Citizenship witch-hunt finds real witches but MPs trying to stop audit with black magic
Financial services minister Kelly O’Dwyer on Insiders, yesterday:
Every single person who has come before the High Court has actually come forward.
Yeah, mate. When they were caught. Walkley finalist William Summers nabs Barnaby Joyce on his blog, July 28:
The 1948 British Nationality and New Zealand Citizenship Act (Section 7), which was in place in New Zealand when baby Barnaby was born, clearly states: “Subject to the provisions of this section, a person born after the commencement of this Act shall by descent be a New Zealand citizen by descent if his father was a New Zealand citizen at the time of his birth”
Barnaby wasn’t too forthcoming until that revelation. The Australian, July 28:
Mr Joyce’s spokesman said he was not a dual citizen and had established that “many years prior to entering parliament”.
To cap it all off, Joyce stuck around even after admitting he was a dual citizen. The Australian, October 28:
Barnaby Joyce has admitted he should have quit parliament months ago and gone straight to a by-election in the seat of New England ...
One Nation’s Malcolm Roberts also said he was definitely, totally, absolutely not a dual citizen. Sky News’s Paul Murray Live, July 28:
Murray: I’m very confident with everything I’ve seen but if someone wanted to challenge you?
Roberts: Very confident. And I’ve received advice legally saying the same thing.
The senator was a dual citizen. BuzzFeed Australia, August 8:
It shows Malcolm Roberts applied to be an Australian citizen on May 8, 1974, with the 19-year-old writing when he signed that he was a “(British) UK + COLS” citizen — referring to a “British UK & Colonies citizen”.
Now’s he out and running in the Queensland election. Hard luck. The Australian, October 30:
In less than 48 hours, Malcolm Roberts went from sitting in Senate estimates to doorknocking in Ipswich ...
And then there’s the senator who did not hand himself over ... The Australian, November 3:
Senior government ministers knew former Senate President Stephen Parry had an issue with his citizenship as recently as three weeks ago ...
But how dare we be sceptical. O’Dwyer on Insiders, yesterday:
What has happened with Josh Frydenberg ... I think it will be very, very clear that it is smear, muck raking ...
Following the leader there. Malcolm Turnbull in Perth, Friday:
Has this witch-hunt become so absurd that people are seriously claiming that Josh Frydenberg is the citizen of a country that stripped his mother and her family of their citizenship?
The whole situation is very unfortunate but Hungarian law is very complex. Frydenberg’s status has to be cleared up. The Australian, Friday:
Under a Hungarian citizenship law designed to address the stateless status of Jews ... anyone born in Hungary between 1941 and 1945 is automatically considered a citizen.
As for citizenship witch-hunts, Prime Minister ... Turnbull talks about Bill Shorten’s citizenship status in Ettamogah, NSW, August 24:
It’s up to him whether he wants to be transparent and disclose the basis on which he says he renounced his citizenship. He is creating a big issue by failing to do so.