Australia to ask immigrants to commit to 'mateship'

CANBERRA, Aug 26 (Reuters) People who want to become Australians will have to commit to broad values of ''mateship'' and may need to brush up on horse racing and political history under new citizenship tests outlined by the government today.

The tests, similar to those in Canada, the United States and Britain, will require immigrants to correctly answer a series of questions about the nation's history and culture, including possible questions about the Melbourne Cup horse race and when Australia became a nation.

''It emphasises that those becoming a citizen in Australia have an overriding commitment to Australia, to our laws, to our values and to our community,'' Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews told a news conference today.

The new tests, and laws to ensure immigrants must spend four years in Australia instead of three to become citizens, are part of a government push to promote ''Australian values'' after riots between Muslim and non-Muslim youths at a Sydney beach in 2005.

Australia is a nation of immigrants, with one in four of Australia's 21 million people born overseas. Andrews said the new rules and tests would help new citizens integrate into Australian society.

Under the new rules, immigrants and people coming to Australia to work will also need to sign up to a statement of Australian values, which mentions ''mateship'', equality, freedom of religion and support for democracy and the rule of law.

The government will have a pool of 200 citizenship questions, with 20 questions chosen at random for each person wanting to become a citizen.

Andrews said questions could include asking candidates the first line of Australia's national anthem (Australians all let us rejoice, for we are young and free), or the location of Australia's national Parliament (Canberra).

They could also be asked about the year Australia became an independent federation (1901), or about the nation's most important horse race, the Melbourne Cup, known as the race that stops the nation and held on the first Tuesday in November.

Australia's conservative Prime Minister attempted to change Australia's constitution to include a preamble that included the word ''mateship'' in 1999, but the move was rejected by Australian voters.

REUTERS SBC HT1322