Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to reports in The Courier-Mail quoting a Nationals member saying, 'I know there are some Libs who have questions to answer about their own citizenship.' Will the Prime Minister now advise the House whether there any other members or senators where the government has sought or received advice on their constitutional qualifications to sit in the parliament but not yet made doubts about their qualifications public?

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the House on a point of order.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I ask how anonymous gossip in the newspapers is within the Prime Minister's area of responsibility? He has asked the first question.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the House can resume his seat. To be very to the point: the first part of the question wasn't in order, but the second part of the question went to whether the government had sought advice and that is in order. I call on the Prime Minister to answer it.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to 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.