Heather Hill
Encyclopedia
Heather Hill is a former English
-Australia
n politician.
Hill was born in 1960 in London
. In 1971 her family moved to Australia, arriving in Brisbane
, Queensland
on 6 October of that year. She attended school in Brisbane. In January 1981, Hill (then Heather Rafe) married Ken Hill, an Australian citizen, with whom she would later have two children, Joshua and Hayley.
for six years from 1991. The Liberal
-Nationals
coalition government withdrew funding from the centre in 1997, spurring Hill to become involved with Pauline Hanson
's One Nation Party.
Hill intended to stand for election, but to do so she had to be an Australian citizen. She applied for Australian citizenship in January 1998, which was granted on 20 January. She then attended a citizenship ceremony where she was presented with a certificate after reciting the pledge of loyalty to Australia. However in the time between her application for citizenship and the granting of her request, Hill needed to travel to New Zealand
for family reasons, and applied for a British passport
. She used this passport to travel on 4 February, since although an Australian passport had been issued to her on 3 February, it had not been sent to her by the time she left.
Hill stood as the One Nation candidate for the Legislative Assembly of Queensland in the strong Labor seat of Ipswich
in the 1998 Queensland election. She lost narrowly to Labor candidate
David Hamill
.
Hill was initially encouraged by Hanson to stand as the One Nation candidate for the Australian House of Representatives
in the Division of Oxley
in the 1998 federal election, but Hill declined. Instead she stood as a One Nation candidate to the Australian Senate
in Queensland. Hill was the first of five One Nation candidates on the ballot paper, and at the election on 3 October 1998, Hill received 295,903 votes, enough to fill one quota (the required number of votes needed to be elected under the Single Transferable Vote
system). Accordingly, Hill was declared a Senator-elect.
when her Australian citizenship was granted.
The Constitution of Australia
prevents anyone who is a citizen of a foreign country from being elected to the Parliament of Australia
, and there were concerns that Hill's dual citizenship could contravene this provision. On 19 November Hill contacted the High Commission of the United Kingdom in Brisbane, and arranged to renounce her United Kingdom citizenship. However, on 30 November Hill's election was challenged on the basis of her dual citizenship.
On 23 June 1999 the High Court of Australia
, sitting in its capacity as the Court of Disputed Returns, decided in Sue v Hill
that Hill's election was invalid because, at the time of her election, she was still a citizen of the United Kingdom. The landmark case clarified for the first time that the United Kingdom was a power foreign to Australia.
, One Nation's number two candidate on the Senate ballot, was appointed in Hill's place, taking up his seat on 2 July 1999. Hill became Harris's advisor, having previously been appointed to One Nation's national executive. However, Hill had a falling out with the party after a dispute about the finances of the party, Hill raising concerns about A$2.4 million in funding which she said was unaccounted for in financial documents. When the Queensland branch of the party defected, forming One Nation Queensland (later renamed to City Country Alliance
), Hill joined them, and was sacked by Harris on 13 December 1999. The Alliance was deregistered in 2003.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
-Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n politician.
Hill was born in 1960 in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. In 1971 her family moved to Australia, arriving in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
on 6 October of that year. She attended school in Brisbane. In January 1981, Hill (then Heather Rafe) married Ken Hill, an Australian citizen, with whom she would later have two children, Joshua and Hayley.
One Nation and Senate Election
Hill was the manager of the Family Resource Centre in IpswichIpswich, Queensland
Ipswich is a city in South-East Queensland, Australia. Situated along the Bremer River Valley approximately 40 kilometres away from the state's capital Brisbane. The suburb by the same name forms the city's Central Business District and administrative centre...
for six years from 1991. The Liberal
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
-Nationals
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
coalition government withdrew funding from the centre in 1997, spurring Hill to become involved with Pauline Hanson
Pauline Hanson
Pauline Lee Hanson is an Australian politician and former leader of Pauline Hanson's One Nation, a political party with a populist and anti-multiculturalism platform...
's One Nation Party.
Hill intended to stand for election, but to do so she had to be an Australian citizen. She applied for Australian citizenship in January 1998, which was granted on 20 January. She then attended a citizenship ceremony where she was presented with a certificate after reciting the pledge of loyalty to Australia. However in the time between her application for citizenship and the granting of her request, Hill needed to travel to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
for family reasons, and applied for a British passport
Passport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
. She used this passport to travel on 4 February, since although an Australian passport had been issued to her on 3 February, it had not been sent to her by the time she left.
Hill stood as the One Nation candidate for the Legislative Assembly of Queensland in the strong Labor seat of Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
in the 1998 Queensland election. She lost narrowly to Labor candidate
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
David Hamill
David Hamill
David Hamill born at Ipswich, Queensland on 18 September 1957, is a former Queensland ALP politician, who served in a number of positions including Minister for Transport and Minister Assisting the Premier on Economic and Trade Development, Minister for Education and Treasurer. He was elected to...
.
Hill was initially encouraged by Hanson to stand as the One Nation candidate for the Australian House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
in the Division of Oxley
Division of Oxley
The Division of Oxley is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The current division is the second to bear the name, and was created in 1949. The division is named after the Australian explorer, John Oxley...
in the 1998 federal election, but Hill declined. Instead she stood as a One Nation candidate to the Australian Senate
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
in Queensland. Hill was the first of five One Nation candidates on the ballot paper, and at the election on 3 October 1998, Hill received 295,903 votes, enough to fill one quota (the required number of votes needed to be elected under the Single Transferable Vote
Single transferable vote
The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
system). Accordingly, Hill was declared a Senator-elect.
Eligibility decided
After the election, on 18 November 1998, concerns were raised about Hill's citizenship status. Hill still retained her United Kingdom citizenship, and had attained dual citizenshipMultiple citizenship
Multiple citizenship is a status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a citizen under the laws of more than one state. Multiple citizenships exist because different countries use different, and not necessarily mutually exclusive, citizenship requirements...
when her Australian citizenship was granted.
The Constitution of Australia
Constitution of Australia
The Constitution of Australia is the supreme law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates. It consists of several documents. The most important is the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia...
prevents anyone who is a citizen of a foreign country from being elected to the Parliament of Australia
Parliament of Australia
The Parliament of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It is bicameral, largely modelled in the Westminster tradition, but with some influences from the United States Congress...
, and there were concerns that Hill's dual citizenship could contravene this provision. On 19 November Hill contacted the High Commission of the United Kingdom in Brisbane, and arranged to renounce her United Kingdom citizenship. However, on 30 November Hill's election was challenged on the basis of her dual citizenship.
On 23 June 1999 the High Court of Australia
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
, sitting in its capacity as the Court of Disputed Returns, decided in Sue v Hill
Sue v Hill
Sue v Hill was an Australian court case decided in the High Court of Australia on 23 June 1999. It concerned a dispute over the apparent return of a candidate, Heather Hill, to the Australian Senate in the 1998 federal election...
that Hill's election was invalid because, at the time of her election, she was still a citizen of the United Kingdom. The landmark case clarified for the first time that the United Kingdom was a power foreign to Australia.
Aftermath
Len HarrisLen Harris
Leonard William Harris was an Australian politician who was the only One Nation representative to gain a seat in the Australian Parliament as a Senator from the state of Queensland...
, One Nation's number two candidate on the Senate ballot, was appointed in Hill's place, taking up his seat on 2 July 1999. Hill became Harris's advisor, having previously been appointed to One Nation's national executive. However, Hill had a falling out with the party after a dispute about the finances of the party, Hill raising concerns about A$2.4 million in funding which she said was unaccounted for in financial documents. When the Queensland branch of the party defected, forming One Nation Queensland (later renamed to City Country Alliance
City Country Alliance
The City Country Alliance was a short lived Australian political party that briefly held six Queensland state seats.It was founded in late 1999 after the One Nation Party contingent in the Queensland Legislative Assembly split...
), Hill joined them, and was sacked by Harris on 13 December 1999. The Alliance was deregistered in 2003.