it a mess? Then the answer is yes.”
Posted 1 h 1 hours agoDmec. May 25, 2022 at 4:32 am, last updated 1 h 1 hour agoWednesday May 25, 2022 at 4:49 AM