Australian Migrants Face Citizenship Test

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”.

Twenty sample questions were unveiled by the federal government yesterday which included “what is the floral emblem of Australia?” and “who is the Queen’s representative in Australia?” (the answers are: the wattle, and the governor-general).

However, some of the real questions would have even Australians reaching for the encyclopedia, such as naming the country’s first prime minister (Edmund Barton) and the year when the separate colonies formed a federated nation (1901).

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

The tough test is a far cry from the days when Australia was desperate for migrants and offered Britons the “£10 Pom” deal.

The draft document also lays out values to be taught to new settlers, including compassion, freedom of speech and a respect for Australia’s British heritage.

The test, and laws to ensure that migrants must live in Australia for four years, instead of three, before becoming eligible for citizenship, are in part a response to riots between Muslim and non-Muslim youths in Sydney in 2005.

The federal government wants to promote tolerance, religious freedom, “mateship” and “a fair go” in a country in which one in four of the population of 21 million was born overseas.

The immigration minister, Kevin Andrews, said the new rules would help new citizens integrate into Australian society. The tests will require applicants to correctly answer at least 12 out of 20 questions.

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