SVDP AUSTRALIA – Migrants and Citizenship

CANBERRA, July 17, 2007 (vinnies.org.au): John Meahan AM, President of the National Council of the St Vincent de Paul Society in Australia, last week issued the following statement – The St Vincent de Paul Society assists migrants and refugees around Australia. We support the notion of measures to encourage and assist migrants and refugees to learn English and to gain a helpful understanding of our Australian culture. We also support the government encouraging inclusion of permanent residents as part of Australia through citizenship. However, we consider that the present interview method for citizenship has worked well and is to be preferred to testing. We do not accept the citizenship test will improve the quality of persons applying for citizenship and instead expect it will act as a barrier against worthy candidates, potentially damaging the concept of belonging as part of citizenship. PDF of text (Thanks to Tim Williams for posting this on the site of the Australia CM)