What is the economic impetus for introducing a formal citizenship test?
This section of the discussion paper (paras 29-33) contains clear examples of a confusion of concepts and terminology. It all but ignores the simple fact that it is the visa system which determines whether or not people are participating in the Australian labour market and the wider economy, not citizenship. There are some jobs, mainly public sector and defence force jobs, which require citizenship, but the majority simply require a person to hold a visa which has work entitlements attached to it. This includes many types of long-term temporary residency visas. In considering economic impetus and labour market participation consequences of citizenship, it has to be recognised that – certainly at the moment and for the foreseeable future – many areas of migration are a ‘buyer’s market’, where Australia is having to face ever increasing competition from other countries to attract migrants to participate in our labour market. The prospect of obtaining citizenship can be one factor which p
