grodscorp@grods.comGallipoli: good, Aboriginies: bad
 | Posted by The Editor on Wednesday 13 December 2006, 7:58 am Categories: Politics Tags: Tags: AndrewRobb, Gallipoli, JohnHoward, Liberal, mateship, values |
The fug of confusion about the citizenship values test grows every day, driven largely by those who are responsible for it. How about this choice quote from the honourable parliamentary secretary for immigration, Andrew Robb:
Some history is important — the fact the country is 200 years old not 2000 years old is relevant in terms of the character of the nation…
200 years old, hey? That’ll be news to a certain percentage of the population.
Robb doesn’t believe in tests that simply encourage rote learning but he wants the test to ensure that people understand events that have shaped Australia’s “character”, such as Gallipoli.
Q) Do you understand how Gallipoli shaped Australia’s character?
A) Yes (you’re in)/ No (you’re out)
And the Man of Steel seems to have a strange definition of mateship:
A concept of treating people according to how you find them and not according to the colour of their skin.
Wrong, Johnny! Everyone knows mateship is all about Gallipoli, going to the pub with the blokes, and standing up for your mates no matter how wrong they are. What you’re talking about sounds much more like egalitarianism — but that’s a really big word, innit? Sounds too intellectual.
Heard Andrew Robb on ABC774 with Jon Faine this morning (ahh, uni holidays and lazy weekday mornings in bed). He was talking about the government’s new proposed citizenship test and the possible questions that might be on such a test. When asked how one tests for an understanding of “a fair go” Robb got all confused and blustery, starting to waffle on about how it’s a “quintessential” Australian quality and it’s all to do with tolerance and stuff. You know, it’s the vibe, it’s Mabo. Robb said that, you know, it’s all about how Australians volunteer to fight bushfires.
GrodsThink Ep.31 (16/9/08)
