Re Canavan; Re Ludlam; Re Waters; Re Roberts [No 2]; Re Joyce;
Re Nash; Re Xenophon
[2017] HCA 45 27 October 2017 - C11/2017, C12/2017, C13/2017,
C14/2017, C15/2017, C17/2017 and C18/2017. Former deputy prime
minister Barnaby Joyce will face a by-election on 2 December after
being declared ineligible to sit in Parliament by the High Court.
One Nation's Malcolm Roberts, the Nationals' Fiona Nash,
and former Greens senators Larissa Waters and Scott Ludlam, who had
both already stood aside, were also ruled to be ineligible to sit
in Parliament because they were dual nationals when they stood for
election. The court has ordered their Senate seats be filled by a
special recount of ballots. Nationals senator Matthew Canavan can
remain in Parliament after the court found he was validly elected.
The court also found Senator Nick Xenophon was safe to sit in the
Upper House, although he has announced he will leave federal
politics to pursue a return to South Australian politics.
Citizenship bill fails in Senate
The bill which failed to be accepted, had tried to impose a
university-level English language requirement plus four years of
living in Australia as a permanent resident prior to an application
being made for Australian citizenship (19 October 2017).
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BMB16 v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection
[2017] FCAFC 169
MIGRATION – consideration of an appeal from a decision of the
Federal Circuit Court of Australia dismissing an application for
judicial review of a decision of the Immigration Assessment
Authority – whether the Authority has fallen into
jurisdictional error by going beyond the ambit of the review
prescribed by s 473CC of the Migration Act 1958
(Cth).
STATUTORY INTERPRETATION – consideration of the word
"review" in Part 7AA and whether it has the same core
meaning as it has in Parts 5 and 7 of the Act – where a
strong contextual consideration exists that a word used throughout
an enactment is to be interpreted consistently.
STATUTORY INTERPRETATION – consideration of the nature of the
review to be conducted pursuant to s 473CC of the Act –
whether the Authority's review is restricted to the correction
of error in relation to those issues held to be determinative by
the delegate – where the Authority's review is expressly
described in the Act as "limited" and "on the
papers" – where the Authority is limited to the review
of material provided to it under s 473CB of the Act, except in
exceptional circumstances – where the Authority may affirm a
decision or remit the decision for reconsideration with permitted
directions or recommendations – where the review is a
compulsory aspect of the process of a "fast track
applicant" applying for a visa – where the Authority is
not obliged to conduct an oral hearing – where Parliament has
not expressly stated that the Authority's power of review is
limited to a review for correction of error. Dismissed.
Cat and dog crackdown: Asylum seekers now need the
government's permission to buy a pet
Thousands of asylum seekers in Australia will now require
permission from Immigration Minister Peter Dutton's department
if they want to get a pet. The edict applies to thousands of people
currently in Australia awaiting the outcome of their bids for
protection, including the 7,500 who lodged their claims following
the government's imposition of an October 1 deadline (20
October 2017).
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