CANBERRA, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Australia may toughen its citizenship test in order to ensure the process remains modern, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said on Tuesday.
Dutton told News Corp that an upgraded citizenship test was a "debate worth having," and said questions on the test would be aimed at identifying an individual's values to ensure they aligned with those of Australia.
"Australian values like abiding by Australian laws, working hard if you are able bodied and of working age, and educating your children have been the underpinning of the success of our migration program for a long time," Dutton said.
"The vast majority of people who want to become an Australian citizen embrace these values, but under the current arrangements people who don't can still end up with the same valued prize of citizenship.
"My view is people who don't embrace these tangible values shouldn't expect automatic citizenship."
Currently, Australia's citizenship test is a 20-question quiz which is made up of questions drawn at random from a larger set. In order to pass and become an Australian citizen, those taking the test must answer at least 15 correctly.
However, Dutton told Macquarie Radio on Monday that some of the questions on the quiz might need to be updated to reflect "Australian values."
"The question we face is whether or not we have the right test, the right questions," he said.
"Whether or not people know Don Bradman's (cricket) batting average is a true test of whether or not somebody shares an Australian value."
The opposition has said it would support a revised test, but added that any changes to the nation's citizenship test would need to be "evidence-based and not politically motivated."
