Leaders clash over dual citizen crisis

THE citizenship issue looks set to develop into a bitter partisan fight after the Turnbull Government voted against a Labor and crossbench motion which would have sent nine MPs, including Braddon MP Justine Keay, to the High Court.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said discussions with the Government had been deeply unsatisfactory.

“The Government is making it clear that they intend to refer their political enemies to the High Court but not apply the same standards to themselves. This is a very poor development in Australian democracy,” Mr Shorten said.

“We are happy to consider joint referrals, but if the Government is not interested in doing anything other than partisan point-scoring, that will be a fight and an argument.”

The vote to refer Ms Keay, Labor’s Susan Lamb, David Feeney and Josh Wilson, and the Nick Xenophon Team member Rebekha Sharkie and Coalition members Jason Falinski, Nola Marino, Julia Banks and Alex Hawke was lost after Speaker Tony Smith exercised a casting vote after the vote tied 73-73.

Early in the day, Labor senator Katy Gallagher asked to be referred by the Senate and Mr Feeney later self-referred.

Mr Shorten said the circus could not end until Mr Turnbull and his MPs submitted to full disclosure.

“We now see that Malcolm Turnbull is engaging in a mass cover-up. There are many inadequate disclosures which raise more questions than provide answers,” he said.

Denison MP Andrew Wilkie supported the motion.

“This motion would help ensure that referrals are done in an even-handed way and are not the political plaything of any one party,” he said.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told Parliament that the Government would not support the motion because Coalition members were not dual citizens.

“[Mr Shorten] has a number of members we all know who knew they were UK citizens at the time they nominated, that’s a fact,” he said.

“He also has a senator, Senator Gallagher, in exactly the same position, she has been referred by Senator Wong to the High Court but he doesn’t want to refer people who are in exactly the same position here, where is the logic?”

Ms Keay said her status would ultimately be a matter for Parliament to decide.

“But I think it’s disgraceful that Turnbull is trying to send his political opponents to the High Court while protecting his own MPs who have clear problems,” she said.

On Tuesday, Ms Keay supplied documents to the citizenship register that revealed she did not get confirmation of her renunciation of British citizenship until July 11 last year — after the June 9 deadline.

Ms Keay says she took all reasonable steps to renounce and that she believed her eligibility to be rock solid. Information lodged by Ms Keay shows she was ineligible at the time of the July 2 poll.

She yesterday told ABC radio it would not be a reasonable thing to refer herself to the High Court.

“But if it ends up in the High Court, I will respect the wish of the Parliament if that is there way it goes,” she said.

“I am extremely confident in what the outcome will be.”