Citizenship: Labor unlikely, but interest groups could challenge ineligible ministers’ decisions

MILLIONS of dollars of grants, board appointments and proposed decentralisation could be at risk of challenge after two senior ministers’ expulsion from Parliament, according to leaked legal advice.

Questions have been asked about the legality of Barnaby Joyce’s decisions. Picture: Peter Lorimer Joyce to focus on winning by-election

MILLIONS of dollars of grants, some board appointments and proposed decentralisation could be at risk of challenge after two senior ministers’ expulsion from Parliament, according to leaked legal advice.

Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce and deputy Nationals leader Fiona Nash made a combined 90 ministerial announcements and signed off on about 30 executive instruments despite being ineligibly elected.

A landmark High Court decision on Friday found that Mr Joyce, Ms Nash as well as former senators Larissa Waters, Scott Ludlum and Malcolm Roberts had been dual citizens and were ineligible for Parliament.

Legal advice from top silks obtained by Labor and seen by The Courier-Mail suggests there is a “high likelihood” of legal challenge to decisions made by the two ministers in the past year.

It is despite Attorney-General George Brandis saying the Government has advice that there is no issue.

Labor’s Tony Burke said Labor would not challenge, but warned there were vested interests that would likely take advantage.

“If you’re in charge of Australia’s quarantine service, there’s importers or exporters who make or lose money depending on decisions you make,” he told the ABC.

“There will be a series of decisions there with vested interests, now combing through, and there being a whole lot of legal doubt over those decisions on the simple basis that Barnaby Joyce didn’t do what Matt Canavan did.”

Labor’s legal advice quotes Section 64 of the Constitution, which allows a person to hold a ministerial office for up to three months without being an MP or senator.

But it says this means decisions made by Mr Joyce and Ms Nash were open to challenge.

“Such decisions could be challenged on the basis that they are invalid, because the person making the decision was not constitutionally able to hold office as a minister at the relevant time and therefore lacked power to make the decision,” the advice states.

But Senator Brandis said most decisions made by ministers had to be signed off by Cabinet, while many appointments were approved by the Governor-General or Federal Executive Council.

“Recommendations by ministers are not decisions that are legally reviewable so I do not think that we will see that there is a problem,” he said.

“I don’t think there are many decisions of Mr Joyce, as opposed to decisions of Cabinet, that could be affected.

“In any event we are having a close look at that right at the moment.”

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has left Australia for Israel for the Battle of Beersheba commemorations, leaving Julie Bishop as acting PM in his absence.