British passport holders may soon need to become citizens in order to vote
British migrants could lose their right to vote in Australia thanks to a proposed reform to the electoral structure.
Currently, expats holding a British passport who arrived in Australia before 1984 have been allowed to vote in federal elections.
However, Labour MP Daryl Melham is calling for a change in the system, which will result in the 163,000 British passport holders who aren’t Australian citizenship losing the right to vote, unless they file for citizenship before 2014.
Despite the fact that many of expats have lived Down Under for decades, Mr Melham still feels that only Australian citizens should be entitled to the vote.
“It’s my view that the time has come that if you want to be a voter in this country you should take out citizenship,” he said.
Mr Melham has claimed that allowing British passport holders the right to vote in Australian elections not only discriminates against other nationalities living in Australia, but could also effect the outcome of future elections.
Claiming it to be “inexcusable, he went on to say, “If an Australian citizen goes overseas and doesn’t come back within six years, they lose the right to vote and yet we’re allowing British subjects to still get a say in Australian elections.”
Unsurprisingly Mr Melham’s proposal has been given a frosty reception by many Brits.
It is set to be debated in parliament later this year.
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