What's good for the Greens is good for other lawmakers, according to Green party leader Richard Di Natale who is demanding that Queensland Nationals Senator Matt Canavan quit the Senate after being outed as having dual citizenship in Italy.

Mr. Canavan stood down from the cabinet because of the situation, which came about without his knowledge.  Despite being born in Australia and being an adult at the time, his mother applied for dual nationality for herslef and Mr. Canavan, and for some reason the Italians went ahead with it.

Earlier, the two Greens senators Larissa Waters and Scott Ludlam stood down after realizing they were dual nationals; their cases were due to paperwork oversights that occured while they were young children. 

"The Constitution makes it very clear that people holding dual citizenship are ineligible to stand as representatives in the federal parliament,” said Senator Di Natale.  "It's very clear ignorance is no excuse, and for people to have faith in the system, people within the system need to act with integrity and honesty.  That's exactly what our two Greens senators did."

Di Natale accused Canavan and the government of having of two sets of standards:

"We can't have one set of rules for ministers within the Turnbull government and another set of rules for everybody else," he said.  "We have to make sure that everybody is treated fairly, and that’s not what’s happening right now."

Senator Canavan stood by his decision to stand down from the cabinet but to continue in the Senate.

"It's obviously important for me but it's now a decision which is not just about my circumstance, it's going to establish principles which go to the heart of eligibility of many Australians to stand for Australian parliament," Canavan said.  "The High Court of Australia are the appropriate body to look at these things and I'll let them do their job now."