Jacqui Lambie has denied that she holds dual citizenship despite the fact her father was born in Scotland and may therefore have passed her British citizenship by descent.
In a further twist in the citizenship eligibility saga on Wednesday, the Examiner reported that Lambie had “revealed” her father was born in Scotland.
The revelation was drawn from a feature published in Guardian Australia in June 2016 in which Lambie talked about her Scottish heritage. A spokeswoman for Lambie confirmed her father was born in Scotland in 1950.
In a statement, Lambie said: “I’m happy to put on record that I’m satisfied that my parents are both Australian citizens and I have no concerns about me being a dual citizen because of where they were born or came from – in the case of my father, as an infant.”
Section 44 of the constitution prohibits people with foreign citizenship from being elected to the federal parliament.
In its citizenship seven decision the high court unanimously ruled that the deputy Nationals leader, Fiona Nash, was ineligible to sit in parliament because her father was born in Scotland in 1927, making her a UK citizen by descent when she was born in Sydney in 1965.
“I am proud of my Scottish ancestry and my father is too,” Lambie said. “I found out more about his family background in recent weeks as I wrote my autobiography ahead of its publication next year.
“His father, my grandfather, came to Australia to enlist in the army in fact. As far as I’m concerned, all their affairs are in order – as are mine.
“A citizenship audit of all parliamentarians will clear the air once and for all, which is why I’m supporting such a move 100%.”
Lambie’s spokeswoman declined to answer questions about whether she was confident she is not a dual citizen because her father or she had renounced UK citizenship.
“Jacqui will reveal any relevant supporting documents that answer these questions when she is required to by parliament,” the spokeswoman said.
On Wednesday Malcolm Turnbull met Bill Shorten to negotiate a disclosure system that would require parliamentarians to disclose if they have ever held foreign citizenship and produce documents proving when and how they renounced it.
The meeting was inconclusive, with both agreeing in principle to disclosure and high court referrals by year’s end, but Shorten pushing for disclosure by 1 December.
