The Citizenship Test Australia Aussie Citizen Exam and Mateship
The requirements from the later part of 2007 are that all those naturalizing will pass a test. The test will require a knowledge of the country’s history, her institutions and values, part of which is calledl ‘mateship’.
Although Australians applaud cultural diversity, the government clearly wants to ensure that their new entrants to assimilate more than recently. Being a good citizen involves understanding nationhood and also valuing what other Australians hold in common with each other. To pass the test an appreciation of the questions in English and the ability to answer them in English will be fundamental to the test.
A pamphlet will be supplied to all who apply. This provides information for the test, and includes notes on important events in the country’s history, topics on the political constitution and important bodies, economics, culture, and background to Australia’s aboriginal peoples. To be part of Australia, which is said to be at ease with the world and itself requires of each citizen a commitment to that nation.
Mateship is described in the booklet as voluntarily helping and receiving help from others, especially in times of difficulty.
Mates can be found anywhere and can be from any form of relationship. Indeed, mates may even be strangers. The citizen or mateship test will comprise 20 questions from a bank of 200.
Applicants will only fail if the answer fewer than 12 questions correctly.
Giving people a ‘fair go’, is one of 10 core values which new passport holders must take to their hearts, alongside ‘mateship’. Be tolerant, hold compassion, respect gender equality and support freedom of speech and you will be complying with other core Australian values.
It is suspected that once trained the successful migrant will be quite smugly able to trounce his inherited passport holding Australian neighbours by knowing answers his neighbor does not know. One such would be the exact date of the various colonies federated into a commonwealth (1901).
The pamphlet amounts to 40 pages of information and knowledge. Balance between ethnic diversity and social cohesion is seen as the hoped outcome of the test, as the origins of immigrant applicants has now become so broad. New citizens are wanted by Australia but they need to have an overriding commitment to Australia, to our laws, to our values and to the community.
We are told here have been quite a number of non-English speaking past Australian entrants who have become highly respected individuals. So why make the knowledge of English so important?
Is it a bad thing that the Australian Government requires new citizens to hold a basic set of skills in English? Most would point out that basic English skills will actually be hugely to their benefit once they are given their passports, and the government’s encouragement of English training is for their own benefit.
You will find is much more information about the Citizenship Tests across all tesing nations at citizen test australia.
