English and Australian Citizenship (1st Discussion)

I’ve read all the responses regarding the topic “English and Australian Citizenship”. Most of people disagree or partially agree with Azar’s idea but let’s see this way.

                  

Although there is no official language in Australia, English is commonly used. According to 2001 census, English is the only language spoken in the home for around 80% of the population, which means people who want to live Australia permanently need to speak English no matter where they are from, who they are in order to survive in Australia. Someone says Chinese chefs working in a Chinese restaurant don’t really have to learn English because they always use Chinese though they live in Australia. However, they may encounter many difficult situations. They need to contact Telecommunication Company to connect the Internet or home-phone, Australian schools to send their children. If an electric supplier sends an incorrect bill to them, how they are supposed to do that?  Do they call some who can speak both Chinese and English all the time? I know that Chinese community in Australia is huge but what about other language groups?

In addition, not only main applicants who applied the Australian permanent resident visa and also dependants are required the English test score such as the IELTS. If dependants cannot achieve the English score the government sets, they have to pay more than $4,000 for studying English while refuges are not require anything about the English test. This is also unfair. The more serious problem is the Australian government pays substantial amount money on teaching English to refugees. If the Australian government had selected some refugees who speaks basic English to communicate Australians, the government would have saved huge amount money.

Moreover, people who want to immigrate Australia need to understand and respect the culture, history and politics not only take economic benefits from the country. Becoming a citizen is becoming a member of Australian society, which means immigrants need to take a responsibility and duty for Australia such as the federal election. If people do not have any English skills, how people can select the right person. Therefore, I believe that people who intend to immigrate Australia need appropriate English skills.