Australian pollies

Individuals are not allowed to represent in the federal parliament if they have been convicted of a crime punishable by a year or more in prison, but that ban is only while they are serving or awaiting sentence.

That seems pretty lenient to me; probably reflecting the fact that we are a federation of formal penal colonies, and it also makes sense since one extra glass of wine before driving makes one a potential criminal; on that basis we would run out of candidates pretty quickly if we banned anyone with a criminal record.

We are pretty short of sane candidates already.

However if anyone is attainted (they mean sentenced) of treason then they are banned for life. Treason is defined below…

You could probably gun down Tony Abbott and claim it as a Humanitarian act and then be free to get elected on the goodwill thus created. Probably call yourself Shooters and Roooters party – that would be a dead cert to get a senate seat or two. Then you could form a coalition with Clive and be set for life financially, so he can get rid of all taxes on mining and make annual attendance at Gold Coast theme parks compulsory for all children.

“A person commits an offence, called treason, if the person:

(a) causes the death of the Sovereign, the heir apparent of the Sovereign, the consort of the Sovereign, the Governor-General or the Prime Minister; or

(b) causes harm to the Sovereign, the Governor-General or the Prime Minister resulting in the death of the Sovereign, the Governor-General or the Prime Minister; or

(c) causes harm to the Sovereign, the Governor-General or the Prime Minister, or imprisons or restrains the Sovereign, the Governor-General or the Prime Minister; or

(d) levies war, or does any act preparatory to levying war, against the Commonwealth; or

(e) engages in conduct that assists by any means whatever, with intent to assist, an enemy:

(i) at war with the Commonwealth, whether or not the existence of a state of war has been declared; and

(ii) specified by Proclamation made for the purpose of this paragraph to be an enemy at war with the Commonwealth; or

(f) engages in conduct that assists by any means whatever, with intent to assist:

(i) another country; or

(ii) an organisation;

that is engaged in armed hostilities against the Australian Defence Force; or

(g) instigates a person who is not an Australian citizen to make an armed invasion of the Commonwealth or a Territory of the Commonwealth; or

(h) forms an intention to do any act referred to in a preceding paragraph and manifests that intention by an overt act.”

A person is not guilty of treason if their assistance or intended assistance is purely humanitarian in nature.”