New Citizenship Requirements

[Bobby]

As well as been able to speak english & an appreciation of Australian values, what else do you think appropriate ?

This is your chance to say what requisites are needed.

 

[Happy]

From ABC, December 12, 2006

CITIZENSHIP TEST 'DISCRIMINATORY'


Ethnic groups say the Federal Government's decision to go ahead with a citizenship test for migrants is discriminatory.
Prospective citizens will have to pass a computerised test covering English language skills, local culture and history and sign a commitment to Australia's values and way of life.
Migrants seeking permanent residency and temporary visa holders planning to stay more than 12 months will also have to give an undertaking to comply with Australian laws and values.
The head of the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia, Voula Messimeri, says the move is unfair to those who are from a non-English speaking background.
She says they will find it hard to learn language skills in a short time frame.
"It will actively discourage others who feel quite reticent ... to sit formal tests from applying for citizenship," she said.
"Thus ... it has the possibility of creating two different classes of people in Australia - and that is definitely discriminatory."
Ms Messimeri says the capacity to speak English is no measure of a person's worth as a citizen.
"I think that Australia is at a crossroads, as are a number of countries all around the world, and we need to be very, very careful about debates that further polarise people in this country," she said.
"We certainly would caution against that."



HUMANITARIAN REFUGEES

There are also concerns that the Federal Government's planned citizenship test will marginalise humanitarian refugees - especially women.
South Australia's Migrant Resource Centre spokeswoman Eugenia Tsoulis is worried that some migrants would take many years to qualify for citizenship under the new system.
She says the test would exclude many migrants who have come to Australia for humanitarian reasons.
"I am actually quite worried about ... a number of women who will be illiterate and will not be able to actually sit for that test," she said.
"It's just a matter of fact. It doesn't mean that they're not productive women, it doesn't mean they can't do cleaning jobs or do other things, but they physically would not be able to do the test."

It almost doesn’t matter what anybody has to say, if ethnic groups say it is discriminatory.

 

[Happy]

From ABC, December 12, 2006

DEMOCRATS, GREENS QUESTION MOTIVES BEHIND CITIZENSHIP TEST


The Federal Government has been accused of introducing a citizenship test for migrants for cheap political mileage.
Under the plan would-be citizens will have to pass a test covering english language comprehension, Australian culture and history.
They would also have to sign a commitment to Australian values before being granted citizenship.
The Prime Minister, John Howard, says it is not aimed at keeping migrants out and it is designed to help newcomers integrate.
But Democrats Senator Andrew Bartlett says the Government's motives are questionable.
"I think it's just the Government doing it for some easy political points and ignoring the details," Senator Bartlett said.
"The Government thinks this is a clever political move and it's the way they were always determined to go.
"But really the big question isn't so much what tests we should have put in place for people to be citizens, it should be what sort of assistance we provide to people to help them integrate with the Australian community."
Greens Senator Kerry Nettle fears it is designed to keep some migrants out.
"There's no other reason why you would have a test," Senator Nettle said.
Senator Nettle says if the Government was serious about migrants learning English they would provide more funding for language programs.

If many visitors can speak English, why our citizens shouldn’t?

 

[Julia]

A couple of weeks ago there was a list in the Brisbane paper of some of the questions aspiring immigrants would be asked in order to be accepted. They were about Australian history mostly.

I couldn't answer any. Does this make me a bad citizen?

I'm very doubtful about this whole idea. Can see the government's reasoning but fear in practice it will just not work. Agree also that it will wipe out a lot of people coming in on genuine humanitarian reasons.

I honestly don't see why knowing when the first fleet arrived is going to make someone a hard working, decent Australian citizen.

Julia

 

[x2rider]

hi folks
I heard that some of the requirements were being able open a bottle with a cigarette lighter, Basic BBQ cooking, How to watch cricket, How to say six with out laughing and the difference between a Ford and a Holden and why this is important.
Just a kiwi view of aussie life.
Cheers martin

 

[Out Too Soon]

What a bl00dy boring place Australia would be if the English settlers had sent the Irish home, killed off all the aborigines & let no one else in. APart from the fact that most of us wouldn't exist, HOW BL00DY BORING!

No matter what your political leanings, vote against politicians who push racism by stealth!!!!

These new rules are pure political point scoring off the really ignorant, head in the sand, one nation supporting wallys who tipped politics to the far right when they voted en masse for miss "please explain" & her party.

 

[chops_a_must]

Immigration Restriction Act 1901:

The dictation test
The dictation test which was included in the Act was similar to tests previously used in the states of Western Australia, New South Wales and Tasmania. The test was a method which enabled immigration officials to exclude individuals on the basis of race without explicitly saying so. The test would be no less than fifty words long, and the passage chosen could often be very difficult, so that even if the test was given in English, a person was likely to fail. Although the test could theoretically be given to any person arriving in Australia, in practice it was given selectively on the basis of race. [5]

Czechoslovakian political activist Egon Erwin Kisch, who was exiled from Germany for opposing Nazism, arrived in Australia in 1934. He was fluent in a number of European languages, and after completing passages in several languages, finally failed when he was tested in Scottish Gaelic. The officer who tested him had grown up in northern Scotland, and did not have a particularly good grasp of Scottish Gaelic himself. In the High Court case of R v Wilson; ex parte Kisch the court found that Scottish Gaelic was not within the fair meaning of the Act, and overturned Kisch's convictions for being an illegal immigrant.

Between 1902 and 1903, forty-six people passed the test out of 805 who were given it. Between 1904 and 1909, only six out of 554 passed. No-one was able to pass the dictation test after 1909. [6]

 

[Bobby]

Notice that Kevin Rudd is sitting on the fence at this stage on this, he knows the majority of voters like this idea.

Maybe Pauline will suggest ~ beer swilling with meat pies as well ?

 

[2020hindsight]

Notice that Kevin Rudd is sitting on the fence at this stage on this, he knows the majority of voters like this idea.

Maybe Pauline will suggest ~ beer swilling with meat pies as well ?

Kevin Rudd has entered "dreamtime"
bout which way to fly
in time he'll tell, but in the meantime
keep his Rudder dry.

 

[trading_rookie]

I honestly don't see why knowing when the first fleet arrived is going to make someone a hard working, decent Australian citizen.

The test is just a smoke screen to 'lawfully' stop anyone they don't want to enter the country. What's wrong with that?

Let's not pretend that all ethnic communities here in Australia want to intergrate. Intergration doesn't mean losing ones cultural and religious beliefs. One can say Australia has benefitted enourmously from multi-culturalism.

Events like Cronulla have been the result of years of frustation towards non-anglo-celts who have hidden behind multi-culturalism to do what they want and then screamed 'racism' when they didn't get their way. No wonder many anglo-celts are feeling frustated that they're becoming second class citizens in their own country.

The losers here are those who have embraced Australia, mingled and mixed while holding onto their customs and traditions without forcing it onto anyone else.

I find it hilarous that people would label such tests' as racism when 'reverse racism' (I hate that term since it implies only whites are racist, a racist is a racist regardless of skin colour FULL STOP) is what's driving these 'initiations' in the first place!

Had we all gotten along then the majority of Australians would've laughed at such suggestions of a test.

Spy v Spy sang 'Tony is an angry boy, he doesn’t like the people next door,
doesn’t understand them, doesn’t understand what they stand for.

Looking through the fence, he see's things, simple and strange, different colours than him, with different eyes, and different names.'

Well there's a flipside that the Spy's forgot. Tony wouldn't be so xenophobic had his neighbours opened up and mingled with him, rather than holding their own stereotypical views of 'Aussies' (read RACISM) and living secular lives.

Oh, and for the record I'm not a 'skip'...

 

[Happy]

Thanks to Cronulla events, now you not only have beach patrolled by life savers, but police in helicopter, buggy and on bikes and on foot.

Top security paradise, you could even try to leave wallet unattended, providing some smarties don’t make to Cronulla beach.

 

[trading_rookie]

Well wasn't it Westfield Shopping Centres pre-Cronulla?

 

[trading_rookie]

I forgot to add, all this talk about failing History tests' is a disgrace on our education system which thought it was more important that we learn about ancient Greeks and Rome rather than what happened in our own backyard.

I feel lucky to have learnt a little about colonial Australia but feel we should have learnt more about the 19th century.

To think most of us learnt that Barton was our first PM via a tv commerical, when thanks to US tv we know all about the civil war and most of us can probably list more US Presidents than Aussie PM's! What a shame.

 

[coyotte]

Load of Rubbish.

Each new generation brings with it a different set of values, generally opposing the previous.

If the generation I grew up in (60/70s) were to express the political views of that generation today, we would all be joining Hicks (though no doubt a lot of us still hold those views).

By the same token respect for authority & family we would receive a medal.

So the values of todays generation, which I presume any test would be based on, would be irrelevent in tomorrows generation, even traitorous.

Cheers

 

[trading_rookie]

If the generation I grew up in (60/70s) were to express the political views of that generation today, we would all be joining Hicks (though no doubt a lot of us still hold those views).

Not sure I understand Coyote, call it a 'generation gap' thing ;-) but it sounds as if you're saying the left-wingers of yesteryear are so frustrated with current Australian political policies they'd quite willingly hook up with a regime worse than ours to help them destroy the evil West? Probably explains why so many left of the middle are sympathetic to Hicks

So the values of todays generation, which I presume any test would be based on, would be irrelevent in tomorrows generation, even traitorous.

I wouldn't presume anything, because such a presumption implies that only Gen Y and Gen Next are interested in migration, and I'm pretty sure they're not the only ones.

Interesting reading in the Weekend FR. Harry Triguoff (owner of never buy a dud Meriton apartment) disagrees with the government! Apparently we need more 'slaves' here to do the dirty work we don't wanna do and of course fill in the void of the thousands of apartments he's putting up...had to be a twist eh?

 

[Happy]

From, February 27, 2007

CATHOLIC BISHOPS SLAM IMMIGRATION TEST

The Catholic Bishops Commission for Pastoral Life has criticised the Federal Government's proposal to make prospective citizens take a formal language and values test.
The Government has said the test will instil new citizens with a respect for Australian values.
But Bishop Joseph Grech says an exam would only encourage immigrants to memorise required responses.
"A test would not necessarily show that a prospective citizen has taken up Australian values in their life," he said.
"I mean, they would know about them, they would learn about them - but whether they they have made them part of their whole life, that's a different story."
The Bishops also believe the proposed citizenship test will discourage some immigrants from seeking citizenship, intimidating some elderly immigrants who do not speak English well.
Bishop Grech says that many of these immigrants still make an enormous contribution to Australia.
"There are so many of our people who even today are struggling a little bit with English, but their contribution is impeccable, it's an amazing contribution," he said.

This test should allow later on revoking citizenship if actions do not correspond with <memorised required responses>

So test is not all-bad idea.

 

[Noskcid]

From ABC, December 12, 2006




If many visitors can speak English, why our citizens shouldn’t?

If your over 65 you dont need to speak english (I think), they're too old to learn to speak english. They could of been here with their family for years but do there business overseas. Coming here to retire, kids and family are already citizens, so why should they be denied? Plus many of those ppl back then would of done a financial immigration, which means they had to pay a certain amount or have a certain amount of $$$ in Australia = helping the Australia Finance, so once again why should they be denied cause they cant speak english, when they are probably offering more to the country than the ones living off centrelink...

Just my opinion.

 

[shinobi346]

I hope that last post was being sarcastic.

 

[Julia]

I hope that last post was being sarcastic.

Didn't seem sarcastic to me.

Julia

 

[Noskcid]

The age part I was told by a IMMI officer who handles citizenship forms on a daily basis, and the other part is just what I think, as I have seen it, My uncle has invested well over a million dollars in Australia, tax he pays = def more than me x 100!!!, and his whole family is australian citizen so, why shouldn't he be allowed to be citizen just cause hes got bad english?