One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts is under mounting pressure to prove he's eligible to stay in Parliament but is refusing to provide evidence he renounced his British citizenship before last year's election.
More National News Videos
- Video duration
- 01:39
Joyce stands by his man
Joyce stands by his man
A day after revelations Nationals senator Matt Canavan is a dual Australian-Italian citizen, Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce says this case is a unique one.
Up Next
Malcolm Roberts possible member of two nations
- Video duration
- 01:10
- Video duration
- 01:10
Malcolm Roberts possible member of two ...
Malcolm Roberts possible member of two nations
One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts is under pressure to prove he has renounced his British citizenship and is eligible to stay in Parliament. Vision: ABC News.
Up Next
Police re-stage car movements of Karen Ristevski
- Video duration
- 00:50
- Video duration
- 00:50
Police re-stage car movements of Karen ...
Police re-stage car movements of Karen Ristevski
Detectives retrace the movements of Karen Ristevski in a car identical to the one she owned. Vision courtesy Seven News Melbourne.
Up Next
Berejiklian abandons council mergers
- Video duration
- 02:30
- Video duration
- 02:30
Berejiklian abandons council mergers
Berejiklian abandons council mergers
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian defends the policy of council amalgamations, but concedes the implementation was wrong.
Up Next
I'm not going anywhere: Canavan
- Video duration
- 01:42
- Video duration
- 01:42
I'm not going anywhere: Canavan
I'm not going anywhere: Canavan
Nationals senator Matt Canavan has rejected calls to quit after revelations he's a dual Australian-Italian citizen, vowing to fight for his right to remain in politics.
Up Next
Joyce: ABC trying to 'create a calamity'
- Video duration
- 01:03
- Video duration
- 01:03
Joyce: ABC trying to 'create a calamity'
Joyce: ABC trying to 'create a calamity'
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce tells patrons in a Shepparton pub that an ABC Four Corners report on the Murray-Darling basin plan was aimed at taking more water away from rural communities.
Up Next
Man shot dead at Sydney's Central Station
- Video duration
- 01:46
- Video duration
- 01:46
Man shot dead at Sydney's Central Station
Man shot dead at Sydney's Central Station
A man is shot dead by police following a "confrontation" with officers at Central Station in Sydney's CBD. Vision courtesy Seven News Melbourne.
Up Next
North Korea concerns heightened
- Video duration
- 01:40
- Video duration
- 01:40
North Korea concerns heightened
North Korea concerns heightened
The rogue country is more advanced in its nuclear missile development than previously thought.
Joyce stands by his man
A day after revelations Nationals senator Matt Canavan is a dual Australian-Italian citizen, Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce says this case is a unique one.
Despite previously insisting he has only ever held Australian citizenship, Senator Roberts - who was born in India to a Welsh father, potentially making him a British national by birth - now says he is "no longer a British or Indian citizen" and has "renunciation documents".
Senator Roberts has signed a statutory declaration that he is "a citizen of Australia only", and holds neither British not Indian citizenship. It also says that prior to becoming a One Nation candidate he "investigated" his eligibility under section 44 of the constitution, which has already caught out three senators this month.
But the statutory declaration does not specify whether Senator Roberts fully renounced his British citizenship before nominating, and he is resisting media and public pressure to release the primary documents from Britain.
Fresh questions were raised on Wednesday after Buzzfeed News published old travel documents that appear to confirm Senator Roberts travelled under a British passport as a child.
Despite the doubts about his own eligibility, Senator Roberts is leading calls for a review or inquiry into the dual citizenship eligibility of all MPs. He has written to Speaker Tony Smith and Senate President Stephen Parry asking them to investigate.
Senator Roberts' office refused to answer further questions on Wednesday but he tweeted: "Prior to nominating for the Senate I ensured that I was no longer a British or Indian citizen and have necessary documents."
In a separate post on Facebook he said: "Until the inquiry, my stat dec stands. My renunciation documentation will be provided to this inquiry."
But that appears to contradict what his office said last year. Asked about his citizenship status in October, a spokesman for Senator Roberts told Guardian Australia he had only ever held one citizenship.
"Senator Roberts has never held any other citizenship other than his Australian citizenship," the spokesman said. "He's had to obtain visas when he's travelled to the United Kingdom and to India, and people who are citizens do not have to get visas."
On Facebook, Senator Roberts also pointed out that if his stat dec is proved to be false statement it would be punishable by four years in jail.
Section 44 requires a parliamentarian to have taken all reasonable steps to renounce themselves of foreign citizenship to be eligible.
If Senator Roberts' election was ruled invalid his seat would likely go to the third person on One Nation's Queensland ticket, Fraser Anning.
Fellow One Nation senator Brian Burston, perhaps unaware of the lingering questions about his colleague, took to social media on Wednesday to declare "time is running out" for MPs born overseas to provide evidence of their sole citizenship.
"It shouldn't be too difficult. After all, they would have had to have it when they nominated for candidacy of their respective parties or for the AEC if they were independents," Senator Burston wrote on his official Facebook page.
"Perhaps, when we've cleaned out those whose loyalty is not entirely to this country we can start getting things fixed."
