David Fickling, Columnist

The World's Most Ridiculous Constitutional Crisis

Australia needs to rethink its outdated citizenship restrictions.

A closet Kiwi?

Photographer: Lukas Coch/Pool/Getty Images
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Australia's parliament is in the grip of the world's most ridiculous constitutional crisis. The situation threatens the country's democratic process, which is reason enough for politicians and courts to work to unpick it. More importantly, though, it raises questions the rest of the world would do well to ponder.

Over the past month, five members of Australia's 226-member parliament have admitted that they may have unwittingly held dual citizenship -- a condition that, under Australia's 1900 constitution, disqualifies them from political office in Canberra.