Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Centenary of ANZAC) Share this | Hansard source

No, that was a different one.

An honourable senator interjecting—

I've had a few ups and downs in politics. But Michelle Grattan—

An honourable senator interjecting—

he's a relative now—is not known for writing inaccurate stories. In fact, she would be one of the most reliable journalists in this place. Senator Brandis, you might recall, tried to dismiss the references of Senator Parry about what he told and who he told it to. So I'd like to refer to this comment that Michelle Grattan made. She's directly quoting Senator Parry, former President of this place. She says:

He spoke to "various ministers". Though he wasn't ordered to shut up about his situation, the tone of the conversations suggested he say nothing until the High Court ruled in the "citizenship seven" cases …

I think that's pretty unequivocal as to the statements that former Senator and President Parry made. He was being honest. Why was he being honest?

It was because he'd been attacked by Prime Minister Turnbull for not coming forward earlier. Yet we know from Michelle Grattan's story that he did speak to various ministers, and the implication of those discussions was, 'Shut up about the issue.'

Senator Fifield said he's answered all the questions we have. Let me tell you, he hasn't answered any of the questions that we've got. His defence is the North Korean defence—'What happens if North Korea stops somebody from renouncing their citizenship?' We're not talking about North Korea here. We're talking about the United Kingdom. We're talking about a country from which, perhaps, 50 per cent of the Australian population has come. We're talking about a country that has a recognised and well-publicised method of renouncing citizenship. I happen to know something about it because, before I nominated for the Senate in 2007, I had to go through that process. My mother's father was born in Pontefract in Yorkshire to, interestingly enough, an Australian mother. But I had to go through that process. I had to pay my money. As it turned out, they said I wasn't a citizen after all. They did keep my money. But there is a very simple process you've got to go through. The problem here is that the people on the other side have chosen to ignore that process.

You might have seen Prime Minister Turnbull ramping up the issue today. He is going to refer all these Labor Party people to the High Court. Apart from being a complete waste of money, he's not relying on good legal advice. All of the people he's talking about have renounced their citizenship. These people are not like Barnaby Joyce, Fiona Nash or Stephen Parry, none of whom renounced their citizenship. All of the people that the Prime Minister is talking about today renounced their citizenship. Why did they do that? It was because the vetting processes—as you would be familiar with, Mr Acting Deputy President Sterle—are thorough. In every case, if there is any doubt whatsoever, as I know from my own personal experience, you renounce your citizenship. (Time expired)