Dual citizenship fiasco: John Alexander’s resignation triggers Bennelong by-election on 16 Dec

The Liberal MP John Alexander has resigned from parliament, triggering a snap byelection, and costing the increasingly precarious Turnbull government its lower house majority.

2010 Election campaign for Bennelong electorate between Mr Alexander and Ms McKew Source: SBS

The division of Bennelong was represented from 1974 until 2007 by John Howard, who served as the Prime Minister of Australia from 1996 until 2007.

As well as his government then being defeated, Howard also became the second sitting Australian Prime Minister to lose his own seat. Maxine McKew of the Australian Labor Party won the seat, making her the first Labor MP for Bennelong. However, the division has often been marginal, and McKew lost the seat back to the Liberals at the 2010 election.

The seat has been vacant since John Alexander resigned on 11 November 2017 after confirming he was a dual citizen and therefore ineligible to sit in parliament.

Then, why has the Bennelong electorate been regarded as the bellwether of the federal election over the decade?

 Korean Program analyses the implications of the upcoming by-election.