Sharing common values is more important than ever

Given the deep fractures on display in communities around the world, it is important to recognise and celebrate the unifying forces that make a nation great. Part of that is having shared values and a common understanding of basic decencies that allow neighbours from all backgrounds and walks of life to respect their differences and live in harmony. When identity politics dominates so much of fashionable thought, defending the things that bring us all together is more important than ever.

A decline in the number of aspiring Australians passing basic citizenship tests under the Albanese government is a concern that needs proper investigation. Citizenship tests have been controversial politically since they were introduced by the Howard government in 2006, including when Turnbull government immigration minister Peter Dutton attempted to strengthen them a decade later. The Dutton reforms, which would have put a greater emphasis on being able to speak English, were scuttled by the combined forces of Labor and the Greens in the Senate. This provides context to why it is significant that since the Albanese government took office, the pass rate for the citizenship test has fallen to 65 per cent from about 80 per cent under the Coalition between 2017 and 2021.

The tests, which include 20 simple multiple choice questions on freedom of speech, the importance of democracy and rule of law, require a person to correctly answer five questions on Australian values and achieve a mark of at least 75 per cent to pass. Questions include: Why do we celebrate Anzac Day? What are the colours of the Aboriginal flag? In Australia, can you encourage violence against a person or group of people if you have been insulted?

The question for Anthony Albanese is whether a lack of understanding of Australian values by those seeking the right to hold citizenship is a concern for his government. It should be. Immigration Minister Andrew Giles was quick to play politics, accusing the Opposition Leader of making “ a mess of the entire migration system – including citizenship”. He said the Albanese government recognised Australia was a country built of citizenship. “We are committed to a citizenship system that is fair, efficient and inclusive, and will continue to assess the citizenship test to ensure that it meets community expectations,” Mr Giles said. The introduction of an automatic fail if applicants cannot answer the Australian values questions may be an important factor in the higher failure rates. But applicants ought to be aware that it is not acceptable to encourage violence if you have been insulted; and that, in Australia, people should tolerate one another where they find they disagree.

Overall, having a citizenship test is a good thing and the community expectation must be that new aspirants are able to pass it. We agreed with John Howard, who said in 2006 when introducing the test that it was not designed to be negative or discriminatory. It 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,” Mr Howard said at the time. In 2017, we editorialised that as one of the world’s most stable, tolerant and prosperous nations, built on diverse waves of immigration for generations, Australia was high on the list of many seeking new homelands. And “when more people than ever are seeking new homelands, the government has a responsibility to be careful in choosing to whom it grants the privilege of citizenship”.

This has not changed. More people than ever want to call Australia home. We welcome them all regardless of where they are from, but Australians are entitled to expect that those who want to become citizens will value it enough to understand properly what it means.