Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has defended Josh Frydenberg after the Energy Minister was forced to defend his citizenship status, labeling questioning of Frydenberg's citizenship as 'absurd witch hunt'.
The Australian points out that it is clear the dual citizenship debacle engulfing Australian politics will not go away until it is dealt with properly.
Therefore, it says, the Prime Minister’s best course now would be to engage a credible figure, such as a retired senior judge, to oversee an audit that would centre on the minority of MPs born overseas or with overseas-born parents or grandparents.
Cabinet minister Josh Frydenberg is the latest senior government figure facing questions over his citizenship.
He says he cleared up a Hungarian citizenship query 'months ago', saying his Jewish family were stateless when they arrived from Hungary after World War II.
However, the paper believes that clarification is needed.
Under Section 44 of the constitution, dual citizens are not eligible to be elected to parliament.
With a quarter of Australia's population now born overseas, a question has been raised about whether the constitutional provision is archaic and even discourages diversity.
But changing Australia's constitution would require a referendum.
However, the Australian argues that this or any future government should not resort to a referendum to change the Constitution as their provision, that anyone under allegiance to, subject to or a citizen of a foreign power cannot be an MP, has stood the test of time. It stresses that reversing section 44 would weaken Australian sovereignty and a referendum would be unlikely to succeed.
The paper says after months of drama, and absurdity, Mr Turnbull must assert his leadership and get on with an audit. It warns that the alternative could be political death by a thousand cuts.
