Greens need stronger admin: Bob Brown

Bob Brown says the Greens need business-like administration following the resignation of two of the party's senators over citizenship bungles.

Former Greens Senator Bob Brown

Bob Brown concedes his former party needs to tighten its administrative processes. (AAP)

Former Greens leader Bob Brown concedes his former party needs to tighten its administrative processes after the dual-citizenship bungle which forced two senators to resign.

Larissa Waters and Scott Ludlam stepped down in the past week after revelations the pair hadn't renounced their respective Canadian and New Zealand citizenships.

Meanwhile, leader Richard Di Natale is awaiting confirmation he has renounced Italian citizenship.

Mr Brown, who was at the helm of the Greens federally for almost seven years, said the party must learn from "glitches like this".

"We're a young party which depends a lot on volunteers. We need business-like administration that other older parties have got," he said in Hobart.

"Stronger business administration in Canberra is going to help us along."

Mr Brown moved a private members' bill in the Federal Senate in 1998 to amend the constitution to permit dual-citizens but it didn't receive support of the major parties.

He said on Friday short of constitutional change, legislative change was needed.

"(It would be) a change to the electoral act which would require all nominated for the federal parliament to declare where they were born and whether they have dual citizenship."

"It would ensure that people don't get caught by this in the future."

Mr Brown's comments come amid reports of internal polling predicting the party is likely to lose three of its nine Senate seats as part of the fallout.

Tasmanian Green senator Peter Whish-Wilson said the party was conducting an independent review.

"We've never made any excuses and the senators have paid the highest possible price," he said.


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Published 21 July 2017 1:34pm
Source: AAP


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