Quote: CANBERRA, Australia -- Legislation was introduced to Parliament Wednesday that, if passed, will require prospective Australian citizens to pass a test proving their commitment to the country.

Under the proposed law, immigrants would have to correctly answer at least 12 out of 20 multiple-choice questions about Australian history and values which have yet to be drafted, Citizenship Minister Kevin Andrews told Parliament.

"A citizenship test will ensure a level of commitment to these values and way of life from all Australians, regardless of where they may originally come from," Andrews said.

The legislation requires that citizens have a basic knowledge of the English language and an adequate knowledge of their responsibilities and privileges, he said.

Opposition lawmaker Daryl Melham has described the test as absurd, offensive and obscene - saying it is designed to limit the origin of new Australian citizens to certain countries while excluding others.

This is similar to the system Canada has in place and it's not a real problem. Canada's citizenship test is very extensive a lot more than 20 questions. It includes History, geography, politics etc. But it sounds worse than it is.

If one is going to be a citizen, it is only logical for immigrants to know some basic history and values of the country that they are going to reside in.