Liberal MP John Alexander quits: Is this knockout blow for PM?
MALCOLM Turnbull encouraged Liberal MP John Alexander to do the “right” and “honourable thing” and resign from his marginal seat on account of his likely British citizenship, in an extraordinary move that will see the PM preside over a minority government.
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MALCOLM Turnbull encouraged Liberal MP John Alexander to do the “right” and “honourable thing” and resign from his marginal seat on account of his likely British citizenship, in an extraordinary move that will see the Prime Minister preside over a minority government.
Mr Turnbull drew on the resignation, which has left him vulnerable to losing control of Parliament, to step up pressure on Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to stop running a “protection racket” for a group of suspected dual citizen Labor MPs.
“John Alexander has done the right thing. I spoke to him last night and he told me that he was no longer sufficiently satisfied or no longer sure that he was not a UK citizen,” he said.
“If members believe they are no longer eligible to sit in the parliament they shouldn’t sit in the Parliament.”
Mr Alexander will hold a by-election in his marginal seat of Bennelong, which could be as early as Saturday December 16.
With his British-born father never renouncing his citizenship, Mr Alexander is a dual citizen by descent. He told reporters gathered at Bennelong Park today that as he was no longer confident of his status, it was his duty to stand aside.
He said while he felt it was his obligation to resign, Mr Alexander said he would be seeking the support of the Liberal Party to recontest the seat.
“My right to remain in parliament depends on my belief that I am solely Australian,” he said.
“Given what I have learned about the constitution, and understanding now of the High Court decision of just a few weeks ago, I can no longer with sufficient certainty maintain the belief that I have held through my 66 years.
“Therefore, it is my obligation that I must resign, and that’s what I will do. I will seek the support of my party to contest the by-election of Bennelong.”
As the citizenship crisis lurches on, a group of Labor MPs are refusing to resign despite serious doubts over their eligibility to sit in Parliament, including Justine Keay and Susan Lamb, along with Senator Katy Gallacher.
Mr Turnbull said the MPs should follow Mr Alexander’s lead and face a by-election on the same day.
“John has done the right thing, the honourable thing, he has resigned his seat and Bill Shorten and Labor should now seriously consider whether their members who admitted they were UK citizens at the time they nominated, not only were but knew they were, whether they should do the right thing, resign from Parliament now and the by-elections can be held on the same day as the by-election for Benelong,” he said.
“Bill Shorten wanted to draw me into some kind of protection racket for Labor MPs who were clearly UK citizens at the time they nominated and absolutely knew they were, and he wanted me to commit the Government to vote to not send them to the High Court.”
Mr Turnbull responded to the citizenship crisis engulfing Parliament while continuing to meet with world leaders at the trade and economic summit, APEC, including a biilaterial this morning with Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
He said a general election was not necessary and insisted his government was stable and in control.
“We absolutely are providing stable government delivering,” he said.
“We have the support of the cross-bench on matters of confidence and supply and in terms of the absences, Barnaby Joyce’s by-election is on the 2nd of December.. every expectation is that he will be returned.”
A spokesman said the PM also remains committed to facilitating a private members bill to legalise same sex marriage before the end of the year if the postal survey returns a yes vote.
After APEC concludes today, Mr Turnbull will fly to Hong Kong and Philippines to discuss regional security, terrorism and the threat from North Korea at the East Asia Summit.
He said he had not given any thought to returning home during the citizenship crisis but was “always in touch” via modern technology.
STATE OF PLAY
Government now has 74 of 148 seats currently in parliament. (50 per cent)
74 Government
69 Labor
1 Green
1 Katter
1 Wilkie
1 Sharkie
1 McGowan