Australia unveils immigrant tests

Australia has unveiled details of a new citizenship test for immigrants.

They will be asked questions about history, institutions and culture - as well as committing to Australian social values focusing on "mateship".

The aim of the test was to get "that balance between diversity and integration correct in future", said Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews.

Critics believe the requirement of an English language exam discriminates against non-English speakers.

The new citizenship test is expected to be introduced later this year.

The details were unveiled in a 40-page draft guide that is to be given to all applicants.

Commitment and attachment

For the first time, it lists 10 essential Australian values every citizen must embrace - focusing on "mateship and a fair go" and including tolerance, compassion, freedom of speech, freedom of religion and secular government, equality of men and women and peacefulness.

The document provides a summary of Australia's history, its political institutions, economy and cultural history and the fate of Aborigines.


POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

What is the first line of Australia's national anthem?
Which is Australia's national flower?
Where is parliament located?
When did first European settlers arrive?

It describes Australia as "a nation at ease with the world and itself", but it expects potential citizens to respect Australia's core values.

"Australian citizenship provides for an overriding commitment to Australia," the pamphlet says.

"Modern citizenship also rests on sentiments of nationhood and enduring attachment to what Australians hold in common."

The prospective citizen will have to give a correct answer to 12 out of 20 questions - drawn from a total of about 200.

Some elements will almost certainly be beyond the knowledge of many ordinary Australians, says the BBC's Nick Bryant in Sydney.

They include knowing the country's first prime minister or when European settlers arrived in Australia - or what the opening line of the national anthem is. Another one could be related to the nation's most important horse race.

Applicants who fail the test will be allowed to re-sit the examination.

But Kate Gauthier, national co-ordinator of refugee support group A Just Australia, criticised the government for introducing a citizenship exam.

"If they want to have Australia be more integrated they should spend more money on programs that achieve that instead of punishing people who are having trouble achieving that [integration] because they have language barriers and are recovering from things like torture," she was quoted as saying to the Sunday Herald Sun newspaper.
Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6964471.stm