Australian gov't demands resignation of opposition MP over dual citizenship

CANBERRA, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government has demanded the resignation of an opposition Member of Parliament (MP) over her alleged dual citizenship.

Defence Industry Minister and Leader of the House of Representatives Christopher Pyne on Monday demanded that Australian Labor Party (ALP) seek the resignation of Queensland MP Susan Lamb.

Pyne said that if Lamb's resignation was not secure, the government would use its slim majority to refer her to the High Court, where constitutional law experts believe she would be ruled as ineligible to serve in parliament.

Under Section 44 of the Australian Constitution, anyone who is a citizen of any country other than Australia is ineligible to run for parliament.

Lamb's father was born in Scotland, granting her a British citizenship from birth by descent.

"Our first preference is for Bill Shorten to do the right thing and refer his own MPs to the High Court, including Susan Lamb who is without a doubt still a citizen of the UK," Pyne said on Monday.

"In the absence of that, the government will refer any MP with a serious case to answer."

Lamb is the latest MP to be caught up in the eligibility crisis which swept through parliament late in 2017.

In October, the High Court found that five parliamentarians were dual citizens at the time of their election and disqualified from parliament.

The saga threatened the position of the government with a number of Liberal-National Coalition MPs either disqualified by the court. Enditem