I wonder how much money is wasted on providing interpreters and printing forms and information sheets in foreign languages by government agencies (eg centrelink)? Forget the english test, but take away foreign language services such as these. If the help of Australian government agencies is required, then the person requiring them should be able to speak/read passable english.

The most effective way to undermine a society is through mass immigration. Multiculturalism is inherrently offensive to the host population. It brings out the 'ole lazy white Australian but inspiring ethnic story (employers?).

The author does make a valid point about Howard increasing immigration then pretending to be 'tough' on immigration. A bit like the employer that pretends to have a skills shortage (like the transport industry). Personally I find it repulsive that businesspeople determine our immigration policy. I often wonder at the ratio of pro migrant groups to anti-migrant groups, 10:1, so why are the multiculturalists so worried? Dog whistling mate.

Migration Criteria (language/citizenship test)"xenophobic at its core"

This is most interesting.

Citizenship/values/language tests for those seeking to come here and live, are aimed at:

1/ Social Cohesian
(ensureing a reasonable degree of interpersonal communication levels)
2/ Preventing Alienation and Marginalization
(due to limited functionality due to limited language skills)
3/ Promoting Harmony
Due to a basic social/cultural compatability between new arrivals and existing Aussies.

Yet we are now told "YOU ARE XENOPHOBIC".. my my... How in the world does one jump from a set of positive presuppositions to such an angry and negative one ?
THE ANSWER: "an AGENDA"

Then, we are told 'YOU ARE RACIST' because of a dictation test which could EASILY be passed by many black africans from British colonies.

There was such a thing as a 'White Australia' policy, and it is no different from an 'Italian Policy' a 'Greek Policy' or a 'Calathumpian' policy. Of course, back in those days they knew absolutely NOTHING about the dangers of large numbers of culturally different racial groups sharing the same territory, what a pack of dum dums they were...the WAP simply MUST have been based on pure superiority right ? After all, we whites are in fact the 'super/master' race... that was of course their view when they constructed it ? Common sense and experience had nothing to do with the policy...right ?

I suppose a good read of the various speeches, and parliamentary documents of the day would do nothing to change the 'you are racists' view held by Ethnocentric Isolationists like Saeed with political agenda's, but hey- what the heck.

The British or those in Australia during the WAP could NEVER have foreseen such things as Iraqi slaughtering Iraqi, because such things had NEVER happened anywhere in the British Empire... what a sorry lot of ignoramuses eh ?

The reason that there is a focus on Australian Values and immigration is quite simple. Australians are aware of terrorist attacks that blow up and kill and injure people in other countries and they don't want it to occur here.

There are risks that some of the people immigrating might bring with them terrorist ambitions and Australia can't put its head in the sand and make believe that it is not a possibility so the citizenhsip changes are designed to be a help. In effect we want people coming to Australia to integrate and become Australians first including learning to speak English. Along the way parts of their national character will blend into the Australian way, thus further enriching the nation.

What we want to avoid is groups coming to the country and forming small pockets of the nation they came from with all their mother country values and practices and not becoming integrated with us. That way the risk of harm from a terrorist perspective is enhanced and not dimished.

There is no sinister motive. It is all about taking steps that might help us to welcome people from overseas and feel safe about it. When people read and see terrorism taking place in other countries, of course they will be concerned about their future safety.

When ethnic people ask, in a sneering fashion, just what are Australian values, one could say ,"That if you do not understand our values, you should not live here"
Our values, our laws, our lifestyle have made a good,steady country that was, until an unfortunate migration of some, a peaceful good nation that many have come to share.
Now we have the sneerers like this author who would probably like to make it just like his good old home town was.
The racists are the migrants who come here wanting to impose their beliefs on us .They would like to impose their intolerant bigotted cruel religion on us because nothing, except maybe the welfare , suits them.
The stupid term,'Dog Whistling',the latest fad in debate, is over done and means nothing.

If a simple statement of the fact that my Silesian grandparents would not be accepted today is "anger" I am puzzled to say the least.

How many of our ancestors from all over the world could speak English when they lobbed here and how many of them learnt the local Indigenous languages and customs?

By accusing me of anger instead of addressing the issues is pretty counter productive but then I get that a lot.

Now Sniggid - so all those immigrants might be "terr'ists" with their books and different language hey?

Why don't you ask an Iraqi in Baghdad about shock and awe that we participated in - you now bombing the city into oblivion. Or about the new age napalm used on civilians, or the demolition of towns and cities from one end of the nation to the other and then go and ask the people of Afghanistan.

Neither nation had ever suffered any form of suicide bombings before we turned up and the people of neither nation had anything to do with September 11 in the US. It's more than bizarre that we behave like terrorists all over the muslim world and think we are civilised then blame them is they fight back.

Ask the residents in the south of Lebanon how they iike being driven out of their homes by over 1 million unexploded cluster bombs or the Palestinians how they have enjoyed the 212 bombing raids by the Israelis in the last month.

The problem is a deranged lack of perspective - 132,000 people die in Australia every year and to date not one of them has died because of a "terr'ist", while in the US for the last 5 years 150,000 people have been murdered by fellow Americans.