Pauline Hanson has raised questions about Senator Fatima Payman’s eligibility to run for parliament due to her Afghan citizenship and has demanded she appear before the High Court.
The One Nation leader wrote a letter to Anthony Albanese on Wednesday citing concerns about Senator Payman’s dual citizenship, which could disqualify her from running for government under section 44 of the Constitution.
Payman’s family escaped Taliban-ruled Afghanistan when she was a child, eventually settling in Perth. She became an Australian citizen in 2005, but was unable to renounce her foreign citizenship due to the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan.
In his 2022 record of qualifications statement, he said he had sought legal advice to confirm that he was eligible to serve in the Senate because he had taken reasonable steps to address the citizenship issue.
Senator Hanson published the letter in X just hours after Payman announced the launch of his own political party, Australia’s Voice.
He acknowledged Payman’s previous struggles in renouncing his Afghan citizenship, but asked if there have been opportunities since 2022 to resolve the situation.
“The courts have established that if an individual has taken all reasonable steps to renounce his or her foreign citizenship, he or she may deny the implications of having dual citizenship,” Ms. Hanson wrote.
Senator Fatima Payman during a press conference on Wednesday.
Pauline Hanson wrote a letter to the Prime Minister, citing concerns about Senator Fatima Payman’s foreign citizenship.
‘Senator Payman has cited the conflict in Afghanistan at the time of her nomination as a barrier to renouncing her citizenship.
“While this may be a valid concern, it raises the question of whether the opportunity to renounce her citizenship has since arisen and whether she is required to take reasonable steps to do so.”
Hanson told Albanese that he proposed a bipartisan approach to clarify the issue, urging Payman to go to the Superior Court.
“If she refuses to do so, I believe it is the Senate’s responsibility to initiate the referral,” he continued.
‘The integrity of our electoral system is paramount. I urge you to seriously consider this matter and take appropriate measures to safeguard our constitutional framework.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Payman for comment.
The Western Australian senator resigned from the Labor Party and joined the caucus in July due to irreconcilable differences with the party over the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Rather than resign his seat, he chose to remain in Parliament as an independent.
On Wednesday he formally announced his new party “for the dispossessed,” which will contest the Senate race in every state, along with marginal seats in the lower house.
Dual nationals are not normally allowed to run for parliament in Australia. Senator Payman appears in the Senate photo in August.
Pictured: The letter One Nation leader Pauline Hanson wrote to Anthony Albanese on Wednesday.
“Australians are fed up with the main parties having a duopoly, a stranglehold on our democracy,” he said during a press conference.
“If we need to drag the two main parties kicking and screaming into doing what needs to be done, we will do it.”
He said Australia’s Voice would be aimed at people who were disillusioned with the two main parties and felt unheard.
The senator said her policies would be revealed in time, but highlighted abolishing negative gearing, tackling the cost of living and education as some of her party’s priorities.
“Many of you have told me with emotions in your hearts that we need something different,” he said.
‘We need a voice. It is this cry for change that has brought us here today. Because we can no longer sit by while our voices are drowned out by the same old politics. It’s time to stand up, stand up together and take control of our future.
‘Australia’s Voice believes in a system where people come first… We reject the status quo that serves the powerful and forgets the people.’