Senator Katy Gallagher may be Ecuadorean after it is revealed her mother was born in South America

EXCLUSIVE: One of Labor’s attack dogs on citizenship, Senator Katy Gallagher, is considered an Ecuadorean dual citizen by descent under the nation’s constitution because her mother was born there.

Oops! It turns out that Senator Katy Gallagher may be caught up in the dual citizenship row after all. Picture: Gary Ramage

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ONE of Labor’s attack dogs on citizenship, Senator Katy Gallagher, is considered an Ecuadorean dual citizen by descent under the South American nation’s constitution because her mother was born there.

Senator Gallagher, the former ACT chief minister, has said publicly that her parents were British and that she has renounced her British citizenship, but The Daily Telegraph has obtained her mother’s arrival card to Australia, which shows she was born in Ecuador.

Article seven of the Ecuadorean constitution, most recently updated in 2008, states nationality is obtained by birth or naturalisation and shall not be forfeited through marriage, dissolution or acquiring another nationality.

Senator Katy Gallagher said she had British parents, but it turns out her mother was born in Ecuador, which could make her an Ecuadorean citizen.

Katy Gallagher’s mother’s arrival card into Australia which shows the senator was born in Ecuador in South America.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten claims question marks over Barnaby Joyce’s his citizenship have weakened the Government.

“The following persons are Ecuadorean by birth: persons born abroad of a mother or father born in Ecuador and their descendants up to the third degree of consanguinity.”

Ms Gallagher’s spokesman confirmed she has not renounced Ecuadorean citizenship and has not sought legal advice on whether she is a citizen under their constitution.

Early today, the senator said she “is not and never been” a citizen of Ecuador.

She said her citizenship status was investigated as part of the Labor party’s vetting when she nominated for the Senate.

“As a result of these investigations it was determined that I had not obtained Ecuadorian citizenship by descent from my mother,” she said in a statement.

The explosive revelation comes as a leaked email from Opposition Leader Bill Shorten’s office shows his plan to claim power prices, energy security, biosecurity, drought and water security have all been put at risk because of Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce’s referral to the high court over his New Zealand citizenship. While withholding information to protect their own politicians from scrutiny, the leaked email shows Mr Shorten intends to use the citizenship issue to attack the government.

“Hi all — to continue pressure on Barnaby, can your offices please draft media releases highlighting the key areas in your portfolio that will be at risk from his self-referral to the high court,” it states.

“The key targets are probably: gas mechanism, biosecurity, drought declarations, NAID, Water.”

Labor has refused to release documents to show if a group of Labor MPs and senators are dual citizens, and thus, they have avoided referral to the High Court.

Senator Gallagher said today she “is not and never been” a citizen of Ecuador.

Located in the National Archive, the passenger card for Ms Gallagher’s mother Elizabeth Mary, known as Betsy, shows she was born in Ecuador — a fact Ms Gallagher does not talk about publicly.

Ms Gallagher’s case is similar to those of Barnaby Joyce and Fiona Nash, because it is citizenship through descent, which had never been actively sought.

She has attacked the Nationals leadership saying they face disqualification from parliament.

“Malcolm Turnbull needs to explain why he is holding Mr Joyce and now Senator Nash to a lesser standard than Matt Canavan and not requiring them to stand down.”

In her maiden speech in federal Parliament, Ms Gallagher spoke of her parent’s British heritage but made no mention her mother was born in Ecuador.

“Mr President, my parents arrived in Canberra in 1969 from the United Kingdom via New Zealand following my father’s recruitment to the Australian Public Service,” she said on June 17, 2015.