I’m thinking out loud hypothetically of course, I’d rather run a week of marathons than run for the senate.

But let’s say for a minute that I had decided to take the former course.

In the modern world what would be the first thing I did.

If you guessed I’d do a google search on the topic you’d be spot on.

So let’s do a search and type into google the first thing that comes to mind “How do I run for the senate?”

In just over half of a one second the search reveals 95 million results.

So where to start with so much information readily at hand.

Let’s start at the obvious starting point, the first google search result. No use scanning over pages and pages of information when right at the top of your search is a document from the Parliament of Australia titled Qualifications of Senators and candidates for Senate elections.

Keep up here readers.

I open the document, which you can download as a pdf and save on your desktop or print if you wish.

It’s not a particularly long document, in fact you can read the entire document in a number of minutes.

So let’s start.

Before long have a bit of a picture of the eligibility requirements, especially if you were born in another country and hold dual citizenship.

The ninth line starts like this “To stand for either House, a person must be”…. 

Okay, it’s pretty clear that I need to be an Aussie, but what about my dual citizenship.

Keep reading, you won’t be held in suspense for too long.

Just six lines further along it states “Section 44 of the Constitution provides further limitations on eligibility. A person cannot be chosen as a senator if he or she is a citizen or subject of a foreign power”.

Now tell me how did two Greens senators, Larissa Waters and Scott Ludlam, not have know they were ineligible to stand for Senate positions.

They both claimed they didn’t know they had dual citizenship.

Hogwash, surely the fact came up around the dinner table at some time.