Migrants who want to become Australian citizens will be forced to sit an English language test and sign a commitment to the country's laws and values, Prime Minister John Howard announced yesterday.
Howard, whose announcement comes one year after racial riots erupted on Sydney beaches when white mobs attacked Lebanese-Australians to "reclaim the beach," said there was popular support for a citizenship test.
The test will ensure immigrants have a working knowledge of English as well as an understanding of basic aspects of Australian society, culture and history, he said.
"It is designed, not as some kind of trivial pursuit, but is designed to ensure that people do understand and have a working capacity in the national language, which is English," he said.
Howard, who has tightened immigration rules while in office to deter refugees from arriving here by boat from Southeast Asia, said the test was not intended to be discriminatory.
"It's not designed in any way to keep some people out and encourage others to come in, that's not the purpose of it," he said.
"This is not a negative discriminatory test, this is a test that affirms the desirability of more fully integrating newcomers into the mainstream of Australian society. This is about cohesion and integration, it's not about discrimination and exclusion," he said.
Howard said the tests would apply to all new migrants who apply for citizenship after four years residency.
Under the new process, would-be citizens would also have to sign a commitment to Australian values including democratic rule, freedom of religion and sexual equality, and agree that they are committed to obeying local laws.
Howard said the statement on Australia values would probably include "the concept of mateship, the concept of having a go and the concept of looking after the very vulnerable in our community."
The test, details of which are still to be determined, was first mooted in September and comes amid public debate on whether some immigrants are sufficiently integrated within society.
Howard has previously denied the test is aimed at the country's 300,000-strong Muslim community, but he has also expressed fears that Muslims who do not integrate fully could launch terror attacks in the country.
Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration Andrew Robb said migrants would be able to sit the test as many times as needed and those deemed illiterate would be assessed differently.
"It's one in, all in," he said. "Everyone who comes and seeks citizenship, no matter whether it's from the UK or anywhere else, everyone will sit the test."
Temporary residents staying in Australia for more than 12 months will also have to pledge to respect and follow Australian laws, he said.
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