Originally published in Crikey on October 4, 2007

Over recent months, Minister Kevin Andrews has been bringing the new Australian Citizenship Test to fruition. This is a policy destined to fail utterly in its stated intention – “to help new citizens to embrace education, employment and other opportunities in Australia”, according to the Government – but succeed in sending a message to voters who are concerned about how well immigrants are able to “integrate” into Australian society. What is interesting about this initiative is how a whole policy can actually function as a dog whistle.

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