Citizenship through marriage the latest threat to MPs

Parliament's citizenship saga now has another layer of complexity with the possibility some MPs may unwittingly have dual citizenship through marriage.

Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at a ceremony to commemorate Remembrance Day during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum

Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at a ceremony to commemorate Remembrance Day during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum Source: AAP

Yet another Turnbull government MP may be ineligible for parliament, with Nola Marino possibly having Italian citizenship through marriage.

Fairfax reports on Saturday that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's plan for a new disclosure regime to end the citizenship uncertainty may have a gap, with dual citizenship through marriage not under consideration.

Ms Marino married her husband Carmelo 'Charlie' Marino in Western Australia in 1972.
He is a Italian citizen by birth, but if he naturalised as an Australian before 1972, he would have lost his Italian citizenship and not have automatically passed it onto his wife.

It is the latest in an ongoing saga which may see Australians in half a dozen federal seats sent back to the polls for by elections.

On Friday Mr Turnbull received Greens support to refer all MPs with "legitimate question marks" over their citizenship to the High Court.

But the Greens will still push ahead with a motion in the Senate on Monday to set up an independent audit of all 226 MPs to end the citizenship crisis and restore stability.

The prime minister has proposed that all MPs lodge details, on a public register, of their family history and renunciation of foreign citizenship by December 7.


Share
Published 11 November 2017 2:30am
Updated 11 November 2017 12:05pm


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world