MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Friday that "the decision of the Court today is clearly not the outcome we were hoping for but the business of government goes on. We have a majority of members in the House of Representatives, even in the absence of Barnaby Joyce and, of course, as you know, we have support from the crossbench. We welcome the Court confirming Matt Canavan's eligibility to sit in the Senate, but are obviously disappointed that the Court has found against Barnaby Joyce and Fiona Nash," Turnbull said.
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Earlier in the day, the High Court of Australia ruled that Joyce, who is also head of the National Party, and four other members of parliament must be disqualified over their dual citizenship.
WATCH LIVE: @TurnbullMalcolm reacts to High Court's decision to disqualify @Barnaby_Joyce, 4 other MPs. #TenNews https://t.co/thODVFLCOV
— TEN Eyewitness News (@channeltennews) 27 октября 2017 г.
Joyce was born in Australia but got New Zealand citizenship through his father.
National Party’s deputy head Fiona Nash, One Nation’s Malcolm Roberts and former senators from the Greens party Larissa Waters and Scott Ludlam were also disqualified over dual citizenship.
According to the Australian constitution, people who have non-Australian citizenship are not eligible for being members of the country’s parliament.
