Citizenship audit reveals 18 MPs under a cloud with nation now facing the prospect of a barrage of by-elections

TWO of Labor’s top Liberal targets in the citizenship crisis have released documents and detailed legal advice which concludes they were not in breach of section 44 of the Constitution.

TWO of Labor’s top Liberal targets in the citizenship crisis have released documents and detailed legal advice which concludes they were not in breach of section 44 of the Constitution.

The Daily Telegraph has seen legal advice from Arnold Bloch Liebler on behalf of Liberal MP Jason Falinski, which concludes he is not entitled to Polish, Kyrgyz, Russian or British citizenship by descent.

But the advice also warns: “as previously discussed, we cannot conclusively advise on foreign law and recommend that you seek independent advice from foreign law experts to confirm our views set out in this advice”.

Liberal MP Nola Marino. Picture: AAP

Liberal MP Jason Falinski. Picture: AAP

“If our understanding of Polish law is correct, you would not be considered under Polish law to be a citizen of Poland, nor are you entitled to the rights and privileges of a Polish citizen, and therefore section 44 of the Constitution does not apply to you, so as to render you incapable of sitting in the House of Representatives,” high-power Melbourne lawyer Mark Leibler wrote.

The release of the legal advice comes after another Liberal, MP Nola Marino, released confirmation from Italian authorities she was not an Italian citizen.

Labor has targeted Mr Falinski and Ms Marino for referral to the High Court with several of its MPs under question for not receiving confirmation they renounced their British citizenship before the last federal election.

Labor leader Bill Shorten pursued the Coalition about providing insufficient evidence on citizenship disclosures earlier today, despite several Labor MPs being in the same position.

Labor’s Emma Husar, who has Polish ancestry, has not provided any evidence the Polish consulate responded to her renunciation request.

Barnaby Joyce is welcomed back into the House of Representatives today. Picture: AAP

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce slammed Labor as “disgusting” for refusing to refer its parliamentarians to the High Court over questions of their dual citizenship in his first comments since returning to Parliament after the New England by-election.

Labor has struck a deal with the crossbench this afternoon to refer a number of MPs to the court, including four of its own MPs, four Coalition MPs and the Nick Xenophon Team’s Rebekha Sharkie.

Earlier Mr Joyce was sworn-in as Deputy Prime Minister by Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove. Picture: AAP

The deal, which is unlikely to pass without the support of the government, was announced just minutes after Labor Leader Bill Shorten said Parliament “needs to adopt a joint approach” and called for the Coalition to work with him on referring MPs to the court.

“I have said on a number of occasions in the last month, that once the disclosures are in, the Parliament needs to adopt a joint approach,” he said.

“The concern that I now have when I see the disclosures, only one side of the Parliament has played by the rules.”

The move would Liberals Jason Falinsky, Julia Banks, Nola Marino and Alex Hawke to the court, alongside Labour MPs David Feeney, Susan Lamb, Justine Keay and Josh Wilson.

Labor senator Katy Gallagher was referred to the court earlier today because the British Home Office did not confirm she had renounced her dual citizenship until after nominations closed for the last federal election, placing her in the same category as Ms Lamb, Ms Keay and Mr Wilson.

Bill Shorten at a press conference at Parliament House today. Picture: AAP

Earlier this morning, Social Services Minister Christian Porter also attacked Labor to radio station 2GB.

He accused Bill Shorten of playing “the highest stakes game of political deception in Australian political history” after being exposed in the citizenship fiasco with up to 10 ALP politicians facing High Court referral.

“On the Labor side, literally for months, Bill Shorten with no equivocation, no sense of irony has said at least a dozen times that they’ve got a strict vetting process, that there was in his words ‘no cloud over any of our people’,” he said.

“It’s clear that that was not merely absolute rubbish but a calculated deception. He has played the highest stakes game of political deception in Australian political history.”

PM Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra today. Picture Kym Smith

His comments came as Labor senator Katy Gallagher announced she will stand aside from her frontbench role after being revealed as one of five Labor politicians and four Liberals who could be kicked out of Parliament for holding foreign citizenship, resulting in a Super Saturday of by-elections across the country that could shift Malcolm Turnbull’s grip on power.

The forced disclosure of citizenship documents last night exposed Labor leader Bill Shorten to accusations of hypocrisy and dishonesty for claiming day in and day out that Labor’s vetting processes were foolproof while attacking Coalition politicians such as Barnaby Joyce, Fiona Nash and John Alexander.

David Feeney (left): Completed renunciation form in 2007 but British Home Office is unable to confirm whether it was received or processed — will refer himself to High Court later this week if not found. Josh Wilson: Renouncement confirmed by the British Home Office on June 29, after close of nominations.

In addition to four MPs facing a court referral under today’s proposed deal, a further five Labor MPs, who haven’t produced details of when their renunciation was confirmed, could also face a referral to the court — Steve Georganas, Anne Aly, Emma Husar, Ed Husic and Emma McBride.

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Liberal Josh Frydenberg may also have his case tested in court after — like Liberal MPs Jason Falinski and Nola Marino — failing to provide adequate evidence he renounced his entitlement to foreign citizenship in time.

Justine Keay (left): British Home Office registered renunciation on July 11, months after nominations closed. Katy Gallagher: Has been confirmed she was a British citizen for a whole month after 2016 election.

Labor said the Greek embassy’s confirmation that Liberals Julia Banks, Alex Hawke, Michael McCormack and Arthur Sinodinos were not Greek citizens was unconvincing and they should also be referred to the High Court.
Rebekha Sharkie, from Nick Xenophon’s team, could also be referred for not renouncing her British citizenship in time.

Ed Husic: Parents were born in Yugoslavia, but has not provided any evidence to show he renounced any citizenship by descent. Steve Georganas: Discloses he has renounced Greek citizenship on numerous occasions, but did not provide documentation about confirmation of a renunciation.

That is a total of 18 politicians with questions over their eligibility to sit in the Parliament after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull forced all politicians to lodge documents disclosing where their parents were born and what steps they had taken to renounce foreign citizenship.

After staying silent for months, Mr Feeney, a close factional ally of Mr Shorten’s, admitted his status as a UK citizen remains “unclear”.

Anne Aly: Has not confirmed the date her Egyptian citizenship was renounced, but released a letter from the Egyptian Embassy in Canberra showing she applied for renunciation on May 4, 2016. Emma Husar: Wrote to Polish Embassy on May 24 last year, but did not disclose what response was received.

“I remain hopeful that continuing searches of UK records and archives will clarify this matter in my favour,” he said.

“On this basis if the relevant documents are not dealt with by the time this issue is dealt with in the House of Representatives I will be asking the Manager of  Opposition Business to refer this matter to the High Court.”

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann last night said Labor’s processes had failed to detect that Feeney’s citizenship declaration was flawed.

Emma McBride: Revealed she had Irish citizenship which she renounced in 2013, but did not provide any documented confirmation it had been cancelled. Susan Lamb: British Home Office refused to process renunciation because there wasn’t enough evidence provided she was a dual citizen despite her father being born in Scotland.

“Bill Shorten tonight has been exposed as a dishonest, sanctimonious hypocrite,” he said.

“You can’t tell me that Bill Shorten only found out tonight that that was the case.

“You’ve got to assume that Bill Shorten has known for some time that David Feeney had this problem and really it completely exposes his dishonesty and hypocrisy when it comes to this issue.”

Labor said the Greek embassy’s confirmation that Liberals Julia Banks, Arthur Sinodinos, Alex Hawke and Michael McCormack were not Greek citizens was unconvincing and they should also be referred to the High Court.

Mr Shorten has long guaranteed that Labor’s vetting processes ensured no Labor MPs had a problem with dual citizenship.

“We have a strict vetting process. There is no cloud over any of our people. Let’s be straight here,” he said in August.

“I am very confident. And what’s more is when you have to look at the track record, it has not been Labor and its ministers who have been the problem here,” he said again in November.

Liberal MP Jason Falinski failed to provide adequate evidence he renounced entitlement to foreign citizenship. Picture: Troy Snook

Minister for Environment and Energy Josh Frydenberg is also set to have his case tested in court.

The High Court took a literal interpretation of the Australian Constitution that states dual citizens cannot sit in Parliament when it ruled on the eligibility of seven politicians in October.

Five of the seven were declared ineligible.

A Super Saturday of by-elections across the country could shift Malcolm Turnbull’s grip on power while Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has come under fire for ‘hypocrisy’. Picture: Kym Smith

A super Saturday of by-elections could be potentially fatal for the Turnbull government, which has trailed Labor in 24 Newspolls over the past 18 months.

The Turnbull government would hope to pick up Ms Sharkie’s seat of Mayo if her referral to the High Court resulted in a by-election.

Mr Wilson’s and Ms Keay’s documents showed renunciation of their UK citizenships had not been finalised until after nominations closed at the election.