Migrants to Be Tested on Antisemitism Under Coalition Citizenship Test

Migrants applying for Australian passports under a Coalition government will be quizzed about their attitudes towards Jewish people, as part of Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s citizenship crackdown that includes a possible deportation referendum.

As Coalition frontbenchers gave mixed messages about their commitment to using a referendum to empower ministers to strip citizenship from criminals with dual nationality, opposition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan revealed a Dutton government would add a section on antisemitism to the citizenship test.

“We want to strengthen the test by placing a specific section within it which will deal with antisemitism,” Tehan told this masthead.

“The rise in antisemitism needs to be dealt with and dealt with immediately, and we are looking, through the establishment of an antisemitism taskforce, to make sure we would address this as an absolute priority.”

The additions would include a training module for prospective citizens as they studied for the test, and possibly a new question about whether it is acceptable to show disrespect towards Jewish people because of their religion.

The Morrison government added five new questions on Australian values to the citizenship test, which caused the pass rate to drop. Tehan’s additions on antisemitism have not yet been drafted, but his citizenship test pledge to the Jewish community reflects the Coalition’s vehemently pro-Israel stance.

The antisemitic claims of a Bankstown nurse about killing Jewish patients has motivated Dutton, as reported by this masthead, to consider changing the Constitution to give a minister power to cancel the citizenship of dual nationals if they are guilty of serious crimes such as terrorism or paedophilia.

Dutton is actively considering making an election commitment to proceed with a referendum if there were no legislative fix.

Currently, only judges can strip citizenship under a narrow set of circumstances, after the High Court in 2022 ruled that it was unconstitutional for ministers to have the power to strip criminals of their Australian citizenship if they had been born elsewhere.

Questioned on Channel Seven’s Sunrise on whether Australia could afford to pay hundreds of millions for a referendum while the opposition is pledging to rein in spending, Dutton said he “didn’t think you could put a price” on keeping people safe.

He also noted “you can walk and chew gum” when pressed on raising the issue of a referendum when voters were focused on keeping prices down.

The Voice to parliament referendum that Dutton helped defeat cost $450 million, but the opposition leader said the rise in antisemitism showed the importance of guarding Australian values.

“We can do as much as we can by legislation, but as they say, you can’t out-legislate the Constitution,” Dutton said.

Labor rounded on Dutton’s referendum idea, with Albanese labelling it a thought bubble and Treasurer Jim Chalmers claiming it was a “bizarre … effort to try and avoid talking about the economy and his cuts”.

Albanese said shadow ministers were sending mixed signals about the plan he argued had “not been thought through” after shadow attorney-general Michaelia Cash said a referendum was only a last resort, while transport spokeswoman Bridget McKenzie backed Dutton’s referendum proposal and added that she wanted a constitutional convention too.

The Coalition leader has often set the agenda on national and domestic security issues this term, but a rare lift in support for Albanese has prompted Coalition jitters about its policy offering and economic narrative. Dutton conceded on Monday that Labor attacks on him in recent weeks had hurt his popularity.

Albanese said Dutton had “no plans, just thought bubbles”, adding: “It is not clear where this has come from. Peter Dutton wants to talk about anything but the cost of living.”

Former attorney-general and influential moderate Liberal George Brandis, who opposed a similar plan put by then-prime minister Tony Abbott in 2015, said the referendum was terrible idea.

“An unwanted referendum, without bipartisan support, to overturn the High Court? It is as mad an idea as I have heard in a long time. If it is indeed under consideration, that consideration should stop right now,” Brandis writes in an opinion piece for this masthead.

A spate of antisemitic violence in Sydney and Melbourne over summer provoked national debate about hostility towards Jewish Australians against the backdrop of Israel’s bloody military campaign in Gaza. There has also been a concurrent surge in reports of Islamophobia.

Revelations that a suspected NSW caravan terror plot was orchestrated by organised criminals has complicated the picture on whether the attacks were motivated by ideology, but the rise in antisemitism in Australia has been confirmed by all senior police authorities.