Happy New Year everyone

I was true to my word and did not celebrate Christmas. Although I attended gatherings around Christmas I remained decidedly indifferent to all the hype. But I got a couple of cool presents

So, whats news?

Saddam is dead and so is another American President (just the wrong one).

Osama is still eluding the very people who trained him, whilst over the border the 3000th US troop has died in Iraq - did you know that 1,368 Iraqis died in November 06 alone, making it the deadliest month for locals since the US started this violence?

Back home we have harsher water restrictions and children are murdering each other on our streets, but the news is dominated by a bunch of old bogans playing cricket against a bunch of wingeing poms.

2007 has to be a better year.

Howard has to be voted out of office. Bush and his cronies need to lose more ground and support over there. The whole African continent needs to chill out. Everyone will give up smoking, no-one will die and the tooth fairy will appear in Penthouse.

are you aussie enough, mate?

I wonder what Australians really think about the Federal Government's planned citizenship test. I don't mean the retirees in Queensland, and not the farmers, the country people etc. but the people who vote responsibly, who read more than one newspaper and form views based on a broader set of data than their investment portfolio and tabloid journalsim.

If the proposal goes through anyone applying for citizenship will have to pass an English test and demonstrate knowledge of Australian values and culture. Applicants will be tested on such concepts as "Mateship" and "having a go" as if they are purely Australian values.

I'd like to see a nice honest and open test scenario where all parliamentarians are subjected to the full suite of tests, with results to be published in a national forum.

What exactly is this test set to achieve? If as the Government claims we are experiencing record unemployment (lets not mention record under-employment), and a healthy and vibrant economy, then surely we should be pursuading people to come here, not placing more hurdles in their way.

John Howard said in an interview that he feels that Multiculturalism is not the way to go, rather an environment of participation and assimilation, hence these new tests. In short, he is saying that the people we have here now are not the type we want, but seeing that we are stuck with them, lets get better ones next time.

It's not an anti-terror move by any means, as we all know that the World Trade Centre pilots were educated in the US, they would pass a test. The UK Tube bombers were born in the UK, they'd pass a test too. The Madrid bombers were from Madrid, so they'd also pass a test.

Trying to define Values is like trying to define Ethics or Morals. Everyone has a different opinion and perspective. "Having a go" may mean first having the opportunity to have a go. Under our current IR laws and the "people-are-here-to-serve-the-economy" model of policy making "having a go" translates to "every man for himself".

The test could only work if it was created in the spirit of a real legislative process, that is, in the multi-party environment of the senate. Similarly, it would have to be marked pass/fail by a similarly diverse grouping. If the tests "owner" Howard's appointee, Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Andrew Robb were to mark it only American and UK citizens will get in.

For more information on the test, go to DIMAs website where you'll find a discussion paper, and most importantly a community feedback form.