NEW CITIZENS CELEBRATE THEIR FIRST AUSTRALIA DAY AS TRUE-BLUE AUSSIES

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Published: 26 January 2021

Some of Scenic Rim's new citizens of 2021

Nineteen Scenic Rim residents from 15 countries have celebrated their first Australia Day as true-blue Aussies following a citizenship ceremony at Beaudesert this morning.

With Mayor Greg Christensen officiating, the region’s newest Australians pledged their loyalty to Australia and its people in a ceremony which followed the presentation of the 2021 Scenic Rim Australia Day Awards at The Centre.

"The history and culture of Australia has been forged over thousands of years, from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to migrants from the four corners of the earth seeking a new life," he said.

"On behalf of our Scenic Rim communities, I congratulate you all on becoming Australian citizens and hope you will enjoy a happy and successful future here in our very special part of the world."

The Scenic Rim's newest Australians join the more than 4.5 million people from around the globe who have pledged to become Australian citizens since 26 January 1949, when the Nationality and Citizenship Act introduced a unique national identity for Australians.

Across the region, the new citizens have come from Greece, Germany, Kazakhstan, South Africa, the Philippines, Canada, Romania, New Zealand, the Czech Republic, Italy, England, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Brazil and Vietnam.

They were among more than 12,000 people from more than 130 nations to become Australian citizens at ceremonies across the country today.

“It has been an honour to help you complete your journey from migrant to Australian citizen,” Cr Christensen said.

"Becoming an Australian citizen does not mean turning your back on your country of origin.

“Neither does it mean that you have to forget the language of the country or its customs or culture, rather that you can share these with us to further enrich our communities.”

Cr Christensen said the unique spirit of the Scenic Rim had shone through in the 2021 Australia Day Awards, which provided an opportunity to salute the quiet achievers who are vital threads in the social fabric of the region and contribute to organisations which are at the heart of community life.

“I hope that, as members of our community, our new citizens will be as inspired as I have been by the example of this year’s Australia Day Awards winners and the very worthy nominees," he said.

The full list of new citizens is as follows:

Title	Name	Country of birth	Now residing at
Mrs	Elissavet Andrew	GREECE	BEAUDESERT
Mrs	Stefanie Hellweg	GERMANY	HARRISVILLE
Mr	Valentin Hellweg	KAZAKHSTAN	HARRISVILLE
Mr	Michael Thomas Liesching	SOUTH AFRICA	MOUNT TAMBORINE
Ms	Cristal Jean Cailing Lumpaan	PHILIPPINES	TAMBORINE MOUNTAIN
Mrs	Hali Michelle McGrath	CANADA	DUGANDAN
Ms	Otilia Manuela Militaru	ROMANIA	TAMBORINE MOUNTAIN
Mr	Jack William Harry Moroney	NEW ZEALAND	TAMBORINE MOUNTAIN
Mr	Ludek Nemecek	CZECH REPUBLIC	CANUNGRA
Mr	Davide Pistellato	ITALY	TAMBORINE MOUNTAIN
Miss	Shelley Anne Pointer	ENGLAND	CANUNGRA
	Jose Duno Resurreccion	PHILIPPINES	BEAUDESERT
Ms	Nina Jamilah Joy Andal Resurreccion	PHILIPPINES	BEAUDESERT
Mrs	Judith Anne Raudon-Hill	NEW ZEALAND	KERRY
Ms	Nara Lisa Stevens	UNITED KINGDOM	MAROON
Ms	Linda Maria Small	NEW ZEALAND	SOUTH MACLEAN (FORMERLY CANUNGRA)
Mrs	Tak Wai Fion Tam	HONG KONG	BEECHMONT
Miss	Juliana	BRAZIL	TAMBORINE
Mrs	Le Thanh Thao	VIETNAM	BOONAH