News > News > citizenship_test

Citizenship test 'like White Australia Policy', says Fremantle Mayor

FREMANTLE Mayor Peter Tagliaferri has likened Federal Government's citizenship test legislation, introduced to parliament today, as harking back to days of the White Australia Policy.

Under the proposed changes to the Citizenship Act, people wanting to become Australian citizens would have to pass a 20-question Australian knowledge test that requires a good comprehension of English.

All new migrants between 18 and 60 will have to sit the test when applying for citizenship after being in Australia for four years, following Federal Cabinet’s approval of the plan.

“Under the White Australia Policy, there was a special ‘dictation test’ – and this has the hallmarks of something similar,” Mayor Tagliaferri said.

“It’s patently obvious the general knowledge test is designed to bar people from entering the country, not admit them, and I think you’d be hard-pressed to find true-blue Aussies who can answer all the questions accurately.

“Radio stations have been running competitions to see how well people can answer the questions and the average caller only gets about 50 to 60 per cent correct… some would only just meet the 60 per cent pass mark to earn citizenship and others would miss out.

“This sort of nonsense really gets under my skin – it’s painfully obvious the Prime Minister is simply introducing popular policy, rather than adopting responsible and equitable procedures, given there’s an election in sight.”

Mayor Tagliaferri also hit out at the public consultation phase, where only 1644 people responded to the proposed legislation.

“That’s hardly an adequate representation of Australia’s population of 20 million,” he said. “Whether for or against, that’s not even close to one per cent.

“Looking at the breakdown of responses to discussion paper questions such as ‘What level of English is required to participate as an Australian citizen?’ and ‘How important is a commitment to Australia?” more people didn’t bother addressing the questions at all, compared to those that did.”

Mayor Tagliaferri said there was already a provision under the current Citizenship Act that requires adult applicants to have a basic knowledge of English during the interview process.

“Much of Australia in the 20th century was built on the backbone of non-English speaking migrants, who helped this country blossom into the multicultural mecca that it is today,” he said. “They simply learned while being surrounded by English-speaking Australians.

“Australia would have a negative birth-rate if it wasn’t for migrants and with the current skills shortages in certain industries, we don’t want to hinder possible solutions by adding more red tape into the mix.

“All factors should be taken into consideration when assessing someone for citizenship and the contribution they will ultimately make to Australia; they shouldn’t be excluded on a ‘one size fits all’ general knowledge test.”

Given the Liberal Party has dissidence in its own ranks with Victorian Liberal MP Petro Georgiou against the legislation, Mayor Tagliaferri believes the Federal Government should drop the plan immediately. 

“If members of your own party are opposed to it, matched with the flawed consultation process, that should really be a wake-up call for Prime Minister Howard as to why this citizenship test is a waste of time,” he said.

“It’s nothing but a xenophobic backwards step and I’m sure the $123.6 million the Federal Government has set aside to administer the test over the next five years could be far better spent on something else.

“What can we expect John Howard to do next to take our focus away from the real issues – bring up the flag debate again?”