Citizenship scandal could spread to Labor Party after Barnaby Joyce confirmed a Kiwi
BARNABY Joyce’s NZ citizenship linked to an infamous sporting incident, as the Labor party official at the heart of the issue is revealed.
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BARNABY Joyce’s New Zealand citizenship fiasco has been compared to one of Australia’s most infamous sporting incidents, as the Labor party official at the heart of the issue is revealed.
After an extraordinary bombshell 24 hours earlier, Mr Joyce has confirmed he is no longer a New Zealand citizen.
The Nationals leader told Parliament he had received verbal confirmation before Question Time that his application to renounce his NZ citizenship had been accepted.
He is now awaiting documentation.
It comes as New Zealand Labour leader Jacinda Ardern hit back at Foreign Minister Julie Bishop for making “false claims” about the NZ Labour Party.
Ms Ardern met with the Australian High Commissioner this afternoon to “register my disappointment”.
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Ms Adern confirmed a Labor staffer had spoken to New Zealand MP Chris Hipkins about Mr Joyce’s citizenship status, not an Australian MP.
Fairfax Media reported that staffer was Senator Penny Wong’s chief of staff Marcus Ganley, who is a New Zealander.
Senator Wong later confirmed the contact in a press release without naming the staffer.
“A staff member in my office had informal discussions with New Zealand friends about domestic political issues, including the section 44 debate,” the release read.
“At no point did he make any request to raise the issue of dual citizenship in Parliament, a fact confirmed today by Mr Hipkins and the New Zealand Labour leader.”
New Zealand politician Winston Peters has compared the citizenship fiasco to the infamous underarm bowling incident in a 1981 One Day cricket International between Australian and New Zealand.
The former New Zealand Foreign Minister said: “The hit put on Australian Deputy Prime Minister by the Labour Party and corroborated by a Minister in the National-led government is like an underarm delivery.
“Are Labour’s Chris Hipkins and Minister Peter Dunne our answer to the Chappell brothers?
“It is distasteful to see the New Zealand Labour Party colluding with the Australian Labor Party on what was a political hit job targeting the Australian Deputy Prime Minister. More so with Minister Peter Dunne corroborating information that had obvious political intent.
“This could do serious damage to New Zealand’s relationship with Australia and the rights of New Zealanders in Australia. After the foreign interns controversy, people deserve to know what other foreign sourced information is being fed into Labour here.
“This is not how we do things this side of the Tasman. Simply put, it is not cricket.”
Australian allrounder Trevor Chappell’s underarm delivery to Kiwi batsman Brian McKechnie led to a straining of Trans Tasman relations.
Then New Zealand Prime Minister Robert Muldoon said it was “the most disgusting incident I can recall in the history of cricket”.
It also upset his Australian counterpart Malcolm Fraser who said the incident was “contrary to the traditions of the game”.
‘UNACCEPTABLE’ ACTIONS
Ms Adern said the party had no knowledge of the context of the query or that it might involve Mr Joyce’s citizenship status.
Mr Hipkins told her the question had been about a point of law and Mr Joyce’s citizenship was not raised.
“I will not let this get in the way of our relationship (with the Liberal Party),” she said.
“I made it very clear his (Mr Hipkins) actions were unacceptable.
“Chris has clarified that he did not (know the query was about Barnaby Joyce). It was a general clarification.
“My perspective is that regardless, it had nothing to do with us, we should not have been involved.
“(But) it is ridiculous to claim that we were the instigators of this situation.”
Mr Joyce’s citizenship case will be heard with four others in the High Court in Brisbane on August 24.
The High Court will determine whether Mr Joyce, former Greens senators Larissa Waters and Scott Ludlam, One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts and former minister Matt Canavan are eligible to sit in parliament under section 44 of the constitution due to their dual citizenship.
Senators Waters and Ludlam have already resigned from parliament and Senator Canavan has stood aside from the cabinet pending the court outcome.
TRUST ISSUES
Ms Bishop told reporters in Canberra it would be “very difficult to build trust” with a Labour government should the opposition party win the upcoming New Zealand election, which will be held on September 23.
Ms Ardern said it was “highly regrettable” that Ms Bishop had chosen to make “false claims” about the New Zealand Labour Party.
“I have been utterly transparent about the situation. I stand by my statements that I knew absolutely nothing about the Barnaby Joyce case until it broke in the media yesterday afternoon,” Ms Ardern wrote.
#BREAKING: Jacinda Ardern says Julie Bishops comments "highly regrettable" will register her disappointment with Aust HC @SkyNewsAust pic.twitter.com/RReRjRIM82
— James O'Doherty (@jmodoh) August 15, 2017
“I had no knowledge about the parliamentary questions lodged by Chris Hipkins MP. I have also been clear that those questions were not appropriate.”
Ms Ardern said she would “happily” take a call from Ms Bishop to discuss these matters.
I value our relationship with the Australian Govt highly. I won't let disappointing & false claims stand in the way of that relationship
— Jacinda Ardern (@jacindaardern) August 15, 2017
Ms Bishop today accused the Labor Party of compromising relations between Australia and New Zealand, saying it would be hard to develop a relationship with members of a party that had been “used by the Australian Labor Party to seek to undermine the Australian government”.
She slammed Opposition leader Bill Shorten for “treachery” in a spirited press conference after revelations a Labor MP prompted a New Zealand Labor MP to probe Barnaby Joyce’s citizenship status.
“Bill Shorten has sought to use a foreign political party to raise serious allegations in a foreign Parliament designed to undermine confidence in the Australian Government,” Ms Bishop told reporters in Canberra.
“Bill Shorten has serious questions to answer.
“This is highly unethical, at least.
“But, more importantly, puts at risk the relationship between the Australian Government and the New Zealand Government.”
She called on Mr Shorten to reveal the name of the MP who spoke to New Zealand Labor.
“We’re used to the dodgy backroom deals from Bill Shorten when he was leader of the union movement — he’s now brought that not only into Australian politics but now into the international politics.”
Meanwhile, Malcolm Turnbull defended Mr Joyce in Question Time today while slamming the Labor Party for “plotting” to undermine the Australian government.
“No-one’s ever doubted the loyalty of the Deputy Prime Minister to Australia. But what about the Leader of the Opposition,” he said.
The Prime Minister also pressured Labor MPs to provide documents to show they weren’t dual citizens.
“Where are the documents, let’s see them,” Mr Turnbull said.
Labor MP Tony Burke hit back at Ms Bishop’s claim Labor’s actions would affect her ability to work with the New Zealand government.
“If the Foreign Minister won’t work with the New Zealanders, how will she work with the Deputy Prime Minister,” he said.
A Liberal backbencher also asked the Prime Minister to outline the threat of “foreign state interference”.
Asked by Deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek who would be Acting Prime Minister when he went overseas in September, Mr Turnbull said the “usual arrangements” would be made.
Fairfax Media reports another Liberal MP, Anne Sudmalis, is seeking clarification on whether she is a dual citizen.
Ms Sudmalis has contacted the UK government to clarify her citizenship status.
While Ms Sudmalis was born in NSW, her mother was a British immigrant.
DELICATE BALANCE OF POWER
Mr Turnbull is facing the real possibility that he will be forced to seek an alliance with a crossbench MP to hold onto government.
Queensland MP Bob Katter has already outlined what he wants if the Prime Minister seeks his support if the High Court rules Barnaby Joyce is ineligible to sit in Parliament over his New Zealand citizenship.
“You’re one by-election away from needing mine or Rebekha Sharkie’s vote,” Mr Katter warned Mr Turnbull on Sky News today.
MORE: Katter delivers stunning blow to Coalition
Julia Gillard was forced to seek an alliance with crossbenchers in 2010 when Labor won only 72 seats after she ousted Kevin Rudd as Labor leader.
The then-Prime Minister formed a minority government with the help of NSW independents Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor, Greens MP Adam Bandt and Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie.
The Coalition under Malcolm Turnbull currently holds 76 seats in the lower house, which amounts to a one-seat majority.
To hold onto power, if Mr Joyce lost his seat following a High Court ruling, Mr Turnbull would need to turn to one of five possible allies; independents Cathy McGowan and Andrew Wilkie, Bob Katter of Katter’s Australian Party, Nick Xenophon Team MP Rebekha Sharkie or Greens MP Adam Bandt.
‘CONSPIRACY THEORIES’
Meanwhile, Opposition leader Bill Shorten accused the government of making up “conspiracy theories” after it was revealed Labor asked a NZ Labour MP to probe Barnaby Joyce’s citizenship status.
New Zealand Labour leader Jacinda Ardern today confirmed the speculation an ALP member asked NZ Labour frontbencher Chris Hipkins to look into Mr Joyce’s status.
Mr Joyce again refused this morning to stand aside as Deputy Prime Minister.
“The government is engaging in conspiracy theories, we don’t need to engage in them,” Mr Shorten told Labor MPs in a party room meeting today.
The Labor leader made no reference to the members of his party facing calls to prove they aren’t dual citizens.
Instead, he opened the meeting with the Maori greeting ‘Kia Ora’ and joked Mr Joyce should be renamed Foreign Minister or ‘leader of the dual nationals’.
Earlier, Ms Ardern said her MPs should not have asked the NZ Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne to look into Mr Joyce.
“I found out about those yesterday when the media story broke and contacted Chris to ask around the nature of the questions he’d asked,” Ms Ardern told radio NZ this morning.
“He’s been very clear: Yes, someone from the ALP put some legal question to him around citizenship, no mention was made of anyone’s name, no rationale for any particular case being pursued was ever raised.”
“He asked the questions without knowing how that might be used and has made it very clear, in hindsight, had he known how it would be used, he would not have asked the questions.”
Labor frontbencher Tony Burke had earlier rejected the suggestions, saying to his knowledge the Australian Labor Party had not been involved.
Liberal frontbencher Michael Sukkar said it was a “serious” issue if an Australian political party was working to undermine the government.
.@MichaelSukkarMP: an Austn political party working with a foreign one to undermine the govt is a very serious issue https://t.co/nmXKIHGGii pic.twitter.com/W5xUZfYqqn
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) August 14, 2017
“This stinks to high hell, to be honest,” Mr Sukkar told Sky News.
“You’ve got an Australian political party working with a foreign political party to undermine our domestic government.
“That is a very, very serious issue.”
Mr Sukkar likened it to interference the government hadn’t worried about since concerns about Soviet Russia during the Cold War. He labelled the actions “borderline corruption”.
Mr Sukkar said the ALP needed to confirm which of its MPs spoke to the New Zealand Labor Party.
KIWI BARNABY WON’T STAND DOWN
A subdued-looking Mr Joyce this morning told reporters in Canberra he would not stand down as the government had received legal advice from the Solicitor General that the more likely outcome of the looming High Court case was that he would not be disqualified as the Member for New England.
“As the more likely outcome is clear, we should just continue on with our work,” he said.
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Meanwhile, Labor has refused to release documents that would clear five federal MPs who could potentially hold dual citizenship.
As pressure mounts on Mr Joyce to step aside and abstain from voting in Parliament while the High Court decides whether he was eligible to be elected, the Coalition could today use its numbers to challenge Labor MPs to unequivocally prove they are not dual citizens, The Australian reports.
The MPs who have yet to provide documents proving they are not dual citizens include Justine Keay, Susan Lamb, Brendan O’Connor, Maria Vamvakinou and Tony Zappia.
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Asked on ABC radio this morning why Labor would not just release the documents, Mr Burke said the party was confident its preselection processes had ruled out any possible chance the MPs could be dual citizens.
“We go through parents and we go through grandparents and then a team of lawyers work with the candidates to make sure they have fulfilled the requirements of Section 44,” he said.
Ms Keay’s confirmation in July that she had not moved to renounce her British citizenship until a month before the 2016 federal election contradict Mr Burke’s assurance.
Attorney-General George Brandis told ABC the government’s legal advice relied on the assumption that Section 44 of the Constitution did not apply to someone who had no knowledge or reason to believe that they had a dual citizenship.
He conceded the ongoing saga was “getting ridiculous”.
The call for Mr Joyce to stand-aside comes as an overwhelming response to a News Corp Australia poll, participated in by more than 63,000 people, shows the majority of Australians think he should go.
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