By-election looms after Feeney quits parliament

Labor MP David Feeney has resigned after being unable to disprove he is a British citizen.

Labor MP David Feeney announces his resignation from parliament. Picture: Stuart McEvoy

Labor MP David Feeney has resigned from parliament, saying that he is unable to disprove that he is a dual citizen.

The MP for the inner-Melbourne seat of Batman confirmed this afternoon that he would resign and not seek preselection for the seat in an upcoming by-election.

Mr Feeney, who has a Northern Irish father, said he had taken steps a decade ago to renounce potential claims to a Northern Irish citizenship as well as British dual citizenship, but had been able to find paperwork renouncing only his Irish citizenship.

“There is no question concerning my Irish citizenship but with respect to my British renunciation, however, I have been unable to locate the required notice of renunciation,” he said.

“I am unable to disprove that I am a dual citizen. I have today written to the Speaker of the House of Representatives resigning as an MP, effective immediately.

“I’ve spoken to my family and I have decided that I will not be seeking ALP preselection for this by-election.”

The Melbourne-based MP and former senator said that he had conducted an exhaustive search of his own records, as well as those held by the Britsih Home Affairs Office and the UK High Commission in Australia.

“This has been an incredibly difficult decision,” he said.

#BREAKING: Federal Labor MP David Feeney has announced he will resign from parliament effective immediately. MORE: https://t.co/CSG1xtuBY1 pic.twitter.com/qwwQI7NCM6

— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) February 1, 2018

His resignation opens the way for a by-election in Batman in which Labor will be forced again to square off against the Greens, who enjoyed a swing of 9.5 per cent in 2013. Mr Feeney faced social worker Alex Bhathal who lost the race by a margin of less than 2000 votes.

Australian Greens leader Richard di Natale confirmed that Ms Bhathal, a social worker and mother of two, has been preselected as the Greens candidate for the by-election.

Labor sources say ACTU chief Ged Kearney is the frontrunner to replace Mr Feeney, with some insiders preparing for a by-election on March 24.

Ms Kearney was preselected last year as a candidate for the Victorian state lower house seat of Brunswick.

The Turnbull government has demanded Labor MP Susan Lamb join Mr Feeney and resign from federal parliament, saying two by-elections should be held in their respective seats on the same day to save taxpayers’ money.

Leader of the House Christopher Pyne declared today was “humiliating” for Bill Shorten and Ms Lamb, who gained British citizenship by descent of her late father and has not completed her renunciation, was “very clearly still a UK citizen”.

“The advice from her own barrister indicates that she’s never relinquished her UK citizenship,” Mr Pyne said following Mr Feeney’s resignation.

The Turnbull government has demanded Labor MP Susan Lamb also resign from parliament. Picture: AAP

“Bill Shorten now faces the prospect that he must cause Susan Lamb to resign from the House of Representatives so that by-elections for Longman and Batman can be held on the same day.

“Now is the time for BS to show some character, to stop behaving like the trade union leader and start behaving like an alternative prime minister and cause Susan Lamb to resign from the seat of Longman.”

Malcolm Turnbull said Mr Feeney’s resignation was “long overdue”.

The Opposition Leader’s office declined to comment, referring The Australian to his proposal for both leaders to sit down and decide which MPs from “both sides” should be sent to the High Court.

Mr Pyne said the government would refer MPs where there was “very clear evidence” for doing so, insisting any partisan referral when parliament resumes was not the “Salem witch trials”.

Ms Lamb dug her heels in, saying she had repeatedly explained what steps she had taken to ensure she was eligible to sit in parliament and “fully complied with the universal disclosure process”.

“Her eligibility has been confirmed by legal experts,” her spokesman said.

“Last year Labor and the crossbench voted to refer a group of MPs, including Susan, to the High Court to end the uncertainty in the parliament — and Turnbull and the conservatives voted against it. If Turnbull thought there was a case to answer he would have voted for the referral last year. It’s clear he is operating a protection racket to prevent his own MPs going to the High Court.”

As Mr Feeney and his wife Liberty Sanger and young son left Melbourne’s Treasury Place after the announcement, three activists protesting against Queensland’s Adani coalmine tried to upstage the press conference by urging Mr Feeney to speak out against the mine.

They protesters were members of climate change activist group 350.org and snuck into parliamentary offices by telling security they were media.

Mr Di Natale has been open that the Greens will target the seat.

ACTU president Ged Kearney is firming to replace Mr Feeney in the seat of Batman. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Greens Melbourne MP Adam Bandt tweeted: “David Feeney just resigned — IT”S ON!”

BREAKING: David Feeney has just resigned -- IT'S ON!

A by-election in Batman is imminent. Follow @alexbhathal to join the campaign to turn Batman green.

— Adam Bandt 🏳️‍🌈 (@AdamBandt) February 1, 2018

The Greens start as favourite to win Batman by-election at $1.70
MARKET: https://t.co/YNYSkU6Wwf#BatmanVotes #Auspol pic.twitter.com/GYq6lcfdOn

— Ladbrokes Politics (@LadbrokesAuspol) February 1, 2018

Mr Shorten said Mr Feeney had told him late yesterday of his decision and it was “a tough day for David and his family”.

“I was shocked when David told me he was concerned he might have issues around citizenship renunciation,” Mr Shorten.

“I asked him to find material that corroborated his explanation. As he has explained today, he has been unable to do so.

“This decision is the right one and spares the valuable time and resources of the High Court.

“For over a decade David has proudly represented his community and the Labor Party in both the House and Senate and we thank him for that today.”

The Federal Parliament has lost a deeply thoughtful and highly intelligent contributor. I'll miss him in Canberra enormously. Good luck @Feeney4Batman for the future.

— Richard Marles (@RichardMarlesMP) February 1, 2018

Deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek earlier today said Mr Feeney had made a “fine contribution” to the party but would not comment on his anticipated resignation. “I’ll let David make his comments when he’s ready,” she said.

Labor frontbencher Chris Bowen said earlier that any replacement for Mr Feeney would be a matter for the party’s Victorian branch and Mr Shorten.