Turnbull’s Citizenship Reforms Welcome, But Still Avoiding the Main Issue
Following on from his announcement earlier this week that the government would abolish and replace the 457-visa foreign worker program Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull now looks determined to show that he is tough on immigration. Fairfax Media reported last night that Malcolm Turnbull has proposed to toughen up citizenship requirements. This includes having prospective citizens sit an English language exam and an Australian values test asking whether they respect woman amongst other things.
They will also have to provide evidence of employment and that they are sending their children to school. The wait to become an Australian citizen after obtaining permanent residency will be extended from one year to four years. There will also be a new visa class called a provisional visa which will restrict migrants access to welfare.
This change in direction from Malcolm Turnbull, once a hardline supporter of multiculturalism and a large migration intake is quite remarkable. It is a sign that the pressure from other conservative politicians such as Cory Bernardi, George Christensen and Pauline Hanson and are paying off. Not just that but the voices of resentment in the Australian community at the direction our immigration policy has taken has finally grown too loud for the government to continue to ignore.
The Coalition government however, while now talking a tough game on immigration is still avoiding the main issue here, that which is causing all of this community resentment. Muslim migration and the growing Islamization of our suburbs in our major cities.
They have time and again ruled out any restriction on Muslim immigration, there was a bi-partisan motion in Parliament last year to keep a non-discriminatory immigration policy. Let’s not forget the Turnbull government has settled 10,000 Syrian refugees in Australia which has included a substantial amount of Muslims. We do not know whether refugees will be subject to these tougher citizenship requirements.
Turnbull himself has yet shown no sign of budging on Muslim immigration, you only had to see the way he rubbished Pauline Hanson’s call for a Muslim ban after the London terror attack. Let’s not forget Turnbull’s infamous Itfar dinner during last year’s federal election which had Islamic hate preacher Sheikh Shady Al-Suleiman as a guest.
The evidence is clear for any rational Australian to see, we are seeing both our national security and our liberal democratic values being threatened by the growing Islamic influence in Australia. From child marriages, to female genital mutilation, spousal abuse, crime gangs, welfare fraud, foreign ISIS fighters, terrorism financing, lone wolf attacks and planned terror plots, our government’s imposed cultural enrichment program doesn’t seem providing us Australians with any benefits.
Polling last year indicated that at least 49% of Australia supported a ban on Muslim immigration, yet our government is still deaf to the people’s will. It appears the best they can do is only toughen citizenship requirements for all migrants as they dare not be seen as Islamophobic. This change does not actually reduce our immigration intake, just makes citizenship tougher to obtain. After all, they wouldn’t want to the ABC to put on Yassmin Abdel-Magied or Mariam Veiszadeh to say how horrible and racist the government is.
But overall this change in direction by the Coalition government on immigration is a step in the right direction and a sign that we are beginning to have an impact on our politicians. We need to keep up the pressure on them until they have guts to introduce a ban on Muslim immigration.
It is possible for a government to do this, Trump was elected on this platform but was only thwarted by activist judges. We can once again take control over how we want this country to look and the values it will have, we will not stand by while a totalitarian foreign ideology attempts to take us over and be cowered by being labelled racist or bigoted for simply wanting to live in safe and free country.