MEDIA RELEASE: Community concerns over changes to Citizenship

We had a fantastic turn out for our citizenship forum today with Senator Sue Lines, myself and several members of the community in Perth. We heard personal stories about the impact the Government’s changes to citizenship laws were having on the community. 

“Citizenship shouldn’t be about politics. It’s about who we are as a nation and the Government’s changes are about telling people from non-English speaking backgrounds   that they are simply not welcome the way others are.” – Tony Burke

Some of the people that attended will be personally affected by the changes, others attended to represent and share concerns of those in the community who will be affected. 

Tony Burke encouraged those present to make submissions to the Senate Inquiry before the deadline this Friday the 21st of July through Tony’s website www.tonyburke.com.au and to sign the online petition on his website which he will present to Parliament when it resumes in August.

Those in attendance were particularly shocked by the requirement of university level English for the test. Tony Burke described this move as snobbery from the Government. Senator Lines read aloud a comprehension question from the IELTS general sample test to the room and said she found it challenging, despite English being her first language and having a university degree.

“These changes are a direct attack on Australia as a modern multicultural nation. We need to organise and act quickly because I’m convinced we can win.” – Tony Burke

THURSDAY, 20 JULY 2017