Citizenship test

[mightytiges]

I'm probably in the minority but I think this citizenship test is just the biggest load of crap and only designed to appease the paranoid Hanson's of this world in a desperate grab for votes.  I would like to know how knowing what colours make up our flag makes you a decent law abiding "Aussie"  ???.

I guess I judge it from a personal viewpoint as my grandmother signed her citizenship papers with a "x" because she came from a poor southern Italian fishing village and was illiterate yet she along with that side of my family ran a successful small business in Fairfield for many years. She considered the day she became an Australian citizen to be one of her proudest days. Too bad that wouldn't be allowed now. Nice one Johnny Howard . And he wonders why he is miles behind in the polls when he and his cronies dwell on useless garbage like this and focus on the worst in people instead of their best.

Most of the questions are just cringeworthy jingoistic and a couple just make no sense at all.

14. Which of the following are Australian values?

a. Men and women are equal

b. `A fair go'

c. Mateship

d. All of the above

15. Australia's values are based on the ...

a. Teachings of the Koran

b. The Judaeo-Christian tradition

c. Catholicism

d. Secularism

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21751638-662,00.html

The answer to 15 is said to be (b)  ???. We live in a secular democracy which is a constitutional monarchy based on British parliamentry traditions. Nothing whatsoever to do with religion and I'm not an Aetheist. You can tell this question was written by a Conservative politician. All those nasty Catholics, Aetheists and Muslims  .

[julzqld]

The worse thing about the citizenship test is that practically all of us would fail it.  I have no problem with people wanting to come to Australia so long as they embrace the Australian way of life.  I'm not asking them to give up their traditions, religion etc.  I do think they should learn English, if for no other reason, to help themselves.  I do not abide with people who try and enter into the country illegally.

[retygas]

I really think that they all should learn how to speak Australian before being allowed in. And I don't think that we have to know what their beliefs are, as they want to come here so they should learn ours and try to become one of us and not hide in their own little bands and degrade women. Like some do but not all. And if they want to keep their religious beliefs thats okay, but don't try to stuff up our Xmas and Easter because its against their beliefs. If it does offend them well too bad they can catch the next mobile thing back to where you came from. Its time we as Australian stand up for ourselves and stop worrying about what we look like to the rest of the world. Other country's don't give a stuff about us so why should we worry about them. Become one of us or leave.

[cub]

I'm not touching this with a sixty foot pole.

[bluey_21]

I really think that they all should learn how to speak Australian before being allowed in. And I don't think that we have to know what their beliefs are, as they want to come here so they should learn ours and try to become one of us and not hide in their own little bands and degrade women. Like some do but not all. And if they want to keep their religious beliefs thats okay, but don't try to stuff up our Xmas and Easter because its against their beliefs. If it does offend them well too bad they can catch the next mobile thing back to where you came from. Its time we as Australian stand up for ourselves and stop worrying about what we look like to the rest of the world. Other country's don't give a stuff about us so why should we worry about them. Become one of us or leave.

Not to be pedantic but it is acutally English not Australian

[retygas]

Not to be pedantic either Bluey_21. But we do speak Australian and not English, as how many poms can you walk up to and understand straight away. Wife has got pommy cousins and when they ring I need her to tell me what they have said. And now most American movies you almost need sub titles to understand what they are saying. My point wasn't to set anyone on fire it was just to say that we have got our own language. Which may at time sound like English, but its not.

[julzqld]

Like how you get English (US).

[Fishfinger]

Like how you get English (US).

That English (US) is really good if you're not crash hot with collective nouns. 

For example:
A bunch of people.
A bunch of elephants.
A bunch of birds.
A bunch of dogs.
et cetera.....

I even heard that on a US show someone had a bunch of water.  ??? 

To adapt it to the Australian Citizenship Test, just replace "bunch" with "sh1tload". 

[mightytiges]

Not to be pedantic either Bluey_21. But we do speak Australian and not English, as how many poms can you walk up to and understand straight away. Wife has got pommy cousins and when they ring I need her to tell me what they have said. And now most American movies you almost need sub titles to understand what they are saying. My point wasn't to set anyone on fire it was just to say that we have got our own language. Which may at time sound like English, but its not.

I don't speak an indigenous language  ; I speak English. A different dialect doesn't make it a different language although you do need a translator when you go to AAMI Stadium  .

Like how you get English (US).

Which is a pain in the neck when you are using Word and it says you spelt a correctly spelt word wrong  ???

[LondonTiger]

Its the same thing they have in the UK.  I sat the test.  Its a good idea, as you do learn a bit about the country you want to be a citizen of. 

And in regards to speaking Australian as opposed to English  well Globalisation (or Globalization - US spelling) will create English (Global).  Trust me, I can hide my aussie accent now, if I am in a room full of silver spoon talking people.  Throw me in a pub with another Aussie, and its back to slang.

[mightytiges]

That's my point LT. You may learn something that even the locals don't know lol but the citizenship test does bugger all as far as determining loyalities go which is one of the arguments for it in Oz. You're still an Aussie at heart even though you live in the UK. The Greeks today in Melbourne going ga-ga over the visiting Greek PM still have an attachment to Greece. A test won't stop that.