KEY POINTS:
Global cities compete in any number of dimensions. It's not simply the business climate or the tax regimes, important though they may be. It's not merely infrastructure and the pool of educated talent available to contribute to success. The dimensions which underpin global investment decisions are far broader and deeper.
Community harmony is one of those dimensions.
On two occasions in recent years - at Redfern and at Cronulla - Sydney has been racked by violence caused by complex interrelated forces. At Redfern it was a case of mainly disillusioned indigenous youth and the New South Wales police being involved in confrontation.
At Cronulla, ethnic tensions spilled over between some sections of the traditional Anglo-Irish beach culture and elements of Arabic youth from inner western Sydney. Superficially, the riots appeared to be about race. In the Cronulla circumstance, it may have been a consequence of persistent gang crime, which sparked a massive backlash.
Either way, scenes of police with batons and shields confronting violent youths in the streets and on the railway stations sent a grim message around the world. And around the world the message went.
Even World Youth Day, which is the Catholic Church's major event for young people and is scheduled for Sydney next year, made discreet inquiries about the safety of attendees in the wake of Cronulla.
Investment decisions are considered in a similar light. Secure environments, including secure community relations, are important for a longer-term global business commitment.
The additional layer in the area of a secure environment is now counter-terrorism. Sydney went to extraordinary lengths to make the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference free of serious threat. The authorities were successful. There has been some criticism of police heavy-handedness, but APEC proceeded peacefully and smoothly, with comparatively minor dislocation in Greater Sydney.
The broader question of community diversity and integration, balanced with a need to exclude extremists from the Australian body politic, has brought about a new citizenship test. Last weekend, a group of 26 people in Victoria and Queensland sat the first exam. Its results are instructive.
Now, every Australian knows the joke about the prospective British migrant who goes to Australia House to answer a questionnaire about moving to Australia. The applicant is asked: "Do you have a criminal record?". "No," says the intending Oz citizen. "I didn't realise that you still needed one to be admitted to Australia."
The refinement on the old joke is to be found in a Cairo television interview by a controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Taj el-din Al Hilaly, who is reported to have drawn the contrast between Islamic Australians who arrived voluntarily and the original European settlers, who were involuntary transportees spawned by the British penal system. This alleged comparison went down like a proverbial convict leg iron.
But back to the citizenship test.
The test is supposed to be based on an affirmation of Australian values. Critics of the Howard Government would argue that for nearly a decade the Australian citizenry have been fed a steady diet of Bradman, barbecue stoppers and the Bush doctrine.
But it's not just the conservative parties that believe a citizenship test should make certain that new citizens have a working knowledge of the English language and important points in Australian history. Former Labor Leader Kim Beazley believed in the citizenship test and asserted that temporary visitors should be obliged to acknowledge Australian values on their visa applications.
All seemed to go well on the weekend, when all but one of 26 applicants for citizenship passed the test. The test itself is secret, with Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews refusing to release details.
But there are some 200 questions from which 20 are selected. To pass, applicants must correctly answer a minimum of 12. It's a fair bet that the questions range from important dates such as Federation, through to the locations of national institutions such as the Federal Parliament and the significance of national symbols.
There might be some doubt about how many Australian-born citizens could answer 12 of 20 queries correctly. Australian history has not been a focus in many schools and we are paying a price in ignorance about our traditions and culture.
Where does business fit into this mosaic?
Aside from the fact that part of corporate life is also concerned with being a useful corporate citizen, Australian business has increasingly had to rely on the immigration system for skills. Chinese economic growth has caused a dramatic resources boom in Australian mining regions. The Japanese recovery has added to this and the impact of Indian economic expansion is not far behind.
The resources boom has distorted the Australian economy by bringing extraordinary demand for skilled workers. In the mining regions of Western Australia and Queensland, even the unskilled and semi-skilled do very well.
A dishwasher in a mining camp kitchen can earn over $80,000. Holding up the "Stop/Go" sign on internal roads for minerals trucks commands $100,000 in some remote areas. Couple this with a lamentable failure in technical and further education, and Australia does have serious skills shortages.
So the 457 Visa has come into its own. This allows business to sponsor skilled people from abroad to fill critical roles. This works, but it has now been extended to the near ludicrous, where fast food employees in Perth are being recruited under sponsored programmes.
So the skills issue has become mixed with citizenship in the escalating public debate before a general election.
The Australian mosaic is rich and very diverse. By and large, communities from every corner of the globe have been welcomed into the Australian mainstream. The citizenship test is designed to formalise this process by emphasising the core values on which the country is built.
So far, the test itself seems to fit the Australian pattern. It doesn't appear to be that difficult and seems to be broad-brush in style. And the new citizens are certainly taking it very seriously, to judge by the amount of background study most of them have done.
As a matter of fact, some of the applicants appear to be much better informed about Australian history than some of the commentariat. For the future, if the test remains a gateway to citizenship and passing it remains an honour, rather than a hurdle and a barrier, the test will work.
Better a quiet welcome into the Australian community than the disturbing vision of another Redfern or Cronulla. Sydney, like all global cities, benefits most when the mosaic shines.
* Stephen Loosley, a former federal president of the Labor Party and Australian senator, chairs business advocacy group Committee for Sydney.
