MELBOURNE: A crisis engulfing Australia’s parliament has widened after a key independent senator became the seventh parliamentarian referred to the High Court to determine if his dual citizenship makes him ineligible to sit in parliament.
Senator Nick Xenophon’s announcement on Saturday that he holds dual British citizenship comes as the future of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s government hangs in the balance, with question marks surrounding the eligibility of key members of his government and crossbenchers threatening supply should it be stripped of its one-seat majority.
That majority was placed in jeopardy earlier this week after Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said he may be ineligible for parliament due to New Zealand citizenship by descent.
His father was born in New Zealand. Joyce has since relinquished New Zealand citizenship, but is awaiting the High Court ruling, along with several other politicians who believe they may have dual citizenship.
The citizenship crisis, based on a 116-year-old law which demands an elected lawmaker only have Australian citizenship, has rocked the Australian parliament, ensnaring three government members, three Green party MPs and Xenophon.
Xenophon said on Saturday he had received advice overnight from the UK Home Office that, due to a “rare peculiarity,” they considered him a British overseas citizen.
The senator, who was born in Adelaide, Australia, said his father, Theodoros Xenophou, was born in Cyprus and left there in 1951. Cyprus remained a British colony until 1960 when it gained independence.
“The great irony here is that my father left Cyprus in order to escape British colonial rule,” the senator said.
Xenophon had renounced Greek citizenship, which he received from his mother, but had not been aware he held possible British citizenship.
On Friday a member of Xenophon’s eponymous party in the lower house of parliament, Rebekha Sharkie, became the latest crossbencher to withdraw her support for the government on matters of confidence and supply, telling Fairfax Media the prime minister was showing “disrespect to the Australian community” by not standing down the ministers referred to the High Court from their cabinet positions.
While the government does not currently need the support of crossbenchers in the lower house to hold office, should the court rule Deputy Prime Minister Joyce ineligible, it could only survive with the support of at least one non-government MP.
Only one lower house crossbencher has not withdrawn their support.
Business leaders in the country have warned the dual citizenship chaos risks damaging the country’s standing among foreign investors.
Seventh Australian senator referred to High Court as citizenship crisis deepens
Seventh Australian senator referred to High Court as citizenship crisis deepens
Locals in Niger say ‘terrorists’ killed 25 near Mali
- “Twenty-five self-defense militia fell on Thursday in terrorist ambushes,” a former mayor said
- The surrounding Tillaberi region is an area of operations of the Sahel branch of the Daesh militant group
ABIDJAN: Local sources in western Niger said “terrorists” killed 25 members of a militia in several villages near the Mali border.
“Twenty-five self-defense militia fell on Thursday in terrorist ambushes,” a former mayor in the commune of Anzourou told AFP — a toll confirmed by a leader from a local civil association.
“There were 25 young self-defense fighters who lost their lives and three others who were wounded and evacuated” to hospitals in Tillaberi town and Niamey, the latter source said.
The surrounding Tillaberi region is an area of operations of the Sahel branch of the Daesh militant group.
Conflict-monitoring NGO ACLED said that in 2025 Tillaberi became the deadliest region in the central Sahel, with more than 1,200 deaths recorded.
It blamed the violence mainly on the Daesh in the Sahel group, followed by the Nigerien army and the Al-Qaeda-linked Group to Support Islam and Muslims (JNIM).
The association source said the victims came from four neighboring villages — Doukou Makani, Doukou Djinde, Doukou Saraou and Doukou Koirategui.
The Anzourou district is made up of around 50 villages and hamlets in Tillaberi, which borders near the area between Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, long the scene of deadly militant attacks.
Niger has been run by a military junta since a coup in July 2023.
For the last decade, the country has been blighted by deadly militant attacks. Since the beginning of the year, there have been nearly 2,000 deaths, according to ACLED.
With the Nigerien army struggling to contain the attacks, it has tolerated the creation of self-defense militias by villagers, leading to bloody clashes with militants.
In December last year, the military regime in Niamey announced a “general mobilization” and the “requisition” of people and property to better fight the Islamists.
Niger has created a 6,000-strong joint force with Mali and Burkina Faso, countries also run by the military and facing militant violence.
