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Is Julia Gillard validly a Member of Parliament?
On the 23rd June 1999 the
High Court ruled that Heather Hill could not validly hold the seat in the
Australian Senate to which she was elected. Mrs Hill was born in the United
Kingdom on th
e 9th August
1960. Under British law, birth in Britain normally
confers U.K. citizenship. British citizenship ceases on registration of a
declaration of renunciation. Mrs Hill became an Australian Citizen and pledged
her "loyalty to Australia and its people, who democratic beliefs I share, whose
rights and liberties I respect, and whose laws I will uphold and obey". She
applied for and obtained and used an Australian passport. At the time of her
election to the Senate no renunciation of British Citizenship by Mrs Hill had
been registered.
The problem for Mrs Hill was that section 44 of the Australian Constitution declares that a person holding citizenship or rights of citizenship in a foreign country (including UK) is ineligible to be a member of the Senate or House of Representatives. The fact that Mrs Hill was an Australian citizen was not in doubt. The issue was whether she could hold dual citizenship, to which the High Court answered "no".
The question is : "Has Julia Gillard renounced British citizenship in proper form and has the renunciation been registered?"