Australian senate rejects proposed visa, citizenship curbs

 

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull listens to a question during a news conference after a meeting of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, October 5, 2017. AAP/Lukas Coch/via REUTERS

 

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's lawmakers have rejected legislation that would tighten citizenship and foreign worker visa rules, a blow to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull who had sought to stop a loss of his support base to far-right political parties.

 

In April, Turnbull said Australia would abolish a temporary work visa popular with foreigners and replace it with a new programme requiring better English-language and job skills. Turnbull also announced plans to raise the bar for citizenship by lengthening the waiting period and adding a new "Australian values" test.

 

But Australia's senate, where Turnbull's centre-right government does not enjoy a majority, rejected the proposal in a late vote on Wednesday, with opposition lawmakers insisting the rules were counter to Australian multicultural values.

 

The senate rejection may further drag on support for Turnbull, which, according to the widely watched Newspoll poll on Monday, languishes at its lowest level in more than two years.

 

The next election is not due until 2019, but continued poor polling could undermine Turnbull's leadership.

 

Mathias Cormann, Australia's special minister of state, said on Wednesday the government will seek to move the legislation through the senate again as soon as they have secured the necessary support.

 

"We will keep working with all non-government senators to secure the necessary support," Cormann told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio.

 

A spokeswoman for Australian immigration minister Peter Dutton said visa applications would now be considered under the previous rules.

 

(Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Sam Holmes)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-10-19

I would generally support this Bill apart from the silly requirement for citizenship applicants to have university-level English skills. I am fairly certain that 80% of Aussies could not pass this test.

This bloke is unreal,at least Kevin Rudd let people have a "fair suck on the sauce bottle",even if no one had ever heard the phrase it sounded okay.

^^^ 

He's after the redneck 'one nation' vote, in a pretty blatant fashion too.

 

There's not much science about it

1 hour ago, marko kok prong said:

This bloke is unreal,at least Kevin Rudd let people have a "fair suck on the sauce bottle",even if no one had ever heard the phrase it sounded okay.

RUDD let in ANYBODY to the country.

That is why we are where we are.

This IDIOT Turnbull has to try to clean up the Labor MESS.

 

The fly on the wall must have been Merkel.

5 hours ago, DoctorG said:

I would generally support this Bill apart from the silly requirement for citizenship applicants to have university-level English skills. I am fairly certain that 80% of Aussies could not pass this test.

Given what passes for university-level English skills these days, I should imagine every Ali, Mohammed and Abdullah could pass it.

Fraser?????  Has dope become legal in Oz?

8 hours ago, car720 said:

These people are like a malignant cancer eating away at what once was a great country.  Of course people will have differences of opinion but these people are not about that.  They are purely about feathering their own nests at the expense of joe blow.  $7,000 now for a wife visa and that is just the application fee.  They will tell you that this is the cost of processing.  Really?  Seven thousand dollars for a few key strokes on a computer.  I really hate it when my intelligence is blatantly insulted.

Expect double...... that in my recent experience.

Sounds like Aussies like their PM about the same as most Western Canadians like their PM.  Maybe 2019 will be a year of change in both countries.

Geezer

Another useless politician tries to push through his own personal agenda to please his backers if he spent more time with the general public he would get more insight to whats really going on around him. Like most Pollies as soon as they start speaking the bull shit flows. Once our great land was for the people now just for the shiny assed rich,....so sad