Influential Australian Senator Nick Xenophon quits amid citizenship saga, threatening PM Turnbull’s majority
He said he would stand for election in his home state next year, where parliaments do not have the same citizenship rule as the national parliament.
Australian Senator Nick Xenophon, a key independent lawmaker, said on Friday he was resigning from national politics, potentially complicating Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s efforts to pass legislation.
Turnbull does not have a majority in the Senate and has relied on Xenophon’s party, the fourth largest bloc in the upper house, to pass legislation.
Xenophon’s replacement will come from his party, which bears his name, but is likely to be far less experienced compared with his nine years as a Senator.
Xenophon’s future as a Senator was under a cloud due to him holding possible dual citizenship with Britain. Under the constitution a lawmaker must only hold Australian citizenship to be eligible to be elected to the national parliament.
