Via The Australian:
Malcolm Turnbull is facing an escalating Labor attack over the stability of his government after a third cabinet minister owned up to being a dual citizen by descent, shocking observers with another test in the High Court that could reshape the ministry.
Nationals deputy leader and Regional Affairs Minister Fiona Nash last night revealed she was a British citizen as a result of her father’s birth in Scotland in 1927, deepening the danger for the Prime Minister as he tries to fight Labor claims he leads an “illegitimate” government.
Mr Turnbull faces heightened pressure to demote ministers while awaiting court rulings on their fate, after deciding on Monday to keep Deputy Prime Minister and Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce in his job after he admitted he was a New Zealand citizen.
The government will move on September 4, the next meeting of parliament, to refer Senator Nash to the High Court to rule on whether she has breached section 44 of the Constitution by holding dual citizenship.
Labor demanded an explanation last night on why the revelation came at the end of parliament’s sitting this week and why Senator Nash would not stand down from cabinet to follow the example of her Nationals colleague Matt Canavan, who resigned from the ministry on July 25 while waiting for a decision by the High Court.
Bill Shorten has used the furore over foreign citizenship to accuse the government of negligence, question its legitimacy and claim wider “chaos and crisis” in its ranks.
Hard to deny that. From the AFR:
The Liberal Party is furious with its junior Coalition partner. Apart from Mr Joyce and Senators Canavan and Nash being under a cloud, Nationals Senator Barry O’Sullivan and MP David Gillespie also face accusations of being in breach of section 44 of the Constitution under the subsection which prohibits an MP from holding an office of profit under the Crown. That makes five Nationals now facing potential dismissal, almost a quarter of its 21 MPs and Senators,
Like Mr Joyce, Senator Nash has advice from the Solicitor-General suggesting she will be cleared by the High Court so is refusing to quit Cabinet or refrain from voting in the Senate until her fate is resolved.
Completely cynical of course, via Domainfax:
Nationals deputy leader Fiona Nash, moments before the Senate rose for a fortnight, announced she could be a “British citizen by descent through her Scottish born father”.
Come on.
Rumours had swirled around Parliament House on Thursday that another Coalition MP was about to announce they were in trouble. The assumption, based on pure statistical probability, was that it was a Liberal MP.
After blasting Fairfax Media for publishing a story questioning his citizenship, the Liberal MP took to social media to reveal just what his status is.
But it was Nash who told the Senate a “host of websites” had said she needed to apply for citizenship, rather than inheriting it.
But, lo, on further investigation, there she was announcing her possible UK citizenship, through her Scottish father, on the basis of advice from the UK, and the Solicitor-General.
As Baaaarnaby said quite rightly a few weeks ago:
JOYCE: I don’t think for either Scott Ludlam or Larissa Waters there was anything malicious about it. I think merely an oversight, but unfortunately that’s the law. It’s like if you’re driving on the road without a licence and you get pulled over. Well, you’re in a spot of bother. They were members of parliament. It’s quite clear under Section 44, you can’t be a member of parliament and have dual citizenship. It’s black and white. The outcome is black and white. That’s just, that’s just the way it is.
KARVELAS: Does the law set the bar too high? Is it time to have a look at Section 44 of the Constitution?
JOYCE: Nah, I don’t think it is. I think you just have got to do your homework and make sure you’re not a citizen of two countries when you stand for parliament. That’s basically it. Larissa said she believed that was not the case and I am sure that would be the outcome for Scott Ludlam. But unfortunately ignorance is not an excuse, you’re in strife and as I said, there’s nothing malicious about it, being sneaky, but they were outside what Section 44 explicitly says. The reason it says that, is that you can only have one master, Australia. If you’re going to serve in the Australian parliament, Australia is your master.
She’s got to go to.
And behind the Nats lurks their tormentor in chief, via The Guardian:
Anyone watching politics this week knows it has been a cluttered, chaotic, high octane week in Canberra, and the competition to grab your little moment in the spotlight in all the swirling insanity has been intense.
It was clear that Hanson entered the Senate with a simple objective.
She wanted to use the chamber as a platform to project herself onto the television news bulletins, onto outrage central, 2GB in Sydney – and to amplify her direct communication with voters.
That’s what the alleged outsiders do in modern politics – they occupy the life, accept the benefits, and pretend that they are somehow quantifiably different from the other inhabitants of the circus.
Hanson beamed as she was soundly rebuked by a clearly infuriated George Brandis in one of the attorney general’s finest parliamentary contributions on the hop.
Better yet when folks across the chamber leapt to their feet to reward Brandis for his full-throated rebuke with a standing ovation.
Hanson’s smile widened, the eyes flashed.
