3 years ago
MORRISON’S CITIZENSHIP FEE HIKE IS A LOUSY CASH GRAB
ANDREW GILES MP
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke has announced the standard fee for Australian citizenship by conferral will rise by 72 per cent from $285 to $490 from 1 July.
The Minister attempted to justify this by saying it is required because of inflation, staffing costs, and the "increased complexity of applications”.
But this doesn’t pass the pub test - inflation is nominal, and there’s no evidence of additional staff being deployed.
The truth is, the Morrison government is treating prospective citizens, who’ve already been contributing to our nation, as cash cows.
Under the Morrison government, prospective citizens are being asked to pay more, for less.
We have seen processing times and a back-log grow over the life of this tired, dysfunctional eight-year old government.
Six years ago, the number of citizenship by conferral applications on-hand was approximately 25,000. Now it’s 135,000.
The pause in migration during the pandemic has been a missed opportunity to clear this back-log.
Modern Australia is a nation built by immigration.
Citizenship is the final step in a person’s immigration journey. We should be encouraging it, not putting unnecessary barriers in place to deny people their chance to fully contribute to this nation.
The Minister attempted to justify this by saying it is required because of inflation, staffing costs, and the "increased complexity of applications”.
But this doesn’t pass the pub test - inflation is nominal, and there’s no evidence of additional staff being deployed.
The truth is, the Morrison government is treating prospective citizens, who’ve already been contributing to our nation, as cash cows.
Under the Morrison government, prospective citizens are being asked to pay more, for less.
We have seen processing times and a back-log grow over the life of this tired, dysfunctional eight-year old government.
Six years ago, the number of citizenship by conferral applications on-hand was approximately 25,000. Now it’s 135,000.
The pause in migration during the pandemic has been a missed opportunity to clear this back-log.
Modern Australia is a nation built by immigration.
Citizenship is the final step in a person’s immigration journey. We should be encouraging it, not putting unnecessary barriers in place to deny people their chance to fully contribute to this nation.