Citizenship dramas hit Liberals in Longman

TWO of the three hopefuls vying to be the LNP’s candidate in Longman had their own questions over dual citizenship, contributing to delays in the preselection.

The failure to pick a candidate has caused anger in the party’s Sunshine Coast branch and comes as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull arrives in Longman today to campaign without a nominee.

It is understood the citizenship paperwork has now been finalised and Trevor Ruthenberg, Jason Snow and Terry Young will face a preselection contest on Tuesday night.

While Mr Ruthenberg had problems springing from being born in Papua New Guinea, it is understood one of the other two candidates also had citizenship concerns.

Some branch members have blamed the delays on redundancies at LNP headquarters, but others have said it was because of the extensive processes needed to clear the citizenship clouds hanging over the candidates.

Sources said members had pushed for selection of a Longman candidate since December when the extent of former Labor MP Susan Lamb’s citizenship troubles became clear.

No date has been set for the “super Saturday” of five byelections to be held after four MPs resigned due to citizenship issues, while a fifth stepped down for family reasons.