Senate President Stephen Parry will resign after dual citizenship confirmed
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Senate President Stephen Parry will resign from his post after the UK Home Office confirmed he was a British citizen.
Senator Parry revealed on Tuesday he may be a dual citizenship as his father was born in the UK and he confirmed this was the case the next day.
He said he would be submitting his resignation as president and senator for Tasmania to the Governor-General on Wednesday.
“With a heavy heart I inform you that I have received advice from the British Home Office that I am a British citizen by virture of my father’s birthplace, thereby being a dual citizen under the provisions of the Australian Constitution,” Senator Parry said in a statement.
“Because my departure is rapid and an unexpected event, I will not have the usual opportunity to address you [my colleagues] in the Senate one last time.
“I wish to thank all of you as colleagues, many of whom I regard as good friends – from all quarters of the chamber – for your support and confidence in me.”
Senator Parry has served as President and Deputy President of the Senate for more than six years.
His father moved to Australia from the UK in 1951.
In his maiden speech, Senator Parry said he was ‘Tasmanian by birth and come from a line of many generations of Tasmanians’.
“In fact, I am a descendant of the First Fleet convicts who arrived on 26 January 1788 onboard the ships the ‘Scarborough’ and the ‘Prince of Wales’,” he said back in August 2005.
“I left home at the age of 16 – much to the joy of my mother, I think – joining the Tasmanian police force as one of their youngest ever recruits.
“After 10 years as a police officer I became a funeral director, eventually buying the long-standing family business with my wife, Allison.”
Article source: http://smh.com.au/business/property/accorhotels-lobs-12-billion-offer-for-mantra-group-20171008-gywwi9.html
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