Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Watson from moving the following motion forthwith—

That the House:

(1) notes:

(a) on Monday, this House unanimously asked the High Court to determine whether the Deputy Prime Minister is constitutionally qualified to be a Member of Parliament;

(b) on Tuesday, the Deputy Prime Minister admitted he had been a citizen of a foreign power right up until the weekend;

(c) former Minister Matt Canavan has resigned from Cabinet and will not vote in the Senate until the High Court resolves doubts about his constitutional qualifications to be a Member of Parliament;

(d) yesterday, the Foreign Minister refused to accept that the conservative New Zealand Internal Affairs Minister was telling the truth; and

(e) this morning, on Sky News, the Foreign Minister refused to answer whether she could now work with a future New Zealand Government; and

(2) therefore, calls on the Prime Minister to:

(a) stop trashing Australia's international relations in order to distract from the crisis the Government is facing;

(b) rule out accepting the vote of the Deputy Prime Minister while his constitutional qualifications are in doubt; and

(c) direct the Deputy Prime Minister to immediately resign from Cabinet.

It is national joke day, and they have delivered. We are watching an illegitimate government—

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