Re Mimia; Ex Parte Ame: the Case for a Constitutional Australian Citizenship

Abstract

This article discusses the recent High Court decision of Re MIMIA; Ex parte Ame, arguing that the case’s formulation of Australian citizenship — its nature and incidents — both challenges traditional notions of the term’s meaning, and compels an amendment to enact a constitutional status of Australian citizenship. After reviewing the case’s facts and the Court’s reasoning, historical expressions of the status shall be explored, before the Australian citizenship experience is itself examined. Applying the resultant insights to the case’s facts, it is argued that in light of the Court’s decision and the constitutional and legal landscape underpinning such authority, in particular the aliens power of s 51(xix) of the Australian Constitution, as well as on account of the advanced stage in the nation’s development, it is both necessary and apposite to amend the Australian Constitution to provide for an entrenched citizenship status.