"To lose one MP may be regarded as misfortune, to lose two looks like carelessness."

Remember all those Wildean-gags made at the expense of the Greens after a teary Larissa Waters was forced to resign from the Senate due to her Canadian citizenship? It came just a few days after the Greens' other co-deputy leader, Scott Ludlam, was forced to resign over his New Zealand citizenship, and made the Greens a laughing stock.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was unsympathetic. "It shows incredible sloppiness on their part," he said of Ludlam. "You know, when you nominate for Parliament, there is actually a question — you have got to address that section 44 question and you've got to tick the box and confirm that you are not a citizen of another country."

But it turns out that such carelessness was not isolated to the Greens. It is now clear there has been a widespread failure among candidates to meet the requirements of our constitution.