Energy minister says it would be ‘absurd’ to think he could acquire mother’s citizenship given she fled Hungary as a stateless refugee

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Josh Frydenberg has dismissed as “absurd” speculation that he is a dual citizen, saying his family were stateless when they arrived from Hungary after the second world war.

In response to a report in the Australian that he may have Hungarian citizenship by descent, the environment and energy minister said his grandparents and mother were stateless refugees when they arrived in Australia.

Mitch Fifield admits he knew weeks ago Stephen Parry may hold dual citizenship Read more

“It’s a baseless assertion,” he told Guardian Australia. “It is absurd to think that I could involuntarily acquire citizenship of a foreign country from a stateless mother and grandparents – it invokes the North Korean example of conferring citizenship on someone against their will.”

Under Hungarian law, anyone born in the country between 1941 and 1945 is automatically a citizen, in a bid to address the plight of stateless Jews who fled the Holocaust, the Australian reported.

Frydenberg’s mother was born in Hungary in 1943 and arrived in Australia with her parents when she was seven after spending time in a refugee camp.

Frydenberg said given his family background, he would be required to initiate and undertake a lengthy and formal application and interview procedure in order to be considered a Hungarian citizen. “Neither I nor anyone on my behalf has ever made such an application or engaged in such a procedure.”

Dual citizenship would make him ineligible to be in parliament and threaten the Turnbull government’s slim majority.

Documents from the National Archives show Frydenberg’s grandparents and mother were considered “Hungarian” when they arrived in Australia.

However, their application for a certificate of exemption (from the provisions of the Immigration Act 1901-1949) lists their nationality as “stateless”. Frydenberg said that is evidence that his mother was stateless when she came to Australia.

The finance minister, Mathias Cormann, defended Frydenberg on Friday, saying the dual citizenship saga was becoming ridiculous, with politicians being accused of being dual citizens “without any evidence whatsoever”.

The treasurer, Scott Morrison, told a business audience on Friday morning that too much energy was being wasted on the issue.

“I think [voters] believe that Canberra has wasted enough time, energy and effort obsessing about the genealogy of Australian politicians,” he said.

“I couldn’t care less where people’s parents were born. I care about what their plans are for Australia if they want to sit in parliament.”

The focus on Frydenberg comes after Stephen Parry resigned as Senate president over his dual citizenship and amid growing calls for an audit of the citizenship status of all MPs.

The conservative Liberal senator Eric Abetz is among those pushing for an audit: “What we don’t want to see is every month the new allegation or suggestion made about some other member of parliament,” Abetz told the ABC. “It is a hugely disruptive and would undermine the Australian people’s confidence in their parliament.”

Labor has so far resisted calls for an audit, but Bill Shorten is reportedly softening his stance, believing the opposition has nothing to lose and everything to gain.

The communications minister, Mitch Fifield, on Thursday revealed Parry had confessed to him weeks ago about possibly being a dual UK-Australian citizen.

Malcolm Turnbull believes the best way of dealing with the citizenship issue is for a bipartisan committee to come up with a solution.

The former deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce, who was last week ousted from parliament after the high court found he and four other MPs were dual citizens, suspects there are other dual citizens in parliament.