There has been a lot of heated debate over proposed changes to the government’s Citizenship Act, with many critics warning of the potential for abuse by the state. Now that the proposed changes have been introduced to parliament it seems that those fears may have been warranted. The changes to existing laws propose that dual nationals who are convicted of terror related offences would automatically be stripped of Australian citizenship. However, the range and scope of theses offences is incredibly broad—ranging from mutiny through to damaging Commonwealth property.

A literal reading of the proposed amendments means that if a dual national were convicted of painting graffiti on a Commonwealth owned property, they would automatically forfeit their citizenship.  Under the proposed changes, the Minister for Immigration would have the power to overturn the decision if it’s in the public interest. So the situation would potentially differ on a case-by-case basis. The changes have yet to pass, although Labor has indicated that they support the amendments pending their detailed review.

Oh and the kicker? There’s currently debate as to whether or not to make the laws retrospective. Meaning that any dual nationals who have been convicted previously may potentially be open to further prosecution. So if you’re thinking of heading down to your local Centrelink to catch a few tags, maybe stick to the trains instead—at least they’re privatised.

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