Greens confident of no citizenship woes

The Australian Greens is confident all 150 of its federal election candidates are not dual citizens and are eligible to run for parliament.

The party which started parliament's citizenship debacle, the Australian Greens, is confident none of its 150 candidates will fall foul of the constitution.

The minor party was the first victim of the federal citizenship saga when in July 2017 Senator Scott Ludlam resigned after discovering he was a New Zealand dual citizen.

He was soon followed by colleague Larissa Waters because of her Canadian dual citizenship.

On Friday three Liberal candidates from the Victorian seats of Lalor, Wills and Cooper pulled out after discovering they were likely ineligible for parliament due to section 44 problems.

"We have done what we can, we've ensured that our candidates go through a very thorough process to make sure they are eligible to stand," Greens leader Richard Di Natale told reporters in Melbourne on Saturday.

Senator Di Natale, who was doorknocking alongside candidate Steph Hodgins-May in the marginal seat of Macnamara, said the eligibility rules needed to be changed.

"It's a relic of a bygone era, we should fix it and I think all parties should come together, we should support a referendum in this space, and we should just make sure that people are able to stand regardless of whether they're dual citizens or not," he said.


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Source: AAP



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Greens confident of no citizenship woes | SBS News