In this Sept 6, 2017 file photo, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce speaks during a Minerals Council of Australia event at Parliament House in Canberra. (EPA-EFE photo)CANBERRA: Australia's High Court has disqualified the deputy prime minister and four senators from sitting in Parliament in a ruling that could cost the government its slender majority in Parliament. The decision on Friday to disqualify Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce over a constitutional ban on dual citizens sitting in Parliament means a by-election will be held in December. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's conservative coalition has a single-seat majority in the 150-seat House of Representatives where parties form governments. The court also disqualified four of the six senators referred to court, including government minister Fiona Nash.

Source: Bangkok Post October 27, 2017 03:22 UTC