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Legco oath-taking saga
Opinion

Hong Kong should waive the debt of disqualified lawmakers, following Australia’s example

Grenville Cross says the practice in Australia of not pursuing the debt of ejected parliamentarians – provided they have discharged their duties ‘in good faith’ – offers Hong Kong a way forward

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Lawmakers Lau Siu-lai and Edward Yiu attend a Legco meeting on November 16 last year. A High Court ruling in July this year stripped them, along with Nathan Law and Leung Kwok-hung, of their Legislative Council seats for improper oath-taking. Photo: Nora Tam
Grenville Cross
Although the president of Hong Kong’s legislature, Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen, says the Legislative Council Commission acted on legal advice in seeking the full repayment of salaries and allowances from four disqualified lawmakers, the advice has been queried in some quarters.
The fact remains that the disqualification of Nathan Law Kwun-chung, Leung Kwok-hung, Lau Siu-lai and Edward Yiu Chung-yim meant that their original election was void. As such, they were disentitled to the sums paid, and the commission is within its rights in seeking their return, however imprudent that course may be.

Demand for ousted lawmakers to return payments is political persecution, and Hongkongers won’t stand for it

But this is not its only course.

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In October, several lawmakers in Australia, including the deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, also lost their seats. The Australian High Court decided they were ineligible because they were dual nationals, which is constitutionally prohibited. As the ejected lawmakers had already taken part in parliamentary proceedings for over a year, the repayment of salaries and entitlements would, if enforced, be a significant burden for them.
Barnaby Joyce is sworn in as Australian deputy prime minister by governor general Sir Peter Cosgrove in Canberra on December 6. Joyce was stripped of his seat in Parliament in October for holding dual citizenship. After renouncing his New Zealand citizenship, Joyce ran for the by-election and won. Photo: EPA-EFE
Barnaby Joyce is sworn in as Australian deputy prime minister by governor general Sir Peter Cosgrove in Canberra on December 6. Joyce was stripped of his seat in Parliament in October for holding dual citizenship. After renouncing his New Zealand citizenship, Joyce ran for the by-election and won. Photo: EPA-EFE
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A similar situation also arose in April, when the High Court – for constitutional reasons unrelated to citizenship – found that Senator Bob Day had not been validly elected in 2016. Although the question of repayment arose, the responsible minister, Scott Ryan, said it would be unfair of the government to pursue the debt, given that Day had discharged his senatorial duties “in good faith”.

In Australia, the convention is to waive such debt. Ousted parliamentarians are given two options: pay up or apply for a waiver from the government. Provided there is no evidence of bad faith, the application of a waiver will normally be granted.

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