Dear CJ,

I've seen a copy of the "Becoming an
Australian citizen," booklet.

It's quite comprehensive, and covers
pretty much everything from Australia's
history, geography, the Australian people,
Australian values, the system of government,
on to the responsibilities and privileges
of Australian citizenship.

It's a pretty straight forward booklet and
people shouldn't have a problem with the
test. Example questions are given.

And the Australian Citizenship Pledge says
it all:

"From this time forward under God
I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people
whose democratic beliefs I share,
whose rights and liberties I respect, and
whose laws I will uphold and obey."

(A person may choose whether or not to use the
words 'under God.'

cont'd

As for learning the English language.
This should be a pre-requisite before
applying for Australian citizenship.

This was the requirement in the past, why
should this be different today?

You're given enough time (years) to learn the
language of the country, and if you
intend to stay in the country, and become
a citizen,
speaking its language seems like a rather
basic necessity.
Even tourists make an effort
to speak the language.

Yes, Foxy, yes. I understand all that. But who is Don Badman?

Many thanks to all for your comments.

Belly - are you sure it was a citizenship test you saw being administered in a post office? As far as I can tell, citizenship tests are conducted in departmental offices, or Medicare/Centrelink offices in regional areas [ http://www.citizenship.gov.au/test/index.htm ]. I think you probably overheard a passport interview, which are conducted at post offices.

I take the points about English fluency. However, I understand that the test may be taken orally if reading English is still a problem:

<< It is expected that most people will need to be able to speak and read basic English to complete the citizenship test without assistance. If you have problems with reading in English, our staff will provide assistance by reading the questions and possible answers to you.

You will still be required to give the correct answers to the test questions to meet the requirements for citizenship.

To be eligible for this assistance, you will need to have completed at least 400 hours of English language tuition under the Adult Migrant English Programme (AMEP), and be assessed by the AMEP provider as not having the English language reading skills necessary to complete the test unassisted. >>

Given that the test is a requirement for citizenship rather than residency, I don't see that it's onerous to expect that prospective citizens can at least speak English at some functional level. Indeed, it's hard to imagine how anybody could make sense of the complexities of our laws etc without some understanding of the language in which they are written.

More later.

Dear Spikey,

You asked me who is 'Don Badman?'

'Don Badman?'

You sure you got the right spelling?

Just at a guess, he could be a relative
of Shane Warne...

Well the Citizenship Test review is now finished and the report has been released, together with the Governments response.

Am pleased to see the PM put paid to the silly notion the current applicants had to answer questions about Bradman. They never have since the tests inception. It also should be noted that ALL the answers to the questions are contained in the resourses booklet which is given to applicants. So much for early allegations of the test being too hard.

It appears that cosmetic changes only will be made to the test and the need for English (our official language) will remain. The questions will also remain confidential to keep the validity of the test. I trust the questions will not be watered down so much that the whole thing becomes a joke. I do not see any reason or indication of this happening.

I will reserve final judgement until the new resources booklet is produced and the change to the new test is made.

However one thing I am pleased about is that the government has committed to the teaching of 'civics and citizenship' in our schools. This has long been overdue and I hope even a bit more Aussie geogphary
and History will be included.