Joyce trifling matter to Pyne

THE dual citizenship crisis is expected to spark another fiery fortnight of parliament but the Turnbull Government’s chief tactician Christopher Pyne is not worried.

Cabinet minister Fiona Nash and key crossbencher Nick Xenophon will be referred to the High Court over their dual citizenship when parliament returns to Canberra today.

The pair join five others, including Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, under scrutiny over their eligibility to sit in parliament.

Labor is expected to continue to apply pressure over Mr Joyce’s status in particular, threatening to attempt to delay all votes in the lower house until he steps down from cabinet or the High Court makes its ruling. The minister who runs the House, Christopher Pyne – who wrote the playbook on disruptive parliamentary tactics during the minority Gillard government – laughed off the threats.

“I’m shaking in my boots, as you can well imagine,” he said yesterday.

“Labor is always making these kinds of sabre rattling remarks about how they’re going to bring the place down.”

Cabinet colleague Greg Hunt saw it as a more serious matter, saying Labor didn’t respect the parliament.

“It might just be time for (Bill) Shorten to behave with the dignity and respect towards the parliament which a leader of a major party should show,” he said.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will take a “business as usual” approach, talking up action on power prices and job delivery.

The Government hopes to make progress on media reforms, despite Labor saying they are no longer needed, and its overhaul of university funding.

Mr Turnbull heads to the Pacific Islands Forum in Samoa at the end of the week, leaving Mr Joyce leading the country.

While the timing of this trip is not expected to have the acting Prime Minister in charge of parliament, Labor is not ruling anything out should Mr Joyce take the Prime Ministerial chair in the chamber.

“If it is untenable for him to be Deputy Prime Minister, it’s unthinkable for him to be acting Prime Minister,” Labor’s key tactician Tony Burke said.

Adding to the week’s chaos will be the High Court’s hearing of a challenge tomorrow against the same-sex marriage postal survey.