No! we do not need a citizen ship anything - nor do we need a discussion on values or a defintion of what is Aussie or more dribble about our way of life.

If you belive Mark Latham we are all as foppish as David Flint as metro sexual as Shane Crawford we wouldnt know a Billabong if we fell in one or a jumbuck if it jumped into our tucker bag - ( what ever that is )

if we get anything out of such a false debate it will be colored by the over whelming sense of paranoia that has siezed the community.

We are at risk of condemning our children to a social system going forward dreamed up by madmen faling at the feet of various emperors with no clothes in their free time when they are not jumping at shadows.

We have already robbed them of a raft of civil liberties based on fear and delusion

Now is the worst time to determine - or try to determine what if anything we stand for. It is just another excuse to keep out people

I must rest now.

Sneeeeeeky.. you are a cunning fox arn't u :)

No need for any debate or convention ? grrrrr *slap slap* :)
clearly you have more faith in the fundamental goodness of human nature than me.

One of the points in the article said about newcomers:

"having a right to vote at federal and state elections; eligibility to stand for parliament or election to local governing bodies"

POLITICAL CUNNING.
What many 'aussies' fail to appreciate, is that many migrants are farrrr more politically savvy then them. They have come from competing multi ethnic backgrounds, where the 'wrong' party getting up would mean 'zero' development in your ethnic area, and LOADS in the other one who's party did get up. They have felt it, seen it, experienced it, and they KNOW the finer points of political success.

ONE SEAT....
can make the difference between Labor or Coalition, who is the Prime minister, and the direction of the very history of this country.
Does anyone seriously not think that sharp migrants are unaware of this ?
The potential for misuse of democracy by small interest groups to further ethno/cultural baggage agenda's is too high to be ignored by thinking Australians.
A recent example is the call by Amir Ali to re designate Hezbollah as non terrorist. Now.. does anyone think Ali is not counting numbers ?
Of course he is, as are others of his ilk. They would be looking at marginal seats.. migration settlement trends, political history of areas.. and if they see an opportunity will be MAKING DEALS if they can.
-Who is pre-selected ?
-What agenda will they promote in Parliament?

Given the reality of this it is incumbent upon us to AFFIRMATIVELY and DELIBERATELY seek to undermine any possibility of this, by education and inclusion.
Migration opportunities are NOT an open door to 're-shape' Australias culture or political landscape in terms of small ethno/cultural baggage group.

It IS an opportunity to embrace new cultures into ours, and by osmosis to become a better place. Intermarry, Intermix, 'Australia' first :)

Sneekeepete,

You spat that one out in hurry. Not up to your usual standard.

Can you give us an example of this ‘overwhelming paranoia’? Who is ‘we’ (the ones you say are doing the robbing of civil liberties); what are those civil liberties? Who are the ‘them’ (i.e. those robbed)?

‘It is just an excuse to keep people out’. Do really think that expecting people to take Australian citizenship seriously is an attempt to ‘keep them out’? Both major parties, wrongly in my view, are high immigration advocates. Immigration per annum is increasing steadily under the current government; we are a soft touch for illegal entrants. It just doesn’t add up, Sneeky

Oh come on Leigh! I though it was OK. Not a bad balance of edge and wit - but the paranoia is almost palpable -

I have sat in public meetings in Queenstown Tas where little old ladies think an unmanned goat track masquerading as an called an air strip represents the soft under bellyof Australia - just ripe for a terrorist attack.

Deaths from international terorrism still amounts to a small percentage of deaths from national internal terrorism - the latter is in fornt by about 10 to one - our response has been disproportionate and the heat has been maintained by the sustained tweaking of the fear dial.

The utterances of Costello, oward and Nelson simply ramp up the fear towards Muslims - answer me this where is the fear of the Asianisation of Australian all the rage in the 90's - has the penetration of Aisan into our political cultural economic or academic life abated - No - if anything it has intensified - the sky failed to fall in - but we now have a new demon, Islam and it suits a whole bunch of people to keep them marginalised - it feeds the war effort as well as maintainning a level of suspicion against immigrants.

And yes David I do have faith - but you know I am right - this debate is a sham - :)