Benalla Rural City welcomed 14 new Australian Citizens at a ceremony held at BPACC on Australia Day.
Mayor Bernie Hearn said the Citizenship Ceremony was the final step in the journey to become an Australian Citizen, a milestone made even more special by taking the pledge of citizenship on Australia Day.
“Every year on Australia Day, Australia welcomes thousands of new citizens at ceremonies across the country and it was a special day to become an Australian citizen,” Cr Hearn said.
“We are immensely proud of what we have achieved as a nation, and we welcome you in joining us.
“Our history and culture has been forged over thousands of years, first through Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and more recently by people from all corners of the earth, just like the 14 people getting citizenship here on Australia Day.
“The success of Australia has come by embracing values of freedom and equality of opportunity for all people.
“Upon taking the pledge of commitment today, I call on you to embrace these values and play an active part in your local community to build an even stronger Benalla and nation.
“On behalf of the Australian Government, I congratulate you on reaching this very special day.”
Mohammed Nauman Yousaf and almost his whole family went through the citizenship ceremony.
“My wife has also become a citizen today, Sara Javed, and our daughter Hareem Fatima, and my boy Mohammed Adnan,” he said.
“Our youngest Mirha Yousef, is Australian by birth.
“It was very exciting. It is a big milestone in my life. When you go to a different country to become a citizen and your whole family is accepted it feels nice.
“I like living in a regional area. I was born in a regional town and spent most of my childhood and my family years in a small town.
“Our family background has a lot of agriculture in it, working on farms.
“So we’ve found lots to remind us of home, I always love to love it in a regional town as you have a better sense of community, everyone knows everyone. Which is how I grew up.”
The Citizenship Ceremony was conducted under the authority of the Immigration, Citizenship Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs Minister Alex Hawke and is prescribed by the Australian Citizenship Act.
Benalla’s newest Australian citizens are Raquel Vitayo De Guzman, Jesica Torres Grace, Ingrid Jukes, Sony Kailey, Ahsan Nawaz, Hamza Rahim, Jeeva Selina Ali, Karthika Subburaj, Elena Fox, Julia Hider, Sara Javed, Muhammad Nauman Yousaf, Muhammad Adnan and Hareem Fatima.