Australian immigration welcomes new citizens to mark Australia Day
January 26 2010 by Liam Clifford
As Australia celebrates Australia day, Australia immigration swears in new citizens.
Australian immigration minister Chris Evans has marked Australia
Day by welcoming Indians who have been made Australian citizens as part of the
day’s celebrations.
Some 150 Indians were among the 2,268 people who were
sworn in during an Australian citizenship ceremony in Perth today. Evans said he
was pleased that so many Indians were becoming citizens at the special ceremony
and admitted that there had been “some problems with Indian people in this
country".
Evans was referring to some incidents of violence against
Indian student visa holders studying in Australia. Evans used the opportunity of
the country’s national day to talk about relations with Indian immigrants. He
said, “I'm very proud to say we've got 147 Indian people here who've become
Australian citizens today.” He added, "Indians have made a great contribution to
this country and I'm sure those 147 will too, so welcome to you."
He
added that becoming citizens did not mean they had to abandon their culture,
language and beliefs, but added that the Australian immigration citizenship pledge "talks about loyalty
to Australia, it talks about affirming one's belief in democratic society, it
talks about acknowledging the respect for the rights and liberties that you
enjoy and other citizens enjoy.”
See the latest Immigration News
