On Wed, 25 Feb 2004 01:58:41 +1100, Graham W
wrote:

No it doesn't.

It reflects the value I place on citizenship, not on Australia.

I am a citizen of two other countries, one of which I lived in until I
was five, the other of which I have visited for a total of perhaps 4
weeks of my life. My home is Australia, and I don't need a certificate
from the government to prove it.

Let's face it, it wouldn't prove anything anyway, any more than a
marriage licence proves spouses won't stray, since all I have to do is
pay my money and say the right things.


This will be my first and last comment after following this thread for a
while.

I don't care which country a person decides to settle in, if they do not
become a citizen of that country then they are a free-loader. There is
far more to citizenship than paying taxes.

For you, of course, if the Oz government decided to discriminate in
favour of citizens when providing services, welfare etc. you'd be the
first to claim that was unfair and undemocratic. But then, how can
anything be undemocratic if you elect not to be a voter? Voting is
compulsory for all Oz citizens not in jail.

Obviously, as a non-citizen, you would get out of military service, jury
duty or any other form of service to your adopted country. So you are
prepared to accept the security of our stable government, but you are
not prepared to support or defend it. But be careful if you travel to
those countries where you are a citizen; you may find you owe them some
military service.

You will also find that, if you are unlucky enough to be charged with
something criminal whilst away from Oz, you may have some difficulty as
a non-citizen in getting back into the country. You may then find your
only option is to settle in one of those other countries.

Do a little googling and you'll also find several cases where people
have been deported to countries they haven't seen since birth (and often
don't speak the language) after committing criminal offences here. It
couldn't happen to you? For example: manslaughter resulting from
careless driving is a criminal offence.

You're like the friend who came to visit, but neglected to leave;
pleasant company until the realisation sets in that this guest intends
to bludge off the rest of us forever.

Goodbye.

Alan