THE HON TONY BURKE MP

SHADOW MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER

SHADOW MINISTER FOR CITIZENSHIP AND MULTICULTURAL AUSTRALIA

SHADOW MINISTER FOR THE ARTS

MEMBER FOR WATSON

LABOR REJECTS LIBERAL GOVERNMENT SNOBBERY ON CITIZENSHIP CHANGES

20 JUNE 2017 

Today, Labor has confirmed its opposition to the Turnbull Liberal Government’s snobbish and out of touch proposal for changes to citizenship.

Under the changes proposed by Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, people who want to become Australian citizens will have to pass a university-level English test.

Labor believes everyone who lives in Australia should be learning conversational English – and we should be helping them to do so. That’s what the current test does. 

And of course everyone who wants to live in Australia and become an Australian should sign up to our laws and our values.

But setting the bar at a university-level English test isn’t right.

Malcolm Turnbull is saying to all Australians that if you don’t speak university-level English, the Government would prefer that you weren’t here - it’s snobbish and out of touch. 

Labor rejects that these changes are in any way related to national security.

National security advice should come from national security agencies. The national security advice received by the Government has not come from national security agencies, it has come from Liberal Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells.

When it comes to national security, Labor and the Government are one and Labor will always properly and promptly act on the advice of security agencies in the national interest.