Like what you've read?

On Line Opinion is the only Australian site where you get all sides of the story. We don't
charge, but we need your support. Here�s how you can help.

  • Advertise

    We have a monthly audience of 70,000 and advertising packages from $200 a month.

  • Volunteer

    We always need commissioning editors and sub-editors.

  • Contribute

    Got something to say? Submit an essay.


 The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
On Line Opinion logo ON LINE OPINION - Australia's e-journal of social and political debate

Subscribe!
Subscribe





On Line Opinion is a not-for-profit publication and relies on the generosity of its sponsors, editors and contributors. If you would like to help, contact us.
___________

Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

The barriers go up

By Peter van Vliet - posted Wednesday, 21 March 2007


This week you might notice some people wearing orange ribbons. That’s because this Wednesday, March 21, we celebrate Harmony Day, which also marks the United Nations Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

In 1965 the United Nations enacted the International Covenant on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, which Australia ratified in 1975. This is one of the great body of instruments of the United Nations, which includes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, that seeks to protect the human rights of people around the globe.

All of these instruments were set up following the affronts to humanity witnessed during World War II. Now more than ever the common human rights principles found in these instruments matter.

Advertisement

Australia’s proposed citizenship laws potentially breach both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights language rights clause and Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that says everybody has the right to a nationality.

Australian citizenship policy for the last 40-odd years has been profoundly democratic, egalitarian and non-discriminatory. A shared Australian citizenship has broken down barriers of race, ethnicity and language of origin. It has united all Australians around core values like democracy, the rule of law and our shared homeland.

Up until now people wishing to become Australian citizens had to have two year’s residency, pass a Basic English test, pass a character test, and make a public pledge to our country, our laws and our democracy. This has been an inclusive process that has seen many migrants from non-English speaking backgrounds become citizens.

But now the barriers are going up. Undoubtedly since September 11, 2001, the Bali Bombings of 2002, the Iraq War from 2003 and the London Bombings of 2005, the values of cultural diversity and pluralism have been in retreat.

Perhaps not surprisingly some people in the West have responded in kind to these events. People have begun to question the value of multiculturalism. A cursory glance at the responses to this article will soon reveal outright hostility to the concept.

Plugging into this mood in January this year the Howard Government officially dumped the word multiculturalism from its list of ministries. Integration has become the new buzz word.

Advertisement

With these seismic world events Australia has gradually, almost unnoticeably, become a less optimistic society. We have become a society less willing to accept the inherent decency in the hearts of most people we share this magnificent country with.

As Federal Labor MP Carmen Lawrence said recently, “the emphasis is (now) on exclusion rather than inclusion, on fear rather than hope”.

The new politics of fear have now touched on our citizenship laws. Last month, without much fanfare, new laws passed the Australian Parliament that doubled the waiting period for Australian citizenship for some migrants from two to four years.

This means that an African refugee, without adequate travel papers, may have to wait four rather than two years to obtain a valid passport and be able to visit a sick or dying relative overseas.

Shortly we also expect to see legislation mandating a much higher level computer-based English test, as well as an Australian knowledge test. This test will mean that a large number of migrants, and in particular the minority refugees component of our immigration program from non-English speaking backgrounds, will fail to become citizens. People without good English language skills will fail the test.

As the prominent Victorian Liberal MP Petro Georgiou said last week this is a test that many Australian born citizens would also fail. This is because the new test will require the extra skills of reading and responding to written English, further to the existing requirement for spoken English.

With one and a half million Australians from English speaking backgrounds having very poor literacy standards they may well fail such a test. Thankfully they will not have to reapply for their Australian citizenship under this new model!

No one from the migrant sector is saying English language is not important. On the contrary, English language acquisition is hugely important: important for jobs, important for training, and important for successful integration. But surely the aim of the government should be teaching rather than testing.

Migrants themselves want to learn English. No one enjoys sitting in queues or shopping and not being able to communicate with other people. Sometimes however, age, family commitments, long work hours or existing learning difficulties may prevent the quick acquisition of English for some people. For some people learning English can take a lifetime. Some may never get there!

The Government seems determined to use the stick approach by linking citizenship to a higher level English test that we know many people will fail.

Why not use the carrot approach of more flexible adult migrant English programs. Who knows we could maybe even remove the late night adult movies from SBS and have practical English lessons for new migrants! SBS might actually meet their charter obligations.

And we should never forget migrants’ kids generally have good English. In fact, journalist and author George Megalogenis has shown the sons and daughters of post-war European migrants have on average higher levels of education than their more established Australian counterparts.

The proposed citizenship laws are in my view an ill-conceived attempt to tap into the current climate of fear in our community, in this a federal election year.

The laws will do zip all to reduce the threat of terrorism in Australia. If anything they may well encourage a culture of exclusion among certain refugee communities that may have negative effects on our social harmony further down the track.

Australia is actually a world leader in successfully integrating migrants into our community. Sure each wave of migrants presents new challenges. Many schools in our larges cities are presently facing the challenge of schooling refugee kids from Africa who may have unique learning and literacy problems.

But modern Australia has always met these challenges successfully. On the whole our policies of inclusion, and our policies of multiculturalism which have allowed people to celebrate their own cultural identity, have made migration work in this country. Countries without multicultural policies like France have failed in this regard. That’s why the centre-right French Presidential candidate, Nicolas Sarkozy, is actually toying with introducing multicultural policies to get their society back on track.

The Government’s proposal for a high level citizenship test will diminish the universal citizenship that we have successfully established here in Australia. There will be a gradual removal of the common bonds that exist between all people of all backgrounds and between people of all literacy levels in Australia.

Australian citizenship is extremely important. As the leader of the Melbourne-based Sudanese lost boys, Akoch Manheim, has said:

There are no words that truly express how it feels for a stateless person to receive the privilege of Australian citizenship in a country like Australia. An approximation might be the experience of a person who has battled a serious illness, experiencing the borderline of death, only to recover and resume full health. Citizenship is a gift from God of priceless value.

Akoch is right. Citizenship is a gift. And it is often only those that don’t have citizenship that realise how supremely important the gift is.

Human rights are important. An inclusive Australian citizenship is important. Australia shouldn’t retreat into a world of fear and difference. Australia should stand united around a common citizenship open to all people who have lawfully come to call Australia home and pass basic requirements. These are the bonds that unite us and they should not be cast adrift.

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. All


Discuss in our Forums

See what other readers are saying about this article!

Click here to read & post comments.

22 posts so far.

Share this:
reddit this reddit thisbookmark with del.icio.us Del.icio.usdigg thisseed newsvineSeed NewsvineStumbleUpon StumbleUponsubmit to propellerkwoff it

About the Author

Peter van Vliet is a senior public servant.

Other articles by this Author

All articles by Peter van Vliet

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Photo of Peter van Vliet
Article Tools
Comment 22 comments
Print Printable version
Subscribe Subscribe
Email Email a friend
Advertisement

About Us Search Discuss Feedback Legals Privacy