Page 2386 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 22 June 1994
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Subclause (2) says:
A person shall not be appointed to the Service unless -
... ... ...
(b) the person is an Australian citizen or a permanent resident of Australia; and
... ... ...
My amendment adds the words "who has applied for Australian citizenship which is subsequently granted;".
Madam Speaker, I believe that anyone who becomes a member of the ACT Government Service should have certain commitments. They should be committed to Canberrans; indeed, to all people in Australia. They should be committed to the country as a whole. They should be committed to our democratic beliefs, our rights and our freedoms. They should be someone who upholds the law. I do not think anybody would disagree with that. We should know that the person has this commitment. Let me read the oath that someone would make when becoming a citizen of Australia. It says:
From this time forward, under God, I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people, whose democratic beliefs I share, whose rights and liberties I respect, and whose laws I will uphold and obey.
There is, of course, a second pledge which covers the same principles. The points that I made initially, that someone should have a commitment to, are the very things that someone pledges a commitment to at their citizenship ceremony. How could we say that people should not have those commitments? Is there anything there that they should not have? Should we not be concerned that they be committed to upholding the law, committed to our rights and freedoms, committed to Canberrans and all Australians and to the country as a whole? I do not think that is a debatable point. We all agree that people, particularly those in the public service, should have those commitments.
Why particularly in the public service? We can, as we well know, have people in Australia who are not citizens of Australia. They could be visitors or permanent residents; but they have not made the commitment, perhaps, to serve this country to the same degree. I am not suggesting that someone who is not a citizen is working against the country or anything like that. That point should not be made. I simply am saying that someone should make the commitment, and all people who pay for the operation of the public service should expect no less a commitment. I understand that when someone joins the public service, regardless of who or what they are, they make some commitments, and that is good. However, these are stronger commitments. This is a stronger pledge. This shows that someone is on board, and on board solidly.
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