THE CONE OF CONNIVERS

OUR national leaders are in a state of denial, locking themselves into a cone of silence and refusing to settle the citizenship crisis with a full audit to determine if a dozen federal MPs are still ineligible to sit in Parliament.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his front bench, led by Treasurer Scott Morrison, yesterday mocked the idea of forcing an end to the drama that has been crippling Australian politics for months. And, in an act of cross-party political connivance driven by the fear of losing MPs, Labor leader Bill Shorten backed the PM’s insistence that an audit of parliamentarians’ dual citizenship status was unnecessary. But yesterday Liberal powerbroker Michael Kroger and former minister Kevin Andrews both called for an audit of all MPs under a citizenship cloud.

CALLS for a full-scale citizenship audit of federal parliamentarians are mounting as more than a dozen Labor and Liberal politicians refuse to release documents proving they are eligible to be elected.

Liberal MP Kevin Andrews and Nationals MP Llew O’Brien are the latest Coalition backbenchers to back an audit, while Liberal Ian Macdonald and Labor’s Alex Gallacher say they are open to a citizenship check for all parliamentarians. Victorian Liberals heavyweight Michael Kroger also expressed support for the move.

The latest citizenship crisis was sparked by the revelation that Senate president Stephen Parry was a dual British citizen, which he announced after the High Court booted five other parliamentarians over their dual national status.

Communications Minister Mitch Fifield last night confirmed that he was the senior cabinet minister to whom Mr Parry expressed his concerns about potentially being a dual citizen before the Tasmanian Senator eventually came clean to the public.

“Former Senator Parry mentioned to me a few weeks ago that he was endeavouring to check his family’s records,” Senator Fifield said.

“The onus is on all Senators and members to satisfy themselves of their circumstances and I encouraged Senator Parry to do so.”

Mr Parry’s announcement and resignation from parliament led to calls for several Labor and Liberal MPs, who were born overseas or who have foreign-born parents, to release proof they are not still dual citizens.

Former social services minister Kevin Andrews said the issue would “continue to fester politically”. “If I was the Prime Minister I would be ordering, requesting, the (Australian Electoral Commission) for example, to immediately undertake an examination of every MP and senator and to report as soon as possible back to the government,” he said.

Mr O’Brien joined Nation- als colleague Andrew Broad in publicly backing an audit, telling The Daily Telegraph: “If the people want an audit, I’m supportive of it, I don’t have a problem with the concept.”

Of the move Senator Macdonald said: “I wouldn’t oppose it, nor do I advocate it.”

Liberals Craig Kelly and Eric Abetz are already pushing for an audit of all their parliamentary colleagues. But Turnbull government ministers have distanced themselves from an audit despite Barnaby Joyce claiming there were “probably” other dual citizens sitting in parliament.

There were also signs of a softening on the issue from Bill Shorten’s camp with a source close to the Opposition Leader saying he had never ruled it out: “We need convincing that it would actually be effective, who’d run it, how it would work.”

Mr Gallacher, a Labor MP born in Scotland, said he had “the relevant documents and when the powers that be ask me to release them, I will”.