Kooyong resident says treasurer betrayed Australia on climate change as Gladys Liu also challenged over Chinese language signs
Josh Frydenberg’s eligibility to sit in parliament has been challenged in the court of disputed returns by a constituent who says he feels “betrayed” by the Liberal party’s inaction on climate change.
Michael Staindl, a resident of Kooyong, filed a petition on Wednesday alleging the treasurer and deputy Liberal leader is disqualified by section 44(1) of the constitution because he is a citizen of Hungary, which Frydenberg denies.
The allegation on the final day for petitions to be filed against the 2019 election results came on top of two challenges against Liberal MP Gladys Liu in Chisholm and Frydenberg over Chinese language signs that told voters“the correct voting method” was to put a “1” next to the Liberal candidate.
Those challenges were brought by Naomi Hall and independent candidate for Kooyong, Oliver Yates.
The petitions – seen by Guardian Australia – are the first eligibility challenges of the new parliament, after the 45th parliament was rocked by 14 MPs or senators resigning or being ruled ineligible due to dual citizenship.
If successful they could trigger byelections in Kooyong, won by Frydenberg with 55.7% of the two-party preferred vote, and Chisholm, won by Liu with 50.57%.
Frydenberg’s mother was born in Hungary in 1943, and he has declared she held Hungarian citizenship from 1943 to 1948, but Frydenberg has denied that he holds citizenship by descent, citing legal advice from Hungarian citizenship law experts, which he has not released.
Read the article by Paul Karp in The Guardian.