Aug 31, 2009, 10:20 GMT
Sydney - Australia's plan for elite athletes to gain citizenship in half the time it takes other migrants was condemned Monday as a shabby way of winning Olympic medals.
The changes allow top athletes to qualify for passports in two years rather than four - and they need only spend a total of six months in the country while they are waiting.
'These changes will create a smoother path to citizenship and enable Australia to benefit from the talents and skills they bring to our country,' Immigration Minister Chris Evans told reporters in Sydney while flanked by Russian-born ice skater Tatiana Borodulina.
Under the special dispensations, Borodulina could be wearing Australia's green and gold colours at next year's Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.
Evans said the changes were intended to help ensure that Australia continued to be placed in the top five countries at the Olympics in terms of medals won.
The fast-track to citizenship will be particularly targeted at African runners who could strengthen Australia's underperforming athletics team.
But it could also benefit Slovakian-born Jarmila Groth and fellow top tennis player Anastasia Rodionova, who now holds a Russian passport. Both are permanent residents.
Opposition Liberal Party immigration spokeswoman Sharman Stone said the plan 'cheapens Australian citizenship' and would be offensive to those migrants not receiving privileged treatment.
'Someone who very dearly would love to become an Australian citizen but who's not an elite athlete would be rightly annoyed that there's a special class created for those to win medals just for Australia,' she said.
'Our citizens should be people who have been in the country four years, who have passed all the other criteria of good character, English-language speaking and accepting all our values and traditions, not just the capacity to stand on the podium clutching a gold medal,' Stone added.
The relaxation of citizenships rules comes just a week after Australians complained bitterly that the national team that beat them at cricket in England included batsmen and bowlers who were born in South Africa.
The changes are controversial because they break a 40-year commitment to a non-discriminatory immigration programme that promises every applicant is treated in the same way.
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