Labor is planning a dramatic counter-attack against Coalition MPs if the Turnbull government "goes nuclear" and starts unilaterally referring opposition MPs to the High Court over citizenship doubts.
Fairfax Media understands the ALP has a hit list of eight Coalition MPs - in the Senate and the House of Representatives - that it believes still have unanswered questions about possible dual citizenship.
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Barnaby Joyce embroiled in citizenship saga
The Deputy Prime Minister's dual citizenship leaves the Coalition's one-seat majority on a knife's edge.
Following the shock revelations about Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, the government has been contemplating using its numbers to refer at least four Labor MPs - Justine Keay, Susan Lamb, Maria Vamvakinou and Tony Zappia - to the court to have their eligibility tested.
Such a move would set a dangerous precedent of partisan referrals, setting the stage for a damaging free-for-all.
While the government is understood to now be cooling on the high-stakes tactic, Labor is taking the threat seriously enough to plan a counter-offensive.
Labor does not have the numbers in either chamber to bring a referral but it could use failed Labor candidates to bypass Parliament and bring challenges individually. This is the tactic the ALP used against David Gillespie, the Turnbull MP under a constitutional cloud due to his potential "indirect pecuniary interest".
As revealed by Fairfax Media in February, the Nationals MP owns a small suburban shopping complex in Port Macquarie and one of the shops is an outlet of Australia Post - a government-owned corporation.
The opposition believes this may disqualify him from office under section 44 of the constitution - the same section that prohibits dual citizens. The challenge is being brought by failed Labor candidate Peter Alley.
![Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce is under pressure of his citizenship status.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170818191351im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/x/d/j/6/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gxxntg.png/1502922646128.jpg)
A senior Labor source insisted the list was a last resort contingency, and they ultimately do not believe the government would be brazen enough to follow through on its threat.
"We'll let the Liberals sort our their own mess," the source said.
![Foreign Minister Julie Bishop is sometimes overlooked, but her confected outrage at Labor over "Kiwis under the bed" was ...](http://web.archive.org./web/20170818191351im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/x/q/w/n/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gxxntg.png/1503061731816.jpg)
All four Labor MPs the government has mentioned have produced detailed explanations of the steps they have taken to ensure they were not dual citizens - although they have not produced documentary evidence.
The Joyce fiasco dominated a third day of Parliament on Wednesday, with Labor ridiculing the government's attempts to try and shift focus to an ALP staffer's conversation with a New Zealand Labour MP.
Penny Wong's chief of staff Marcus Ganley had a conversation in July with Labour MP Chris Hipkins about how New Zealand citizenship laws worked.
![Opposition Leader Bill Shorten is all smiles in Parliament as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Deputy Prime Minister ...](http://web.archive.org./web/20170818191351im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/x/h/y/x/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gxxntg.png/1502922646128.jpg)
While they did not talk specifically about Mr Joyce, Mr Hipkins subsequently asked written questions about the issue to the New Zealand Parliament. The questions also did not refer to Mr Joyce, but the government has seized on it as evidence Labor engaged in a "conspiracy with a foreign power" to bring down the Coalition.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop doubled down on the claims on Wednesday, saying Labor's involvement was "not only highly improper, it is in direct breach of the international obligations of non-interference".
This claim drew guffaws from Labor, with frontbencher Tony Burke egging Ms Bishop on: "Would the Minister for Foreign Affairs please tell the house some more about the evil, treacherous conspiracy?"
Under international law, the principle of non-interference refers primarily to the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of another nation.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten asked Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull: "Can the Prime Minister guarantee he is leading a majority government that meets all the requirements of the constitution?"
Mr Turnbull responded simply with "Yes."
Earlier, the Coalition sought but failed to censure Senator Wong over Mr Ganley's role in the upper house. The botched manoeuvre attracted only the support of One Nation and Derryn Hinch.
Even former Liberal senator Cory Bernardi, who voted against the censure, said the Turnbull government had "overcooked" its conspiracy claims and appeared to be covering up its knowledge of the matter.
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