House debates Questions without Notice
Deputy Prime Minister
Bill Shorten Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition
2:08 pm
My question is to the Prime Minister. Just before question time, the New Zealand internal affairs minister, Peter Dunne, confirmed that the Deputy Prime Minister is a citizen of New Zealand. Now that the government has confirmed that the Deputy Prime Minister is a citizen of New Zealand, how can the Prime Minister possibly defend keeping him in the cabinet and letting him vote in this House?
Malcolm Turnbull Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
At the risk of inviting the honourable member to get a rundown on constitutional law from his shadow Attorney-General, I refer him to my previous answer, which summarises perfectly the position. The Leader of the National Party, the Deputy Prime Minister, is qualified to sit in this House, and the High Court will so hold.