4 ms·
> I’ll go out and say, a person who is not born in Australia should not be allowed to run for public office. Please provide a strong argument otherwise. I'll b
by docdeek 7y ago
> I’ll go out and say, a person who is not born in Australia should not be allowed to run for public office. Please provide a strong argument otherwise.
I'll bite. I'm an Australian citizen (born and lived +25 years there) who now lives in France. My son was born in France but qualifies for Australian citizenship. Should he return to Australia, renounce his French citizenship, and run for office, why shouldn't he be able to serve?
Australia is a country of immigrants. Where someone is born is hardly a good guide to whether they are capable of representing other Australians in the parliament.
Why do you believe that my son or anyone else born overseas would be set on subverting their new home?
Or from another side, why would my son (born in France) be any more subversive to the Australian system than me (born in Australia)? Why is where I am born a good guide to whether I'll be subverting the system in favor of France (in this case, or China in your example)?
- spectramax 7y agoI understand your viewpoint and agree with it. How do you prevent CCP members immigrating into country X and running for Parliament or influence legislation, rally support for pro-Beijing agenda with essentially unlimited funding?
- docdeek 7y agoThat's at least two different but related issues. The funding you combat with strong campaign finance rules. The allegiance to a foreign power you combat via single citizenship qualification rules (Australia has those federally), free press, and a culture that is a better deal than whatever the CCP can serve up. Better a system open to some influence than one that locks out migrants from the process because of where they happened to be born.