Turnbull confident court will clear MPs

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Photo: Getty Images
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Photo: Getty Images

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says he's "very, very confident" the High Court will find in favour of MPs who discovered they are citizens by descent.

His comment on Wednesday came a day ahead of a court directions hearing in relation to five MPs, and as another coalition MP, George Christensen, faced question about his possible UK citizenship entitlement.

Mr Christensen, who holds the seat of Dawson for the Nationals, says he's confirmed via a British government website he is not a citizen of the United Kingdom.

Mr Christensen's mother, Margaret, came to Australia from Scotland.

Since UK law changes came into force on January 13 in 2010, anyone born before 1983 with a British-born mother has been able to gain UK citizenship by registration.

Mr Christensen was born in 1978 in the regional Queensland city of Mackay.

Barnaby Joyce has denounced New Zealand citizenship. Photo: Getty Images
Barnaby Joyce has denounced New Zealand citizenship. Photo: Getty Images

"I have checked my citizenship status both prior to entering parliament and again recently and I can confirm I am not a citizen of any other country," Mr Christensen said in a statement on Wednesday.

"The advice of the UK government, via their online 'Check if you're a British citizen' page, is that I do not have citizenship of the United Kingdom."

However, the questionnaire does not ask questions about parentage.

Thursday's directions hearing will set out the timetable to examine two of Mr Christensen's party room colleagues - Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce and stood-aside cabinet minister Matt Canavan - as well as One Nation's Malcolm Roberts and the Greens' Larissa Waters and Scott Ludlam.

They have all been referred to the court to test whether they are eligible to sit in parliament under section 44 of the constitution, which bans dual nationals.

Mr Turnbull told reporters on Wednesday the issue of citizenship by descent had come as a surprise to many people.

"I'm very very confident the court will find those members who have been caught up in this dual citizenship issue by reason of descent will be found not to be disqualified," he said in the southern NSW town of Tumut.

He said the government looked forward to the court clarifying the issue as soon as possible.

Mr Joyce recently discovered he was a New Zealand citizen by descent, but has since renounced it.

Senator Canavan's mother signed him up to be an Italian resident abroad, however he has legal advice suggesting it would not disqualify him from parliament.

Senator Roberts and former senators Waters and Ludlam were all overseas-born.

Two other senators, Fiona Nash and Nick Xenophon, will soon also be referred by parliament to the court over their UK citizenship by descent.

Mr Turnbull declined to speculate on Mr Christensen's case.

Labor leader Bill Shorten also sidestepped the situation of Mr Christensen, saying it was up to the Queensland MP to answer any questions.

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