George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a brief statement in relation to Senator Sinodinos.

Leave granted.

This morning, during the debate on the reference of Senator Gallagher to the High Court, the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate made a number of remarks about our colleague Senator Arthur Sinodinos. I should say, particularly in view of Senator Sinodinos's health and the fact that he is on leave from the Senate to deal with the health issue that has afflicted him, that I appreciate the fact that those comments were made by the Leader of the Opposition in a very temperate manner. Nevertheless, they were made. In view of those comments, I wish to advise the Senate that Senator Sinodinos has received advice from the relevant minister in the Greek government, the Minister of Interior, that he is not and has never been a citizen of Greece. I table that letter, which is written in the Greek language, along with a translation of that letter provided by the Greek embassy. These documents confirm that Senator Sinodinos is not and has never been a citizen of Greece.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Leave granted.

Given Senator Sinodinos's personal circumstances, I regret that I feel that it is incumbent upon us to respond. But, given that the document has been tabled and some assertions made, I do want to place upon the record the view of the Labor Party, which, as I again say, both in light of our view about partisan referrals and in light of his medical circumstances, we leave for the government to reflect upon.

The documents tabled by the Attorney deal with whether or not Senator Sinodinos has registered his Greek citizenship. The allegation is not that he registered his citizenship but that he acquired it. The consistent advice that the opposition has had and has given its persons nominating for parliament is that Greek citizenship by descent is automatic at birth, as is made clear in article 1 of the Greek Nationality Code. Under article 18 of that code, a written declaration must be submitted to the nearest Greek consulate. Those are the relevant documents. We don't believe the documents that have been tabled reflect that. Certainly, the advice to Labor candidates in a similar position over the years has consistently been that such a written declaration must be provided.