Australian Values and Citizenship

This assignment examines the concept of Australian values and their role in determining citizenship. It analyzes arguments supporting and opposing the notion that migrants should adopt Australian values to be eligible for citizenship. The discussion includes perspectives on the importance of equality, opportunity, and cultural diversity in shaping a cohesive Australian society.

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Contents
1. Overview of the Article.......................................................................................................................3
2. Concepts in the Article........................................................................................................................4
3. Theories in the Article.........................................................................................................................6
4. Underlying Values and assumptions....................................................................................................7
5. Arguments.........................................................................................................................................10
References.................................................................................................................................................12
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1. Overview of the Article
This article is all about the Australian values impact on the daily life of the people and the
migrants who are preparing to become naturalized Australian citizen. As per the Australian
government, the migrants must accept the nation’s value to protect national identity, achieve
assimilation and maintain social unity among the people. Migrants who want to become the
citizen of the Australia need to pass the test for the Citizenship of the Australia. This is a
computerized test which consists of three questions based on Australian core values. Other
countries like the United Kingdom, USA, and Canada have also introduced the citizenship test
for the people who want to become the citizen of that country. But, Australia government takes a
step and launch the statement of the Australian values, which is an official declaration that the
people who are going to stay in the country for a long term needs to sign before they get the
permission to enter the country. This step of the government justified their motive to protect their
local and national identity and taking care of social unity from the growing and the negative
impact of globalization. In the Australian context the Howard government believes that
Australian citizenship test will be helpful to produce the right kind of Australian citizen as per
the history of Australia. Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser made the first public articulation of
national value 30 years before in his inaugural speech of multiculturalism. After the introduction
of this many other, government attempts to regulate these values by imposing knowledge to the
citizens regarding national values. There are several values which citizens need to adopt and
some of them are like
 Respect for the equal worth, dignity and freedom of the Australian people.
 The individuals are free to speak
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 Free from the religion and Secular government
 Always support the rule of law as well as the democracy of the Parliament.
 The Law is equal for all
 Men and women are equal in the Australian culture
 Mutual respect, tolerance and compassion for the needy people
 Peacefulness
 Equal opportunities for all
There are 10 values that officially defined as Australian values. People who want to become the
citizen of the country they all value these values and they also stated that they are not aware
about these values before this citizenship test has been introduced. Migrants believe that all the
values are good values and they respect and supported these values. There is one more important
point promoted by the government during this value debate that, these values should promote a
sense of love and togetherness among migrants and Australian communities (Australian
Government, 2007). The migrants accept the Australian values, but at the same time they also
not reject their own values. They constantly evolve those values because they know that the
Australian values are the mixture of many cultures like European, British and Christian.
However, this article reported that the immigrants need to adopt secure and safe lifestyle to
become the part of the community of the Australia.
Concepts in the Article
This whole article revolves around the Australian values and the citizenship test which migrants
need to give to become the citizen of the country. There are 10 values which are explained in this
article. Except these values, the article also explains about the concept of the Re-Racializng.
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Concept of Re-Racializing: This article demonstrates the concept of the re-racialization of the
immigrants and citizenship policies that recalls about the test of dictation which are not that
much famous. These tests are eligible for non –white immigrants who are excluded to enter into
into the Australia. The reintroduction of these dictation tests has the main objective is to maintain
the white population the Australia (Turner, 1979). This is a narrow concept of removing the non
British people from the Australia. Moving further to the laws and related rules for the test of the
candidates, the course should have the truthful and indisputable values reveals that the Australia
is dominant country and it has the people of all backgrounds such as, British, Irish, European,
etc. All these people are living in the dominant culture pattern by adopting all the values of the
Australia. According to the laws, the indigenous people are not included to follow the values in
order to become the citizen of the Australia. These people were only included in the history of
the Australia, but not in the present time. However, this is clear to the immigrants that the
indigenous were not the part of the national value of the Australians which prescribed for the
integration of the immigrants. However, it is clear that, White, European and Christian values
were mainly recognized as an important element of the Australian identity. The migrants accept
the Australian values, but at the same time they also not reject their own values. They constantly
evolve those values because they know that the Australian values are the mixture of many
cultures like European, British and Christian.
Racial difference can signify by the migrants and refugees’ through the framework of the
Australian values of the Christian, British in order to understand its effects on the culture too.
Racial people are different from the other people in the terms of the physical or the mental
characteristics. These racial groups are socially defined, but that definition is on the basis of the
physical criteria. The concept of the racialization is defined as the social process that putting
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some of the people in a group for the particular treatment on the basis of the physical
characteristics. However, this article concludes that he Migrants who want to become the citizen
of the Australia need to pass the Australian citizenship test. This is a computerized test which
consists of three questions based on Australian core values (Commonwealth of Australia, 2017).
2. Theories in the Article
This article depicts the Social identity theories which are further having three cognitive processes
These processes are the part of the in group and out group. To become the citizen of the
Australia, the people in the society divided in the three different categories just for the
identification of the people from the different backgrounds.
Social categorization: This is the process of dividing the people into groups or either decide to
which group they people are belonging. There is no need of the conflict between the groups.
Social Identification: This part of the theory identifies the norms and the attitudes of the people
to analyze that they are compatible with the culture and values of the society as well as they can
easily adjust with the people of the different backgrounds or not (Department of Immigration,
2016).
Social Comparison: This part of the social identity compares the two different groups – in group
and out group. The comparison took place on the basis of the behavior of the group of people
towards society of Australia that consists of the different people of British, Christian, European.
Behavioral theory: The article also shows some reflection of the behavioral theory as the
migrants citizenship in the Australia is highly dependent on their behavior, norms and attitudes.
The behavior of the migrants should be peaceful, tolerable, obedient for the laws and rules,
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acceptance for the new culture and values, etc. The people or the migrants are free to speech, free
to follow the rules, free to association and opportunities. There is one more important point
promoted by the government during this value debate that, these values should promote a sense
of love and togetherness among migrants and Australian communities. Migrant does not reject
their own cultural background by uncritically accepting Australian values (Chisari, 2015).
Freedom and the individual: The main principle of the social categorization of the values of the
Australia was the freedom of the individual, respect for the dignity of the individual. This theory
or principle clearly elaborates that the individuals who want to become the citizen of the
Australia, are free and need equal treatment with full respect and dignity. This is the rule that the
Australians will reject the use of the violence, humiliation and intimidation in order to reduce
the conflict in the community.
Multiculturalism: The article also demonstrates the concept of the multiculturalism because of
migrants are from the different culture who want to the citizenship of the Australaia. The
multiculturalism is the plus point for the society as the people get to know about the different
culture and different values of the other countries (Chisari, 2009).
3. Underlying Values and assumptions
In this article, there are many key assumptions and values are explained in order to become the
part of the Australian society. All these assumptions are given by the Australian government for
the migrants. The values and assumptions are also made because the Australian government
wants to avoid the conflicts in the society because of the different cultural groups.
Some of the values and assumptions mentioned in the article are given below:
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 Respect for the equal worth, dignity and freedom of the Australian people.
According to this assumption, the people or the migrants are liable to respect the people of the
Australia with dignity and they are free to speech. The Migrants should take care of these things
because of their different culture. However, it clearly elaborates that the individuals who want to
become the citizen of the Australia, are free and need equal treatment with full respect and
dignity (Eliot, 2009).
 The individuals are free to speak
It is assumed that the people or the migrants have the full right to speak like others. The people
can share their viewpoints, ideas and their way of thinking with the other people. The migrants
should treat every person equally and share their opinions with the society.
 Free from the religion and Secular government
According to this value, the people have the freedom of religion, which means that the migrants
will not discriminate because of the religion, cast and state. The government also should make
some laws in order to take legal actions against the discrimination.
 Always support the rule of law as well as the democracy of the Parliament.
It is assumed that the migrants always support the laws of the Australia, where they are seeking
for the citizenship. The Parliament of the Australian also focuses on the democracy and the
migrants also need to support this democracy and avoid creating any violence in the society or
breaking up the rules of the law (Matthew, 2009).
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 The Law is equal for all
The law of the Australian country is equal for all the people residing in the Australia. The
migrants coming from the different places should follow the laws of the country. The equality of
the law is the most valuable assumption for getting the citizenship in the Australia.
 Men and women are equal in the Australian culture
The migrants should also assume to treat the men and women on an equal level. The equality
between the men and women are the major factor to avoid the various conflicts. However, men
ad women have the equal rights.
 Equal opportunities for all
Equal opportunity for all is the separate concept from the equality of men and women as it
involves the fair go program that reveals that the every person has the right to do the job and to
gain the available job opportunities. Australia supports the every single individual to gain the
advantage of the opportunities.
 Peacefulness
The behavior of the migrants should be peaceful, tolerable, obedient for the laws and rules,
acceptance for the new culture and values, etc. The people or the migrants are free to speech, free
to follow the rules, free to association and opportunities. There is one more important point
promoted by the government during this value debate that, these values should promote a sense
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of love and togetherness among migrants and Australian communities. Migrant does not reject
their own cultural background by uncritically accepting Australian values (Branch, 2014).
 Mutual respect, tolerance and compassion for the needy people
The main principle of the social categorization of the values of the Australia was the freedom of
the individual, respect for the dignity of the individual. This theory or principle clearly
elaborates that the individuals who want to become the citizen of the Australia, are free and need
equal treatment with full respect and dignity. This is the rule that the Australians will reject the
use of the violence, humiliation and intimidation in order to reduce the conflict in the community
(Government, 2012).
4. Arguments
It is analyzed in the article that the Australian values became personal in the case of the Howard
government as well as the political mantra. It is found in the article that the Australian values
presented by the government of the Howard’s were the substitution of the multiculturalism. This
is like the government policy that regulate the difference in the societies as well as ensure the
social cohesion. The arguments in the articles have also stated that the Australian values are the
disciplinary tool for the integration. The article already demonstrates the fact that the Australian
country is filled with the European, White, Christian, people having different backgrounds.
However, the Australian continue to exclude the people who were indigenous and were not born
in Australia. There are many arguments made in the favor of the citizenship of the different
cultured people and also some of them against to this statement. The arguments made in the
favor of the Australian values are the most effective and these all assumptions made for the
migrants are useful in order to avoid the conflicting situation in the society.
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All the Australian values are important for the migrants, but at the same time these values can
vary and imagine in different ways. Therefore the participants in this research article are in the
favor of the Australian values and did not reject to follow it. Apart of this, there are many
participants who argued that there are many Australian values which are not mentioned in the
Australian value statement such as education, hard work and respect for the old people. There
are many other participants who argued that the most important thing in their test to Australian
citizenship is to maintain the prosperous lifestyle where the people can participate with their own
ways, rules, assumptions and values. For this it is not essential that people will be from the
country of the Australia.
Therefore, equality in religion, opportunity, men and female, laws etc, are some of the effective
Australian values which are very important to avoid the conflicting situation as well as to give
the citizenship to the migrants having different cultural backgrounds.
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References
Australian Government, 2007. Australian values statement: Life in Australia, Available at:
http://www.studies-overseas.com/webforms/Download/Australia/Form%201281%20-
%20values-declaration-for-migration-visa-applicants.pdf
Branch, N.C., 2014. Australian Citizenship Our Common Bond, Available at:
https://www.border.gov.au/Citizenship/Documents/our-common-bond-2014.pdf
Chisari, M., 2009. Australian Values, Immigration and Identities – Integrating or Belonging?,
Available at: https://www.surrey.ac.uk/cronem/files/conf2009papers/Chisari.pdf
Chisari, M., 2015. Testing citizen identities: Australian migrants and the Australian values
debate. Journal for the Study of Race, Nation and Culture, 21(6), pp.573-89.
Commonwealth of Australia, 2017. Strengthening the test for the Australian citizenship,
Available at: https://www.border.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/discussion-
papers/citizenship-paper.pdf
Department of Immigration, 2016. Life in Australia: Australian Values and Principles, Available
at: https://www.border.gov.au/LifeinAustralia/Documents/lia_english_full.pdf
Eliot, G., 2009. Values for Australian Schooling, Available at:
http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/9_point_values_with_flag_only.pdf
Government, C., 2012. Discover Canada: The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship,
Available at: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/pub/discover.pdf
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Matthew, 2009. The Citizenship Test: Citizenship for Us, Available at:
https://cliniclegal.org/sites/default/files/ChapterFive.pdf
Turner, T.a., 1979. Social Identity Theory, Available at:
http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/psychology/social/social_identity_theory.html
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