19,000 immigrants from more than 140 countries became Australians on Thursday in citizenship ceremonies across the country.
The Australia-wide Citizenship Ceremony on 26 January will be a flagship ceremony in the capital, overseen by the Prime Minister and the Governor-General.
One of the new Australians, Nashieli Garcia Alaniz, was among those whose pledges were heard by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra.
Garcia Alanis said he was pretty overwhelmed by all the dignitaries who attended the event, but being presented with a certificate of citizenship by the Prime Minister of Australia was a special moment.
Ecologist Garcia Alaniz wants to contribute her talents to the conservation of the country’s native animals.
“I am honored that a country like Australia has opened its doors to people like me and people from all over the world,” she said in a statement obtained by AAP.
“I am now very happy to join the country on another level and I can’t wait to contribute to the protection of this environment.”
With her mammalian expertise, Garcia Alaniz is already making a difference in Australia by helping to protect the endangered Brassica wallaby.
Among the new citizens were a disabled person, a community support worker, two astrologers, a pharmacist, an accountant, and an environmental research scientist.
Albanese welcomed everyone to join the country’s ceremony and said each brought the “roll call of skills” Australia needed.
“You bring us the world, you bring us your drive, your passion, your talent and your ambition.
“No matter where you live, who you worship, who you love, what your last name is, knowing that you are a citizen of a country where you can draw your own future. want.
Citizenship ceremonies are not immune to cancel culture
Citizenship ceremonies held on Australia Day mean a lot, but it is no longer mandatory for local governments to hold events on Australia Day.
“This is a practical change in line with the government’s commitment to efficient processing of citizenship applications and timely ceremonies for new citizens,” said Immigration and Citizenship Minister Andrew Girls. .
Before, Under the Citizenship Ceremonies Act, as amended by the previous centre-right Liberal Party government, the Council is required to hold a Citizenship Ceremony on Australia Day, 26 January, or refuse to host a Citizenship Ceremony. There was a risk of losing the authority to
The change comes after two councils in Melbourne were stripped of their right to hold the ceremony when they decided to cancel the event on Australia Day.
In December, Melbourne’s north Meribek Council became the third in the city, after two Greens-led councils in the interior, Yarra and Darwin, to abolish the citizenship ceremony on 26 January. became a council. A Day of Remembrance event for Indigenous Australians starting in 2023.
The January date marks the arrival of Colonel Arthur Phillip’s 1st Fleet at Sydney Cove (now known as Circular Quay), when Australia took the British crown. The majority of Australians perceive it as a celebratory occasion for Australians to mark the birth of a liberal nation and democracy.
In recent years, however, the day has become the focus of indigenous rights activists who see it as the beginning of an invasion of their homeland.
But the move to repeal Australia Day has faced backlash from intellectuals who say it divides the country rather than unites it.
Gabriel Mogens, Emeritus Professor of Law at the University of Queensland, writes: Commentary In The Epoch Times, it is part of a progressive movement driven by critical race theory (CRT).
“The penetration of CRT into the Australian higher education sector curriculum is often combined with the demonization and ethnocentrism of Western civilization,” he wrote.
“Also, any statues or monuments of historical figures who are deemed to have contributed to or benefited from racism will be dismantled or destroyed.”
AAP contributed to this article.