Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I have dealt with this matter on several occasions. At this stage, as honourable members are aware, three members of the coalition, three ministers, have been very candid about the fact that they believe that they have citizenship, or had, citizenship by descent. Those matters have been raised; they have all been referred to the High Court. The advice that we have from the Solicitor-General, as honourable members know, is that we expect the High Court to find that those matters will not disqualify any of those members from sitting in the House or, indeed, the Senate.

The honourable member asks me about other members of the House. There has been a welter of speculation about many members in the House and the Senate, including a number of members in the opposition, including its leader, and the opposition takes the view that they are under no obligation to demonstrate that they do not hold dual citizenship. To the honourable member's question as to whether advice has been sought: the advice that I have sought from the Solicitor-General is limited to the situations of the three ministers that have already been referred.

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