MPs quit but vow to return to seats
THE citizenship crisis has taken a new twist, with four MPs quitting Parliament and vowing to recontest their seats at by-elections after the High Court disqualified Labor senator Katy Gallagher.
Labor’s Susan Lamb, Josh Wilson and Justine Keay quit yesterday, along with Centre Alliance’s Rebekha Sharkie, sparking fresh elections in their seats.
All five MPs were British citizens when the writs for the 2016 election were issued, which the High Court ruled made Ms Gallagher ineligible.
Attorney-General Christian Porter demanded the four lower house MPs resign after the ruling, and one by one they announced their decisions to quit and run again.
“I don’t believe that my job here is finished,” Ms Sharkie said in Canberra yesterday.
Mr Wilson said it had been a “difficult process” but he was ready for a by-election in Fremantle. It means a total of five by-elections are now due, with Labor also hoping to replace Perth MP Tim Hammond, who recently announced he will quit for family reasons.
“It seems that rolled gold process (of checking citizenship details) Bill Shorten was boasting about arrogantly some time ago isn’t so rolled gold after all,” Treasurer Scott Morrison said at a National Press Club event to talk about Tuesday night’s budget.
The High Court decision is the latest in a long line of citizenship problems that have beset MPs, starting when Greens senator Scott Ludlam resigned in July 2017 because he was a New Zealand citizen.
Ms Gallagher, who represents the ACT, argued she took every possible step to renounce her British ties to ensure her eligibility to run for Parliament at the 2016 election.
But the High Court found despite Ms Gallagher’s efforts to renounce her citizenship,
IT SEEMS THAT ROLLED GOLD PROCESS (OF CHECKING CITIZENSHIP DETAILS) BILL SHORTEN WAS BOASTING ABOUT ARROGANTLY SOME TIME AGO ISN’T SO ROLLED GOLD AFTER ALL
TREASURER SCOTT MORRISON
she was not eligible under section 44 of the Constitution to sit in Parliament.
“The fact is that she remained a British citizen under the law of the United Kingdom,” the High Court decided.
She could re-enter Parliament through a newly created lower seat in the ACT.
A Government spokesman said there were no doubts over Coalition MPs Julia Banks, Jason Falinski, Alex Hawke and Nola Marino, who Labor sought to refer to the High Court last year. The spokesman said they had all been cleared of dual citizenship.