Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am enormously proud to be an Australian. There is nothing Australians cannot do, and our opportunities are only limited by our imagination. Our country brings together the best elements from around the world. We have built a nation where Australians, no matter where they were born, can strive, succeed and provide a future for their families. As Noel Pearson has observed, Australia is a country with 'an Indigenous heritage, a British foundation and a multicultural character.' Carved out of the harsh Australian environment, together we have built the most successful multicultural nation on earth. This is a massive achievement, and one that is rightly celebrated as a centrepiece of our nation.

More than one in four Australians are born overseas. Migrants have made a huge contribution to this country, one which we rightly take pride in celebrating. It is a remarkable step to take to live your life in a new country. I congratulate the Prime Minister, the Minister for Social Services, the assistant minister for human services and the chairman of Australian Multicultural Council, Dr Sev Ozdowski AM, on today's launch of Australia's multicultural statement, an important statement of the shared values and understanding that bind Australians together.

I hold very strong views on the value of Australian citizenship. When you undertake the process of obtaining citizenship you are doing an enormously serious thing. You pledge yourself and give your word—many before God—to a new country and a new home. We should never take giving a pledge or an oath lightly. New citizens commit an act of dedication to this country in peacetime in the most solemn way we can.

Some of those who come to our shores have seen horrendous things in other parts of the world and understand, more than most, the beauty of our freedom. By becoming citizens they are committing themselves to Australia's core values—values of respect for the law, for individual freedom and for the Australian way of life, the values of hard work and a fair go, the values of parliamentary democracy, freedom of thought, speech, association and religion. We do not ask that new citizens renounce their heritage, but we have every right to demand that they believe in Australian values and the Australian way of life.

In 1949, during the first year of the Nationality and Citizenship Act, Australian citizenship was granted to 2,493 people of more than 35 different nationalities. Since then more than five million people have become Australian citizens. Australia's citizenship legislation has been amended over 30 times. Important changes were introduced by John Howard, who tightened national security measures and increased the requirement that applicants be residents from two years to four, including 12 months of permanent residency immediately preceding their application.

John Howard also introduced requirements for applicants to have adequate knowledge of our country and the responsibilities and privileges of Australian citizenship, encouraging successful integration into our society. The citizenship test also ensures applicants have a basic knowledge of the English language. With more than half a million Australian residents unable to speak English, this is critical to ensuring new citizens can play an active role in Australian society and take full advantage of the opportunities Australia has to offer.

The Rudd government altered the Australian citizenship test by focusing questions on knowledge relevant to the pledge of commitment rather than on broader general knowledge of Australian history and culture. I think new citizens should not only know the nature of the pledge they are making; they should know something of our history and culture too.

But our broader challenge is not testing a series of facts but testing the cast of mind and the commitment to Australian values of new citizens. Australian citizenship is a privilege and should be treated accordingly. It should be reserved for migrants wanting to be full and active participants in our society. Applicants for citizenship must therefore be more knowledgeable about Australia than many of us who were born here.

So how do we properly test that individuals have understood our culture and are committed to it? How can we best equip people with the knowledge and skills to make the best opportunity that Australian citizenship presents? Australia needs more people who appreciate and want to preserve our democratic freedoms and who strive to create opportunities for their family, their community and our broader nation. We should focus on people's ability to integrate into Australian society, to learn English, to educate their children and to seek employment opportunities to prevent welfare dependence.

An ideal citizenship application could cover applicants' links to the community, work history, community service and a commitment to fundamental Australian democratic values. It could require references to be provided by existing Australian citizens with whom they have engaged through work, sport, volunteering or community activities. All these ideas deserve further consideration. None of this is meant to be a discouragement, but nothing in life that is worthwhile comes easy. We want people to love our country, to be loyal, to contribute to it and to make it a better place, and our citizenship requirements should reflect this.

Sir Robert Menzies remarked at the opening of the Citizenship Convention in 1958:

We’re doing far more than receiving people from other countries. We’re doing far more than finding them employment ... We are in this way—and never let us forget it—building a nation.

This is the greatest exercise in nation-building for Australia this century has seen. We should heed Menzies' words and retain Australian citizenship as the prize that it is.

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