Last night at KGV, Glenorchy City Council officially welcomed 54 new Australian citizens to our inclusive and diverse municipality.
The ceremony, presided over by Mayor Bec Thomas, saw 54 migrants from over 20 different countries read their citizenship pledges and formally be welcomed to Australia.
“There is no better place in Tasmania for new citizens to call home than Glenorchy, and we know many of our new citizens have called Glenorchy home for some time,” said Mayor Thomas. “We are Greater Hobart’s most diverse LGA, with 1 in 5 of our residents born overseas. We were also the first local government in Tasmania to join the ‘International Welcoming Cities’ network and are proud to have declared Glenorchy a Refugee Welcome Zone.”
The January ceremony has historically been held on Australia Day, 26 January. In light of the recent changes in legislative guidelines, the decision was made in December to move Council’s ceremony from Australia Day to 24 January. This decision aligns with Council’s goals and strategies around inclusion and was made operationally to enable the change to be implemented in 2023.
“We were proud to be awarding local community members with Australian citizenship last night and especially proud to be doing it on January 24” said Mayor, Bec Thomas.
“It’s always wonderful to see the hopeful, beaming smiles on people’s faces as they are welcomed into our community and to our Country as citizens. I congratulate everyone who received citizenship last night and welcome them warmly into our City.”
Glenorchy City Council holds several ceremonies each year on behalf of the Commonwealth Department of Home Affairs, to award citizenship to qualifying local Glenorchy residents.
Council’s next ceremony will be held on 29 March.