Australian prime minister challenger Peter Dutton has been cleared of a legal cloud that threatened his eligibility to sit in Australia's parliament ahead of a challenge for the nation's leadership.
Stephen Donaghue, the solicitor-general of Australia, on Friday advised that leadership aspirant Dutton was "not incapable of sitting as a member of the House of Representatives."
The question arose from Dutton's business interests in two childcare centers which receive direct subsidies from the Commonwealth.
Under section 44 (v) of the Australian Constitution, any person with "any direct or indirect pecuniary interest with the Public Service of the Commonwealth" was ineligible to sit in parliament.
Dutton on Thursday night released legal advice from former Solicitor-General David Bennett who found that "Mr Dutton is not rendered ineligible by section 44(v)".
Dutton was defeated by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull 48-35 in a leadership ballot on Tuesday, after which he resigned as the minister for home affairs but confirmed on Thursday that he intended to challenge the prime minister again.
Turnbull on Thursday made Dutton's eligibility a key issue in the leadership struggle, saying it must be resolved before Dutton could challenge again.
"This is a very, very significant point," Turnbull told reporters in Canberra.
"I cannot underline too much how important it is that anyone who seeks to be prime minister of Australia is eligible to be a member of parliament."
With Dutton cleared by the solicitor-general, a second ballot on the leadership will take place at midday local time on Friday after a majority of the Liberal Party's 83 Members of Parliament (MPs) signed a petition calling on Turnbull to convene a party room meeting.
Turnbull said he would not contest a second leadership challenge and would resign from parliament if the party voted to vacate the leadership.
Treasurer Scott Morrison and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, both Turnbull's supporters, have confirmed they will run for the leadership as moderate alternatives to conservative Dutton.
