MORE than sixty people became certified Australian citizens during a ceremony at Town Hall on Wednesday last week.<\/p>\n
The event saw migrants from more than 20 countries pledge their commitment to Australia with City of Greater Bendigo mayor Andrea Metcalf presiding over the event.<\/p>\n
Mashud Khan, originally from Pakistan, was one of the newly-recognised citizens, and said it was \u201cexciting\u201d to become part of the nation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the culmination of a long journey and it\u2019s been very worthwhile. It\u2019s a great day and doing it in the Town Hall makes it even more special,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy sister moved to Australia before me in 2016 and would talk about how great it is. The lifestyle and balance between nature.<\/p>\n
\u201cI came here for Christmas and fell in love with it. I moved to Bendigo in 2019 and now work at Don in Castlemaine. Regional Australia\u2019s just home for me and Bendigo\u2019s the perfect place for it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe citizenship process is one that you really have to be patient with. I applied in late 2020 and it\u2019s been well worth the wait.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cr Metcalf said the evening was all about celebrating the country\u2019s new Bendigo-based citizens.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve gone through the journey through the Federal Government, everything\u2019s signed off and tonight\u2019s the final step in the process,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur census data tells us our multicultural groups are growing. About 12 or 13 per cent of our residents are either born overseas or their parents have been.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s certainly a growth in community for us. We were the first local government to be accredited as a welcoming city so we\u2019re very happy to be part of these ceremonies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re always such joyous occasions.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MORE than sixty people became certified Australian citizens during a ceremony at Town Hall on Wednesday last week. The event saw migrants from more than 20 countries pledge their commitment to Australia with City of Greater Bendigo mayor Andrea Metcalf presiding over the event. Mashud Khan, originally from Pakistan, was one of the newly-recognised citizens, […]<\/p>\n