No citizenship drama for Dreyfus Neil Walker neil@baysidenews.com.au ANY doubts over the eligibility of federal MP Mark Dreyfus to sit in Parliament have been quickly dispelled by the member for Isaacs. Mr Dreyfus has confirmed he faces no threat of being stood down under section 44 of the Constitution that has seen several federal MPs, including Nationals MP and Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, face the prospect of being declared ineligible to sit as an MP due to dual citizenship concerns.
Online news site Crikey on Monday (4 September) suggested Mr Dreyfus and other Jewish MPs could become embroiled in the citizenship fiasco that has rocked Australian politics in recent weeks due to Israel offering all “Jewish-descended people” the “right to return” to that country. Mr Dreyfus, a former attorneygeneral under the previous RuddGillard-Rudd Labor government, said he is not a citizen of any country other than Australia. “Labor is confident that all of our MPs have met the constitutional requirements to be members of the
Australian Parliament,” he said. “I was born in Australia and do not hold citizenship of any other country.” Jewish people can apply for a “right of return” visa and can become an Israeli citizen when they move to Israel. Mr Dreyfus is not and never has been an Israeli citizen and has never applied for the “right of return” visa, officially known as an Oleh/Aliyah visa. Seven MPs including Mr Joyce have discovered they are citizens of other countries by descent and the
High Court of Australia will rule in October whether the MPs can remain in federal Parliament. Mr Dreyfus has been the federal member for Isaacs — covering Aspendale, Aspendale Gardens, Bonbeach, Carrum, Chelsea, Edithvale, Keysborough, Mordialloc, Noble Park, Patterson Lakes and Waterways — since 2007.
Citizen Dreyfus: Federal Labor Isaacs MP Mark Dreyfus has always been an Australian citizen. Picture: Gary Sissons
Kingston steers away from port support Neil Walker neil@baysidenews.com.au KINGSTON councillors have changed a previous council position supporting a second major container port in Hastings. A 5-3 majority of councillors voted at August’s public council meeting to “take no position” on backing Hastings over Bay West near Geelong as the location of a second container port when the Port of Melbourne reaches capacity. Cr Rosemary West’s notice of motion urged Kingston Council to effectively drop support for a major port at Hastings and comes in the wake
of neighbouring Frankston Council’s decision in May to end its support for Hastings over Bay West. Infrastructure Victoria, an independent body established by the state government, has flagged Bay West as the preferred second container port location when needed, possibly as early as 2035. “I don’t think we need to expand our trade to the point we don’t manufacture anything,” Cr West said at the meeting. “I certainly don’t think we would be wanting to destroy the environment of western port by supporting the Port of Hastings as I’m afraid the last council did.” Cr Geoff Gledhill, the Liberal
Party’s candidate for the seat of Mordialloc at next year’s state election, noted “63 per cent” of goods imported into Melbourne are transported south east of Melbourne. “We do have to be involved in this discussion because we’ve got one of the largest light manufacturing areas in Australia through the south east that starts in Braeside and Mordialloc and heads all the way out to Dandenong,” Cr Gledhill said. “Food processing is seen as a particular growth industry in this area. We’ve got businesses that supported the motor industry disappearing … we need to replace that industry because that’s where the jobs are.” Cr Gledhill noted Hastings “is a
deep water port”. He acknowledged Infrastructure Victoria is leaning towards Bay West as the site for a second major port but said there are concerns about how to deepen heads at Bay West for larger container ships. Cr West said that the state government, in her view, should build a freight rail link from the Port of Melbourne to the south east to transport goods. She noted any port expansion at Hastings would likely put either 1.5 million B-Double trucks or 50,000 freight trains on railways across Melbourne, according to a Victoria University report. Crs Tamara Barth, Ron Brownless, Georgina Oxley, Steve Staikos and
West voted for council to take no position on a major port at Hastings. Crs Tamsin Bearsley, Gledhill and George Hua voted against Cr West’s notice of motion. The mayor Cr David Eden did not raise his hand to indicate his vote. No formal division was called to officially record councillors’ votes on the matter. Mornington Peninsula Shire council supported a major port at Hastings alongside Frankston and Kingston councils in a joint submission to the state government from the South East Melbourne (SEMS) group of councils in late 2015.
Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News
6 September 2017
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