Dual-citizenship ensnares Australia’s deputy leader

Bloomberg

Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said he may be a dual citizen, which potentially bars him from serving in parliament and could jeopardize the government’s razor-thin majority.
Joyce said he’d been advised by New Zealand High Commission that he may be a citizen by descent. He won’t step down as deputy leader and will refer the matter to High Court, which technically bars dual-citizenship holders from holding a seat in the national parliament. “Needless to say I was shocked to receive this information,” Joyce, who was born in Australia after his father emigrated from New Zealand, told parliament. “I’ve always been an Australian citizen.”
Joyce is the highest profile lawmaker caught up in questions over citizenship, with four of the country’s 76 senators also referred to the High Court. As a member of Prime Malcolm Turnbull’s one-seat majority coalition in the lower house, he’s also the most important: should he be ruled ineligible to hold his seat in the district of New England, a by-election would be called.
The confusion over the lawmakers’ citizenship is an unwelcome reminder of the chaos that’s seen Australia change prime minister five times in the past decade. It’s also a distraction for Turnbull, who is seeking to focus on economic growth and national security issues as his Liberal-National government trails in polls before an election that must be held by 2019.