Australia govt vows to pursue citizenship crackdown

Australia's conservative government yesterday vowed to pursue efforts to tighten the country's citizenship requirements after parliament refused to approve the crackdown.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull proposed the tougher rules in April, adding stringent English-language tests and a quadrupling of the residency requirement for citizenship applicants from one to four years.

The move came against a background of growing populist pressure in Australia and a resurgence of the anti-immigration One Nation party led by Pauline Hanson.

But the opposition Labor Party and other critics blocked the legislation in the upper house Senate, where a deadline for adoption passed on Wednesday.