It is hard to view the speech for the second reading of the Citizenship Bill by Ian Campbell and not see it is as legislation which elevates the state above the individual.
From the tabled speech;
Becoming an Australian citizen is a significant commitment. It involves undertaking to fulfil the responsibilities of Australian citizenship as well as being able to take advantage of the opportunities that come with citizenship. It requires the pledging of loyalty to Australia and its people, a shared belief in the democratic process, respect for the rights and liberties of others, and a willingness to uphold and obey the law. Importantly, the bill retains the principle that Australian citizenship is a privilege and not a right.A right is a just exclusion from discrimination that the individual has from the state. Rights become a liberty, exclusive to the individual, that are derived from the fundamental relationship between individual and government. In this respect no individual should be denied the full rights of citizenship as the relationship between individual and government is defined by being an individual being under the jurisdiction of the government - not by accidents of birth, swearing to the tribe, or other forms of political inequity. Anyone who has undergone the citizenship ceremony can ask themselves how they were different on the day before, the day they took the oath, and the day after. They are the same individual. The only difference is the amount the state is willing to discriminate against them on the matter of political equity. Citizenship is a right. The fact that citizens allow the state to exist is a privilege. The speech continues;
As recommended by the Committee, the Preamble has been amended to recognise that Australian citizenship represents "full and" formal membership of the community of the Commonwealth of Australia. It is indeed that - full membership of the Australian community, involving reciprocal rights and obligations.The language of obligation is another elevation of the state above the individual. An individual seeks to be the most moral and ethical person they can be. Their obligation is not to the state. It should not be forgotten that nationalism is a recent technology. It only matured in the 19thC and was largely a result of the need for taxation and bureaucratic organisation to ensure sufficient military force for defence and expansion. It was by definition a form of collective-decision making that was militarised with the relative new technology of diplomacy in the stead of marrying a heir to an opposing monarch. Arguably nationalism is a form of organisation developed for an era of industrialised warfare and violence. cam
