Australia’s parliament has passed laws to strip dual nationals of their citizenship if they are convicted of terrorism offences or found to have fought with banned groups overseas, despite concerns about deporting known militants. Those who fight for a declared terrorist group also automatically lose their citizenship.
Attorney-General George Brandis said in Sydney today that the Australian Citizenship Amendment (Allegiance to Australia) Bill, passed.
Brandis said the changes were necessary given the current threat around the world and in Australia where the risk of a terror attack is deemed by officials to be probable.
Canberra has been increasingly concerned about the flow of fighters to Iraq and Syria to join extremist groups such as Islamic State, with some 110 Australians currently fighting in the region. As many as 45 have died in the conflict.