- Pauline Hanson denies she is dual British-Aussie citizen during campaign stop
- One Nation leader’s grandparents on one side of her family hailed for the U.K.
- However the senator admitted she hadn’t checked with British Home Office
Pauline Hanson has denied she is a dual citizen but says she has not checked with the British Home Office.
The One Nation leader, whose parents were both born in Australia, admitted she had English grandparents on one side of her family.
‘I can assure everyone I am not eligible for British citizenship,’ she said in Gladstone during a regional blitz in the Queensland election campaign.
Pauline Hanson admits she is in the shade when it comes to contacting the British Home Office
The One Nation leader was all ears when asked on the campaign trail about being a dual Brit
Senator Hanson told the Woman’s Day magazine in February 2010 she was relocating to Britain because she had given up on reviving her political career.
‘I know I will never be given a chance to re-enter Parliament again,’ she said then.
When asked by a reporter on Tuesday whether she had checked her eligibility with the British Home Office she said: ‘Honey you know what, I’ll leave it up to you to do it on my behalf.’
‘I have nothing to answer to, I clear section 44 of the Australian constitution.
‘I know what the laws are in England.’
Last month the High Court ruled five federal politicians, including former Nationals deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce and One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts, held dual citizenship and were therefore ineligible to remain in parliament.
Pauline Hanson (pictured in 2007) has worn shirts with the Australian flag to show patriotism
Pauline Hanson was on the hop in Gladstone when she was asked about her British ancestry
Pauline Hanson is as Australian as a meat pie, except perhaps when it comes to her U.K. link
One Nation lost a senator too in 1999 when the High Court ruled senator-elect for Queensland Heather Hill could not sit in federal parliament because she was a dual British citizen.
Liberal backbencher and former tennis champion John Alexander was this week caught up in the scandal after it was revealed he may hold British citizenship by descent through his father.
Senator Hanson said she supported Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s call for all parliamentarians to prove they were not dual citizens – a day after calling for him to resign.
‘I’m quite happy to present my paperwork of what’s required,’ she said.
Pauline Hanson wrapped herself in the Australian flag in 1997 launching her One Nation party