Christopher Pyne targes Bill Shorten as Susan Lamb opts to run

Christopher Pyne has sharpened his attack against Bill Shorten over his handling of the dual-citizenship saga.

Labor backbench MP Susan Lamb. Picture: AAP

Christopher Pyne has sharpened his attack against Bill Shorten over his handling of the dual-citizenship saga after Labor MP Susan Lamb confirmed she would contest the next election without taking further steps to renounce her British citizenship.

The government’s Leader of the House said if the ALP “allowed” Ms Lamb to run in a second election as a British citizen, “that would make an even bigger joke of Bill Shorten’s credibility and his claim that Labor has the ‘strictest processes’.”

“Susan Lamb is not capable of standing at the next election until she relinquishes her UK citizenship,” Mr Pyne said.

Senior Queensland minister Peter Dutton also indicated the government could take action against the member for Longman and other opposition MPs it believes are under a dual-citizenship cloud depending on the outcome of Labor senator Katy Gallagher’s case before the High Court, to be heard next month.

Senator Gallagher was a British citizen when she nominated for the 2016 election, as were her colleagues Justine Keay and Josh Wilson, and lower house Nick Xenophon Team crossbencher Rebekha Sharkie, even though they had taken steps to renounce. “(Senator Gallagher’s case) will have a direct impact on some of these cases as well,” Mr Dutton told 2GB radio.

“Clearly the pressure is on Bill Shorten, as it was on Malcolm Turnbull over (Liberal MP and the member for Bennelong) John Alexander, and John Alexander had the decency to stick his hand up, say ‘I’ve got a problem and I’m going to a by-­election to clear up the matter’.”

The Australian yesterday revealed Ms Lamb, who holds Longman on a margin of 0.8 per cent, will contest the next election without taking further steps to renounce her foreign citizenship. It is understood Ms Lamb believes she is eligible to be elected despite still being British because she took “all reasonable steps” to renounce before nominating for the 2016 federal poll.

Mr Dutton, the Home Affairs Minister, said Ms Lamb was “clearly in breach of the law and she’s clearly a British citizen” after she failed to complete her renunciation because she did not provide her parents’ marriage certificate to confirm her status.

“This story hasn’t stopped, it’s not going away and I think you want to watch this space over the next few weeks,” he said.