Australia's new citizenship test criticised

The leader of the Australian Democrats, Lyn Allison, has criticised the new citizenship test, the passing of which is now mandatory before receiving Australian Citizenship. Allison points out that the test, or any written test, is not a fair indicator of a person's dedication to Australia, their potential to contribute to the country, nor their fitnes to achieve the right to vote. She goes on to say that

The new citizenship test ... is a national embarrassment. Fitness for Australian citizenship will be based on the ability of would-be citizens to memorise a short but selective history of Australia and with it some pretty obscure facts... But this citizenship test is much more than propaganda and aspirations. For some, it will represent an insurmountable barrier to citizenship and therefore a denial of the right to vote in Australian elections. It's yet another assault by the Howard Government on democracy. Not everyone wishing to become an Australian citizen has the advantage of a formal education, and many will struggle to read, let alone memorise, all of the irrelevant information in Becoming an Australian Citizen. You can't judge a person's fitness for citizenship based on a test any more than you can judge a political party's fitness for government based on its promises.

Allison dissects and parodies the new citizenship test in a video posted to YouTube.


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