Australia Sets Values Test for Immigrants WHAT!?

Australia Sets ‘Values’ Test for Prospective Citizens
By Patrick Goodenough
CNSNews.com International Editor
August 27, 2007

CNSNews.com) – Asserting that Australia has been built on values based on “Judeo-Christian ethics,” Prime Minister John Howard’s government has introduced a new test for would-be citizens.

The move comes amid concerns about extremist views among some Australian Muslims, and at a time when some small political parties are pushing for immigration — and Muslim immigration in particular — to be on the agenda ahead of elections due later this year.

Immigrants who have lived in the country as legal residents for four years and want to become citizens will be expected to score at least 60 percent in a test of 20 questions taken randomly from a pool of 200 questions, covering issues ranging from “Australian values” to history, sport and political institutions. The test also gauges whether applicants have a basic grasp of English.

“Before becoming a citizen it is reasonable to expect that a person will understand the core values that have helped to create a society that is stable yet dynamic, cohesive yet diverse,” Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews said in a statement.

Andrews at the weekend released a booklet from which the questions will be drawn, outlining values which he said during a press conference were “relatively uncontroversial.”

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