ANOTHER Australian politician said he may have to quit Parliament because of dual citizenship, days after a High Court ruling was thought to have ended the crisis.
The court disqualified five politicians on Friday because each was found to hold citizenship of Australia and another country, and the constitution bans dual citizens from Parliament.
But today, a senior senator from the governing Liberal Party said he may have to quit parliament.
Stephen Parry, who is president of Australia’s upper house, said he has contacted UK authorities to check if he holds dual citizenship because of his British-born father.
Parry said the court’s decision made it clear he would have to resign if his dual nationality was confirmed.
The five disqualified politicians included deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, the leader of the National Party, the junior partner in the Liberal party’s ruling coalition.
Joyce has renounced the New Zealand citizenship he inherited from his father but still must win a by-election if he wants to return to his seat.
Although most politicians in multi-cultural Australia have been checking their citizenship status since the crisis, Parry said he had only examined his own case after the High Court’s decision on Friday.
He said his late father moved to Australia from Britain in 1951, and he was born in Tasmania in 1960.
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