Citizenship Ceremony

E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā iwi o ngā hau e whā, tēnei aku mihi māhana ki a koutou.  Nau mai, haere mai rā ki Te Whare Kawana o Tāmaki Makaurau.  Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, warm greetings to you all, and welcome to Government House Auckland.

It is a great pleasure for Janine and me to welcome you to Government House for this citizenship ceremony.  We are delighted to join you, our newest New Zealanders, in celebrating this very special occasion.

I specifically acknowledge: Hon Peter Dunne, Minister of Internal Affairs and Penny Hulse, Deputy Mayor of Auckland - tēnā kōrua.  I would like to thank the Minister for being here to convey in person the Government’s congratulations to our newest citizens.  My thanks also to Penny Hulse, without whose assistance in administering the oaths and affirmations we could not celebrate our new New Zealanders.

New Zealand is a country of immigrants.  Settled originally by Māori ancestors, who sailed from Hawaii-Ki, over 1000 years ago, this land has always represented a new beginning for those adventurous enough to make the journey.

The ease of today’s travel does not make New Zealand any less distant from your home countries.  As with others who have voyaged here in waka, sailing ships and planes, the decision to live here and become a New Zealander has required fortitude and commitment.  It takes courage to leave family, friends and familiar surroundings behind to strike out into the unknown. 

For some of you, New Zealand’s society and culture will feel familiar.  Others will have had to learn a new language, and new ways of doing things.  For some of you the decision to come may have been easy.  For others leaving your country of birth may have been forced upon you by reasons of politics, conflict or economics.  Whatever your experience, the decision to become a New Zealand citizen affirms that, in New Zealand, you have found a place you and your families wish to call home – a turangawaewae - a place to stand.  New Zealand is now your country, and you have all the rights and responsibilities of every other New Zealand citizen.

That’s not to say that you should cut ties completely with your past.  The philosopher Plato, talking about the nature of society, said “The City is what it is because our citizens are what they are.”  By retaining your heritage, culture and traditions you enrich our communities.

Today we have 7 families from 7 countries becoming New Zealand citizens. The countries these 25 new citizens come from include Romania, Jordan, Israel, China and Macedonia; as well as the Commonwealth nations of the United Kingdom and South Africa.  Your cultures and life experiences may be very different, but you share the same desire - to make a commitment to this country and make a life for yourselves here.  You are not alone in this.  Around a quarter of New Zealand’s population, that’s nearly one million people, are newer New Zealanders!

The concept of New Zealand citizenship is relatively new.  It only came into existence 65 years ago on the 1st of January 1949.   Previously, people born or naturalised in New Zealand were British subjects.  That’s not to say people could come and go as they pleased.  There has always been paperwork.

As far back as the mid nineteenth century, there were forms to be filled in and oaths to be sworn before you could live here.  Under the Aliens Act of 1866 , a new immigrant had to make an application to the Governor of the day.  It had to be signed and verified on oath as to “his name, age, birthplace, residence, occupation, the length of his residence in the Colony and his desire to settle therein.”  The application had to be certified by a magistrate that the applicant “was a person of good repute” and accompanied by a fee of one pound.  If all was found to be in order, then an oath was sworn to Queen Victoria and letters of naturalisation were issued.

Several monarchs have been on the throne in the interim, and now an oath or affirmation is made to Queen Victoria’s great granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen of New Zealand.  However, the process of nearly 150 years ago is not too far removed from what you have gone through to reach this point.  It has involved a lot of time, effort and careful thought and a cost - substantially more than one pound - to get here!

We have chosen a very special time of year to hold this ceremony.  Today we are marking Matariki, the Maori New Year.  It is signalled when the stars of Matariki, the Pleiades, rise on the north-eastern horizon, just before dawn, and trace the path of the rising sun.  Matariki is a time to look back at what has happened over the previous year and also a time to look forward to the year ahead.  It is a time of new beginnings and a time of hope, confidence and ambition.

I cannot think of a more appropriate moment for a citizenship ceremony and to have your new citizenship formalised.  I hope you will stay with us for this evening’s Matariki reception, and celebrate being our newest New Zealanders.  It’s only fitting that your first outing as a New Zealander will be at a festival that’s all about new beginnings.  It’s a nice touch to have some of our newest citizens taking part in one of our oldest ceremonies.

Congratulations on deciding to become a New Zealand citizen.  I wish you all the best in this Matariki season and for your future in our country.
  
Kia ora huihui tātou katoa.