Turnbull government calls for Susan Lamb to resign
The Turnbull government is keeping the pressure on Labor MP Susan Lamb. Photo: AAP
The Turnbull government insists Labor MP Susan Lamb must quit her Brisbane seat when federal parliament resumes, arguing her dual citizenship is an “open and shut” case.
“She should be resigning this morning,” Leader of the House Christopher Pyne told ABC radio on Monday.
“She should have resigned months ago.”
But Labor says every MP under a citizenship cloud, including Liberal Jason Falinski, should be referred to the High Court.
Mr Pyne says there is no way Ms Lamb can continue to pretend she is not a British citizen.
The government would refer Ms Lamb’s case to the High Court if Labor refused to do “the right thing”.
“We’d rather not refer people unilaterally,” Mr Pyne said.
Manager of opposition business Tony Burke says Ms Lamb has clearly taken every reasonable step she can to renounce UK citizenship.
Mr Falinski, on the other hand, had taken no steps to relinquish his Polish citizenship, Mr Burke said.
Labor wants all MPs under a citizenship cloud referred to the High Court.
“Let’s just refer them all, and it’s done,” Mr Burke told ABC radio.
“Then we can get back to the debate you would think the government of Australia would want to be having, which is about the Australian people.”
Greens leader Richard Di Natale said the continuing saga had “a bit of ‘Groundhog Day’ about it”.
“They could have resolved this when the Greens proposed an audit and put this to bed once and for all,” he told reporters in Canberra.
New Social Services Minister Dan Tehan says it is clear Ms Lamb could be playing for a foreign team in the upcoming Commonwealth Games.
“She could be playing netball for Britain,” he told Sky News.
It comes as the Greens Party pitched the contest to replace Labor MP David Feeney in the Batman by-election, who resigned because of his dual-citizenship status, as a referendum on Adani’s giant Queensland mining project.
“Australians simply don’t want it,” Mr Di Natale told reporters in Canberra on Monday.
“Make no mistake this is a campaign that will put the final nail in the coffin of the looming Adani coal mine.”
