ID :
42732
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 13:18
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/42732
The shortlink copeid
Australia adds 13,000 more citizens
Australia has celebrated its 60-year tradition of multiculturalism by formally accepting more than 13,000 new citizens on Australia Day.
From small ceremonies in remote communities, to a massive event in Perth where almost 1,900 people from 90 countries were conferred, new citizens spoke on Monday of their pride at cementing their place in Australia.
Speaking at the Perth ceremony, the largest of 318 held across the nation,
Immigration and Citizenship Minister Chris Evans said no country had bettered
Australia in settling migrants and celebrating their successes.
He said the 1,881 people, sworn in under a baking sun at Edith Cowan University in
Perth's north, had joined "four million others who have done it before you".
Australia's proud tradition of welcoming people from other nations was one of the
nation's great stories, he said.
"It was 60 years ago that we actually passed the amendments to the Citizenship Act
which said we were no longer a British colony and were about building Australian
citizenship," Senator Evans said.
"We are a great success story.
"You go anywhere in the world and they say no-one has done it better than Australia
at settling and promoting the success of its migrants."
Amid the barbecues and beach parties, there was some controversy as some indigenous
leaders agreed there should be a national debate about whether the date of Australia
Day should be changed.
Australian of the Year, indigenous leader Mick Dodson, said a debate should be had
because many Aboriginal people viewed the celebration of the First Fleet's arrival
on January 26, 1788 as the day their country was invaded by another nation.
Indeed many indigenous Australians call January 26 Survival Day, and consider it a
day of mourning.
But Prime Minister Kevin Rudd rejected any suggestion that the date be changed,
saying he believed it was a day all Australians could celebrate.
"Those who have come to this land 200 years ago, those who are welcomed into the
nation's family today - indigenous Australians, non-indigenous Australians - we are
all in this together," Mr Rudd said.
"To our indigenous leaders, and those who call for a change to our national day, let
me say a simple, respectful but straightforward no."
As politics played its part in this year's celebrations, Australians flocked to
hundreds of events around the country, including to the tall ships spectacle and
ferry race on Sydney Harbour.
In the city's Hyde Park crowds gathered to dine on everything from traditional
Aussie beef burgers and snags to Spanish paella, Thai stir-fry and Turkish gozleme.
Garry Trinh, 33, dressed in an Australian flag t-shirt, said it was the one day of
the year when he could wear the flag with pride without feeling like a "bogan".
"Sometimes I think the Australian flag is hijacked by a lot of bogans, but today I
feel like I can win it back for a day," he said.
In Canberra, singer Leo Sayer was among 60 people to become Australian citizens at a
ceremony presided over by Mr Rudd.
"Yes!" yelled the British-born musician after becoming a dinky-di Aussie, adding:
"Everything I've done has been leading to this moment ... It's better than a number
one (hit)."
Later, Governor-General Quentin Bryce officially opened Citizenship Place, adjacent
to Lake Burley Griffin, to mark the 60th anniversary of Australian citizenship.
In Brisbane, thousands of people rallied against indigenous injustices at a
"Survival Day" event, while reconciliation was the theme of festivities at an
Aboriginal community on Elcho Island, off the Northern Territory coast.
In Adelaide, men from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association chanted Aussie Aussie Aussie
Oi Oi Oi, while Samoan women wearing grass skirts shook their hips to the beat of a
drum.
Melbourne's Australia Day People's March paid tribute to the 'We Are One, But We Are
Many' theme, with the Victoria Police pipe band, the Laughter Club, Guides Victoria
and Chinese dragons all participating in the parade.
On the water, tall ships including the Young Endeavour sailed into Port Phillip,
Hobsons Bay and St Kilda, while the Yarra River was briefly turned into a sea of
yellow, as a flotilla of rubber ducks were let loose in the Great Australia Day Duck
Race.
Celebrations will wind down with pin-hole cameras in Perth, as revellers are treated
to partial solar eclipse, while major fireworks displays will take place in
Melbourne at Federation Square and in Sydney at Darling Harbour later on Monday
evening.
From small ceremonies in remote communities, to a massive event in Perth where almost 1,900 people from 90 countries were conferred, new citizens spoke on Monday of their pride at cementing their place in Australia.
Speaking at the Perth ceremony, the largest of 318 held across the nation,
Immigration and Citizenship Minister Chris Evans said no country had bettered
Australia in settling migrants and celebrating their successes.
He said the 1,881 people, sworn in under a baking sun at Edith Cowan University in
Perth's north, had joined "four million others who have done it before you".
Australia's proud tradition of welcoming people from other nations was one of the
nation's great stories, he said.
"It was 60 years ago that we actually passed the amendments to the Citizenship Act
which said we were no longer a British colony and were about building Australian
citizenship," Senator Evans said.
"We are a great success story.
"You go anywhere in the world and they say no-one has done it better than Australia
at settling and promoting the success of its migrants."
Amid the barbecues and beach parties, there was some controversy as some indigenous
leaders agreed there should be a national debate about whether the date of Australia
Day should be changed.
Australian of the Year, indigenous leader Mick Dodson, said a debate should be had
because many Aboriginal people viewed the celebration of the First Fleet's arrival
on January 26, 1788 as the day their country was invaded by another nation.
Indeed many indigenous Australians call January 26 Survival Day, and consider it a
day of mourning.
But Prime Minister Kevin Rudd rejected any suggestion that the date be changed,
saying he believed it was a day all Australians could celebrate.
"Those who have come to this land 200 years ago, those who are welcomed into the
nation's family today - indigenous Australians, non-indigenous Australians - we are
all in this together," Mr Rudd said.
"To our indigenous leaders, and those who call for a change to our national day, let
me say a simple, respectful but straightforward no."
As politics played its part in this year's celebrations, Australians flocked to
hundreds of events around the country, including to the tall ships spectacle and
ferry race on Sydney Harbour.
In the city's Hyde Park crowds gathered to dine on everything from traditional
Aussie beef burgers and snags to Spanish paella, Thai stir-fry and Turkish gozleme.
Garry Trinh, 33, dressed in an Australian flag t-shirt, said it was the one day of
the year when he could wear the flag with pride without feeling like a "bogan".
"Sometimes I think the Australian flag is hijacked by a lot of bogans, but today I
feel like I can win it back for a day," he said.
In Canberra, singer Leo Sayer was among 60 people to become Australian citizens at a
ceremony presided over by Mr Rudd.
"Yes!" yelled the British-born musician after becoming a dinky-di Aussie, adding:
"Everything I've done has been leading to this moment ... It's better than a number
one (hit)."
Later, Governor-General Quentin Bryce officially opened Citizenship Place, adjacent
to Lake Burley Griffin, to mark the 60th anniversary of Australian citizenship.
In Brisbane, thousands of people rallied against indigenous injustices at a
"Survival Day" event, while reconciliation was the theme of festivities at an
Aboriginal community on Elcho Island, off the Northern Territory coast.
In Adelaide, men from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association chanted Aussie Aussie Aussie
Oi Oi Oi, while Samoan women wearing grass skirts shook their hips to the beat of a
drum.
Melbourne's Australia Day People's March paid tribute to the 'We Are One, But We Are
Many' theme, with the Victoria Police pipe band, the Laughter Club, Guides Victoria
and Chinese dragons all participating in the parade.
On the water, tall ships including the Young Endeavour sailed into Port Phillip,
Hobsons Bay and St Kilda, while the Yarra River was briefly turned into a sea of
yellow, as a flotilla of rubber ducks were let loose in the Great Australia Day Duck
Race.
Celebrations will wind down with pin-hole cameras in Perth, as revellers are treated
to partial solar eclipse, while major fireworks displays will take place in
Melbourne at Federation Square and in Sydney at Darling Harbour later on Monday
evening.
