Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says there's no time to hold a referendum before the next election or before the five pending by-elections.
The Turnbull Government has ruled out holding a referendum to allow dual citizens to sit in the federal parliament. That's despite a parliamentary committee recommending a referendum as the most effective way to end the dual-citizenship ban.
The committee found the current provisions are undemocratic as they prevent more than half of Australians from running for parliament.
The solution proposed by the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters is not an easy option.
Its main recommendation is a referendum to allow Australians to vote on whether the ban on dual citizens should end.
But the failure rate of referendums is high.
Since Federation in 1901, there have been 44 attempts to change the wording of the constitution by a national vote, and only 8 have succeeded.
Committee Chair Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds says she recognises how hard it is to change the wording of the Constitution.
But she points out the ban on dual nationals under Section 44 also prevents others from running, such as people who work in the public sector or who hold any financial interests with the Commonwealth.
Senator Reynolds says the current provisions are undemocratic, and that the provisions can also make it difficult for Indigenous Australians who might want to run for parliament.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says there's no time to hold a referendum before the next election or before the five pending by-elections.
And Mr Turnbull doubts there would be enough support for the constitutional change anyway.
Mr Turnbull says most people expect politicians to comply with all the laws and he says the Section 44 provision is not onerous.
