GetUp rejects case against Frydenberg as ‘beyond offensive’

GetUp has defended Josh Frydenberg against a challenge to his eligibility to stand in parliament.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. Picture: Kym Smith

GetUp has defended Josh Frydenberg against a “beyond offensive” challenge to his eligibility to stand in parliament filed by Kooyong climate activist Michael Staindl, who has previously promoted the left-wing network’s campaign against Coalition MPs.

Mr Staindl is filing a High Court challenge to test the Treasurer’s eligibility to represent the eastern Melbourne seat of Kooyong and establish if Mr Frydenberg has Hungarian citizenship through his mother, Erica, who fled the Holocaust.

Michael Staindl. Picture: David Geraghty

His case was filed in the High Court by Vanessa Bleyer of Bleyer Lawyers, who unsuccessfully ran for the Tasmanian parliament as a Greens candidate and was in the preselection race to succeed former Greens leader Christine Milne in the Senate.

GetUp unsuccessfully targeted Mr Frydenberg at the May 18 election. Its national director, Paul Oosting, came under fire at the time for falsely claiming the Treasurer backed Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton’s leadership ambitions.

But yesterday Mr Oosting said the attempt to question Mr Frydenberg’s citizenship status was wrong.

“The challenge against Josh Frydenberg on the grounds of dual citizenship is beyond offensive and we condemn it,” Mr Oosting said. “No one should be denied a place in parliament because their family was forced to flee the Holocaust.

“GetUp has never supported these citizenship challenges. They perpetuate deeply outdated views on citizenship and are used to ­discriminate against everyday people participating in politics. One of our great strengths as a country is to be home to people from all different backgrounds and circumstances, coming to build a better life. Right now some are being denied full access to our democracy thanks to this archaic and discriminatory provision in the Constitution. It needs to go.”

Mr Staindl, an IT specialist, has a longstanding vendetta against Mr Frydenberg and has been pictured in multiple social media posts protesting outside the Treasurer’s electorate office.

He also knows Oliver Yates, who unsuccessfully ran as an ­independent candidate against Mr Frydenberg and who is filing a separate High Court challenge against the Treasurer over the use of Liberal Party Chinese-­language signs which he claims ­misled voters.

A GetUp spokeswoman yesterday said the network could not confirm whether Mr Staindl was a member, but said it had no ­engagement with him on his legal case.