Justice Minister Michael Keenan has rubbished a report that said he may be a double-secret dual citizen of the UK in violation of the constitution.

Fairfax Media reports that Mr. Keenan's father Peter was born in England in 1943 and emigrated to Australia, where he married.  The younger Keenan says he followed the correct procedures.

"I renounced my citizenship in 2004 before entering Parliament," Keenan said.  "I am an Australian citizen and I do not hold citizenship of any other country.  Fairfax is aware of this, yet in a cheap grab for a headline they have ignored this.  I have to wonder why they're not pursuing Labor with such vigour," he added.

This brush with Section 44 of the Australian Constitution appears to have worked out well for the government, which is awaiting the High Court to determine if deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce was in breach.  Mr. Joyce has been forced to renounce New Zealand citizenship he didn't even know he had.  Greens MPs Larissa Waters and Scott Ludlam, Liberal Matt Canavan, and One Nation's Malcolm Roberts are the other lawmakers to get caught up in the dual-citizenship saga and/or scandal.