Australian citizenship

Letter to the Editor - Herald Sun
19 December 2003

Dear Sir/Madam

Ian Killip's letter (Betrayed Britons, 18 December) makes several points that call for clarification.

Notwithstanding the extraordinary contribution made to the Australian community and economy through his personal and professional life, the Australian Government believes Australian Citizenship demonstrates commitment to our society. It is the single most important symbol of a culturally diverse but unified society.

Indeed many volunteer organisations, such as Lions and APEX, through their membership, have policies actively promoting the take-up of Australian citizenship.

Mr Killip is one of more than 650,000 UK born who now live in Australia. Many have become Australian citizens but around 350,000 have not made that ultimate commitment to this country.

The recent High Court decision in Shaw v MIMIA, further clarified the legal status of those people, ruling that British subjects in Australia are no different from that of any other non-citizen permanent residents. The High Court also noted that the relationship between the United Kingdom and Australia had changed since Federation.

So too has Australian citizenship legislation. When the Australian Citizenship Act 1948 began most British subjects already in Australia became citizens automatically. However, since 1949, that has changed to better reflect the changing needs of the Australian community.

The invitation to Mr Killip and others in similar circumstances to apply for Australian citizenship is long-standing - as Australian citizens, they will enjoy the rights of citizenship, whilst respecting the responsibilities their citizenship carries to the Australian way of life.

Stewart Foster
Director
Public Affairs
DIMIA