Dual citizenship challenge again for Frydenberg
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is facing a rehash of the claim that he is a Hungarian citizen, according to a report on 10 News First…and the Prime Minister has spoken out against antisemitism,
Josh Frydenberg
Melbourne lawyer Trevor Poulton has prepared a brief which claims that Frydenberg is ineligible to sit in Parliament under Section 44(i) of the Constitution, claiming that he is a Hungarian citizen because of his mother’s status.
The Treasurer has said that has had legal advice from both Hungary and Australia that he is not in breach of the constitutional ban on dual citizens.
J0sh Frydenber received full support from Prime Minister Scott Morrison was at a media door stop: “Is it time to draw a line under Section 44, and amend the constitution to deal with these issues?”
The Prime Minister answered: “I’ll tell you what it’s a time to draw a line on, and it’s antisemitism. I mean, the scourge of antisemitic graffiti that we’ve seen in Melbourne just this year, it is absolutely sickening and disgraceful. And for a Holocaust denier and an anti-Semite to seek to progress that agenda by pretending to have some sort of constitutional purity on Josh Frydenberg, I’m just going to call it out for what it is. And I think Australians… I think they would share that. Anti-Semitism has no place in this country.
I mean, I saw also what was happening with the graffiti against our colleague Julian Leeser up in Sydney. It’s sickening. And so, we have no truck with these antisemitic thoughts or practices or what they’re about. I mean, he shouldn’t be in the Labor Party for a start, how he’s even in there I’ve got no idea because I know that is as abhorrent in their way of thinking as it is to ours. So I’m calling that what it is. Thanks very much.”
Josh Frydenberg addressed a separate door stop and told media that his mother’s documents showed her as being stateless when she came to Australia
He said: “I question the motives of that particular person who’s pushing that particular case. Those issues were comprehensively dealt with in the last Parliament and that’s where they should remain. The person who’s been pushing this case has been exposed and their motives have been exposed and I think a lot of people have been turned off by that.”
In April this year he updated his Australian Electoral Commission declaration and confirmed his mother was a Hungarian citizen by birth, but her documents showed that she was stateless by the time she came to Australia in 1948.
Poulton states that he was “briefing certain constituents in Kooyong (the Treasurer’s seat) to file a High Court challenge to the Treasurer’s election. The deadline for such action expires at the end of July.
Poulton, who is the author of a novel about a Holocaust denier, has reputed claims that he himself is one.
Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chair of the Anti-Defamation Commission told J-Wire: “We welcome the forceful and passionate condemnation of this ancient hatred by PM Morrison, and applaud his personal commitment to counter a resurgent antisemitism wherever and whenever it surfaces.
At a time of rising incidents of anti-Jewish bigotry and swastika vandalism across our nation, it is reassuring and deeply appreciated that the holder of the highest office in the land has used the power and prestige of their position to denounce this scourge.
Above all, PM Morrison has sent the important message that he and his government will not remain silent as Jewish communities come under threat. While there are issues that we disagree on, we are a country that stands united in condemning intolerance and evil in all their ugly forms. Now is the time to fight this stain on our society which challenges the core Australian values of tolerance, pluralism, and democracy, and we are ready join forces with all parliamentarians to counter this escalating crisis.”
