One Nation Senator Defies Laws Of Grammar; Called Himself "Malcolm-Ieuan: Roberts."

Yesterday, we discussed the fact Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party now holds four seats in the Australian Senate, wielding a significant amount of power.

The fourth seat was only just called for Queensland’s Malcolm Roberts, who, as we noted, was already demanding a section of the Racial Discrimination Act be repealed. (I mean, what did we expect?)

But Buzzfeed has pointed out a fun (?) fact about our new senator-elect: He defies the laws of grammar, believing it to be a tool of government enslavement. As such, he has previously gone by “Malcolm-Ieuan: Roberts.” Yes, the colon and full-stop are also a part of his name.

Roberts (sorry, : Roberts.) was previously the head of the Galileo Movement in Australia, an organisation dedicated to debunking climate science.

In 2011, he penned a letter as Malcolm-Ieuan: Roberts. to then-Prime Minister Julia Gillard (a proponent for the carbon tax) in which they addressed her as “The Woman, Julia-Eileen: Gillard.”. In it, he sought to be exempt from her tax and compensated with $280,000 if she couldn't fully explain why he would have to pay.

The odd usage of punctuation is apparently a trademark of people who consider themselves “sovereign citizens”. Buzzfeed points us in the direction of a lawsuit from American “sovereign citizen” David-Wynn: Miller, who challenged the government for its own usage of grammar.

“Like many sovereigns who don’t recognise most state and federal laws, he claims the government uses grammar to enslave it citizens,” the article states.

“By using hyphens and colons in their names, he claims, citizens can escape the grasp of government and its taxes.”

As the SMH reports, "sovereign citizens" are considered by NSW police as "a potential terrorist threat."

On ABC radio, Roberts said he was not a "sovereign citizen".

So, there you go. Though you probably can’t use random colons and hyphens in your school work and expect a passing grade, it apparently won’t stand in the way of you being elected to Australia’s Senate.

Photo: Twitter / Sky News.