The attorney general, George Brandis, believes the high court won’t be dealing with the citizenship crisis that has embroiled seven MPs and senators until October, leaving that majority in the balance. However, he suggested that, if there was a controversial vote to be had in parliament, it should wait until the high court has made its decision. Sinodinos dismissed concerns that the validity of Turnbull government decisions could be challenged in court if Coalition MPs were proven to have been ineligible. When Cyprus gained independence, most Cypriots lost their British citizenship except those who moved to one of nine countries, including Australia. The shadow attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, said the high court had a record of dealing very quickly with urgent cases and hoped it will be cleared up within a couple of months.

Source: The Guardian August 20, 2017 02:13 UTC