Barnaby Joyce affair: PM under long white cloud

The PM is prepared to challenge more than five Labor MPs over their citizenship, following the Barnaby Joyce revelation.

Barnaby Joyce arrives with his father James, left, and his mother Marie, to cast his vote for the seat of New England at Woolbrook public school in the July 2 election last year.

Malcolm Turnbull is prepared to escalate a fight with Bill Shorten over control of parliament by challenging more than five Labor MPs over their citizenship, defending the government’s one-seat majority after it was thrown into chaos with the revelation that the ­Nationals leader, Barnaby Joyce, is a New Zealander.

The government will retaliate against Labor attempts to exploit the crisis over the Deputy Prime Minister, whose New Zealand parentage may disqualify him from sitting in parliament, with a “live option” being to refer the Labor MPs to the High Court to force them to prove they have renounced their foreign citizenship.

The Opposition Leader warned the Prime Minister yesterday that the doubts over Mr Joyce raised questions over the legitimacy and integrity of the government, turning the citizenship debate into a test of the ­Coalition’s hold on power.

The government appears willing to use its numbers in parliament if needed to challenge Labor MPs including Justine Keay, Susan Lamb, Brendan O’Connor, Maria Vamvakinou and Tony Zappia on the grounds they have not done enough to end doubts over their citizenship.

The plans put Mr Shorten on notice to expect more scrutiny of his MPs, amid government suspicions that Labor encouraged its Labour allies in New Zealand to raise questions in parliament that helped build pressure on Mr Joyce.

“If they want to play that game, two can play it,” one minister said.

Mr Shorten turned down a suggestion from Mr Turnbull yesterday to refer a group of MPs to the High Court so that all sides could gain clarity on section 44 of the Constitution, which seeks to bar federal politicians from holding divided loyalties.

Amid the row between the major parties, South Australian senator Nick Xenophon yesterday conceded he never heard back from Greek and Cypriot autho­rities when he attempted to ­renounce any possible foreign citizenship, raising fresh questions about his election.

In a decision that stunned the parliament yesterday, the government referred Mr Joyce to the High Court, acting on advice from Solicitor-General Stephen Donaghue QC prepared over the weekend saying his status should be clarified because his father was born in New Zealand in 1924.

The advice was prepared after New Zealand high commissioner Chris Seed contacted Mr Joyce on Thursday to tell him of advice from the country’s Internal Affairs Department stating he could be a New Zealand citizen by descent.

“Unwittingly or not, he’s a New Zealand citizen,” the country’s Prime Minister, Bill English, said yesterday.

Mr Turnbull is staring down Labor demands for Mr Joyce to step aside while he waits for a High Court ruling, with the government hoping for a decision by the middle of November.

If the decision went against the government, Mr Joyce could complete the renunciation of foreign citizenship in time to run again in a by-election — as Liberal MP ­Jackie Kelly did in 1996 — but might face a renewed challenge from former MP Tony Windsor.

The chain of events came after Labour MP Chris Hipkins lodged a written question in the New Zealand parliament last Wednesday about a scenario like that of Mr Joyce, setting a trigger for disclosure of the advice by this Thursday.

Mr Hipkins did not respond to questions from The Australian about why he lodged his question and whether he was encouraged to do so by Labor politicians in ­Australia.

Mr Turnbull declared he was “very confident indeed” in the ­advice from the Solicitor-General that Mr Joyce would prevail in the High Court, although constitutional lawyers said the claim Mr Joyce never knew of his foreign citizenship did not mean that he was safe.

“The leader of the Nationals party, the Deputy Prime Minister, is qualified to sit in this house — and the High Court will so hold,” Mr Turnbull told parliament.

The government’s confidence rests in part on past case law that suggests an MP would have to “acquiesce” in some way to ­another country’s citizenship ­entitlement to be disqualified.

A similar argument is being mounted to protect former resources minister Matt Canavan, a Queensland Nationals senator who knew his mother had applied for Italian citizenship but made no move to gain the same citizenship status for himself.

Labor demanded Mr Joyce stand down pending the court-­referral decision but the government would not release the legal advice it relies upon to argue the Deputy Prime Minister should stay in office.

The government’s leader in the House of Representatives, Christopher Pyne, yesterday moved formally to refer Mr Joyce to the High Court, where his case is likely to be decided alongside Greens senators Scott Ludlam and Larissa Waters, One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts and Senator Canavan. A similar move in parliament could add any of the Labor MPs to the High Court deliberations.

The government believes Ms Keay, Ms Lamb and Mr O’Connor should reveal their moves to renounce British citizenship, given they have parents born in the UK. Mr Zappia was born in Italy but has not produced documents to show he renounced its citizenship, while Ms Vamvakinou was born in Greece and has not proved she has renounced its citizenship.

Labor believes the same doubts hang over Victorian Liberal MP Julia Banks, who has not produced renunciation documents, although her father migrated from Greece.

With the government’s fate in doubt, Queensland independent MP Bob Katter said the Liberals were acting like a “bunch of ­dingoes”.

Greens MP Adam Bandt sided with Labor in an attempt to silence Mr Joyce in the House of Representatives. Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie abstained on the question that Mr Joyce “be no longer heard” while Victorian independent Cathy McGowan and Nick Xenophon Team MP Rebek­ha Sharkie sided with the government. Mr Katter was absent.

Ms McGowan told The Australian the Deputy Prime Minister’s situation was “most unfortunate” but she confirmed her support for the government on confidence and supply. Mr Wilkie reiterated his position from last July that he “will not vote against budget supply or confidence unless doing so would be clearly warranted”.