There is one silver lining for Indians in Australia’s tough new citizenship rules: English skills — Quartz

One of the better analysis of the planned changes to Australia’s citizenship regime by Alex Reilly, of Adelaide Law School:

Australia already assesses who to allow in—and to whom to grant residency—before any issue of citizenship arises.

Permanent residents in Australia enjoy almost the full range of civil and political rights as citizens. They have access to the welfare system (after initial waiting periods), Medicare, and education. Citizens alone are able to vote, and they have a greater security of residence.

Citizenship is the last step on the path to full membership. By the time someone is applying for citizenship, they have already been in Australia for a minimum of four years, and have made a life here.

We should be encouraging permanent residents to take up citizenship and to commit fully to Australia. Citizenship, in this sense, is a positive mechanism for inclusion. The government’s focus on citizenship as a mechanism for exclusion in its rhetoric and some of the proposed changes is, therefore, counterproductive.

Source: There is one silver lining for Indians in Australia’s tough new citizenship rules: English skills — Quartz