An Australian cabinet minister is stepping down from his position after discovering he was made a dual Italian citizen without his knowledge. Resources minister Matt Canavan is the third Australian politician in two weeks to fall victim to the country’s little-known dual citizenship clause, after two Greens party senators resigned earlier in July.
The Australian constitution bars anyone who has citizenship in another country from standing for election.
Speaking at a press briefing in Brisbane, Canavan said his mother had accidentally applied for Italian citizenship for him in 2006, and she only told him about it on July 18.
“I was not born in Italy, I have never been to Italy and to my knowledge have never set foot in an Italian consulate or embassy. Until last week I had no suspicion that I could possibly be an Italian citizen,” he said. Canavan told journalists he would be leaving cabinet and the ministry while the matter was resolved but would not be leaving parliament yet.
“On the basis of the advice the government has obtained ... it is not my intention to resign from the senate. However, given the uncertainty around this matter, I will stand aside until this matter is finally resolved,” Canavan said.
Ludlam’s resignation prompted his colleague Larissa Waters to investigate her citizenship. She announced on July 18 she would be resigning discovered she was a Canadian citizen.
Waters was born in Canada but said in a statement she had been told incorrectly by her parents she had to actively seek citizenship to gain it. Section 44 of Australia’s constitution says, “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” ...from serving in Parliament.
Canavan is the first member of the governing Liberal National Coalition to discover he has a dual citizenship.
The three resignations are likely to put pressure on other Australian politicians who have been born overseas to provide proof of their renunciation.
Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott had long been the subject of conspiracy theories around his citizenship status, as he was born in the United Kingdom, but has since provided proof he renounced it in 1993. Speaking beside Canavan in Brisbane, Australian attorney general George Brandis said the former minister’s future would be decided in the courts. - CNN.com