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There are 23 other Australian MPs and senators aside from Scott Ludlam and Larissa Waters who were born overseas.
All of them have told the ABC they comply with the constitution's citizenship requirements and nearly half of them have also made public clarifications in the wake of their colleagues' bungles.
Ms Waters resigned from Federal Parliament yesterday after realising she held dual citizenship and was ineligible to serve under section 44 of the Australian constitution, which states:
"Any person who is under any acknowledgment of allegiance, obedience, or adherence to a foreign power, or is a subject or a citizen or entitled to the rights or privileges of a subject or a citizen of a foreign power shall be incapable of being chosen or of sitting as a senator or a member of the House of Representatives."
Mr Ludlam resigned on Friday after admitting he had been ineligible for nine years.
Labor senator Sam Dastyari, who was born in Iran, was quick to jump on social media after the announcements, revealing he spent $25,000 to give up his Iranian citizenship:
MPs Rebekha Sharkie (Nick Xenophon Team), Brian Mitchell (Labor), and former Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott were all born in the United Kingdom, and also said they had given up their foreign citizenship.
Tasmanian Greens senator Nick McKim was also born in the UK. Here's what he said:
Like Mr Ludlam, independent senator Derryn Hinch was born in New Zealand. This was his reply when he was asked on Twitter if he would face the same fate:
Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson and Liberal MP Ian Goodenough were both born in Singapore.
But Senator Whish-Wilson said he had never actually held Singaporean citizenship, and Mr Goodenough said he was unequivocally on "team Australia".
Queensland One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts, who was born in India, released a statement on Twitter:
And in an apparent follow-up tweet, he said he had never owned a 7-11 and was not "a chucker".
WA Liberal senator Mathias Cormann was born in Belgium, but said he became an Australian citizen on Australia Day in 2000.
"Consistent with relevant Belgian Nationality Law at that time, the voluntary decision to become an Australian citizen had the immediate and automatic effect of Senator Cormann losing his Belgian citizenship at that point," the statement read.
"Senator Cormann confirmed this fact again with Belgian authorities in Australia prior to nominating for pre-selection as a candidate for the Senate, to ensure he complied with the relevant requirements for election to the Senate under the Australian Constitution."
Family First senator Lucy Gichuhi was born in Kenya, and the Labor Party questioned her eligibility earlier this year.
But the High Court rejected their challenge, finding Senator Gichuhi no longer held Kenyan citizenship having taken up citizenship here.
Labor MP Anne Aly, who was born in Egypt, told RN that it was "very clear" when she decided to nominate as an MP that she had to give up her dual citizenship.
"As much as I want to have sympathy for those who are caught up in this, the fact is really that if you'd done your due diligence, the laws are there, the rules are very, very clear," she said.
She said the onus was on her to make sure she was eligible, but her party was proactive and checked in regularly.
"The party was very much about following up and ensuring that I did take all the measures that were necessary. They were continuously in contact with me, making sure I had filled in all the forms, making sure that I had done all the process," she said.
"But certainly this was something that was my responsibility."
Here's the full list of Australian MPs and senators born overseas:
Belgium
Canada
Egypt
Germany
Greece
Iran
India
Italy
Malaysia
New Zealand
- Senator Derryn Hinch
- Senator Scott Ludlam
Nigeria
Singapore
- MP Ian Goodenough
- Senator Peter Whish-Wilson
United Kingdom
- MP Tony Abbott
- Senator Doug Cameron
- MP Paul Fletcher
- Senator Alexander Gallacher
- Senator Nick McKim
- MP Brian Mitchell
- MP Brendan O'Connor
- Senator Nigel Scullion
- MP Josh Wilson
- MP Rebekha Sharkie
Kenya
Topics: government-and-politics, australia
First posted