To the surprise of no-one, the High Court will soon be back in action deciding whether elected politicians are entitled to sit in Parliament.
As 10 News First reported last month, a legal brief was being prepared against Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on the grounds that “he is a citizen of the Republic of Hungary” through his mother Erika.
That initial action stalled when the lawyer behind the brief, Trevor Poulton, was revealed by Ten News First to have unconventional views on neo-Nazis and to have been in contact with Holocaust deniers. Poulton denies he’s a Holocaust denier. He says the suggestion is disgusting.
But Poulton wasn’t the only lawyer taking an interest.
The High Court petition formally lodged on Wednesday, came from another lawyer. Former Tasmanian Greens candidate Vanessa Bleyer filed on behalf of environmental activist and Kooyong resident, Michael Staindl.
Josh Frydenberg claims to have “clear legal advice” he is not a citizen of another country.
But ANU constitutional law professor Kim Rubenstein believes he is “vulnerable.”
The Treasurer says his mother was “stateless” when she arrived in Sydney in 1950. But in his declaration to the Australian Electoral Commission in April, Frydenberg revealed his mother was born a Hungarian citizen and remained one even under Nazi control.
Read the article and watch the report on Channel 10 News.