Launceston welcomes new Australians at citizenship ceremony

Among the 59 recipients was Jatinder Kaur, originally from India and who has lived in Launceston for more than 20 years.

Ms Kaur was accompanied by her husband, Davinder Singh Grewal and her daughter Jasbaani Kaur Grewal who are already Australian citizens.

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Ms Kaur's husband first arrived in Australia and she joined him after they married.

Ms Kaur said she was "excited" to become a citizen and "loves living in Tasmania."

"It's quiet and nice and you can have a family here," she said.

Her daughter Jasbaani, 8, who attends St Thomas Primary School, says she has more friends here. She doesn't want to leave Tasmania, Ms Kaur said.

Ms Kaur wore a salwar kameez, an outfit from North India. Her daughter was also decked out in traditional attire from Punjab, which they'd purchased on a recent trip to India.

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The Vox Harmony choir opened the ceremony by performing Peter Allen's "I Still Call Australia Home."

In his speech, Mayor Danny Gibson said that the decision to become a citizen was "a major one" and, like other major life decisions, involved "commitment, responsibility, public recognition, a celebration of the present and hope for the future."

"Australia and Launceston can take enormous pride in your decision to freely choose to become part of this nation as a fully participating member," he said.

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The mayor acknowledged the contributions many conferees were making to their community.

"Having had the opportunity to work with new migrants to our city, I know how keen they are to contribute to the community and how much they value Australian citizenship, so it is an honour to celebrate this day with them."

The new citizens were drawn from several countries, including India, Bhutan, Eritrea, Nepal, Uganda, Vietnam, Myanmar, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Egypt, the United Kingdom, the Republic of South Korea, Iran, Afghanistan, Canada, China, France and Venezuela.

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Bridget Archer MP delivered an address on behalf of the Minister for Immigration and thanked attendees for deciding to become Australian citizens.

She noted that around half of all Australians were either born overseas or had at least one parent born overseas.

Population data from 2021 shows that 16.2 per cent of the City of Launceston's population was born overseas, as opposed to 12.5 per cent in 2016.

The top 5 overseas birthplaces for 2021 were the (1) United Kingdom, (2) Nepal, (3) India, (4) China and (5) New Zealand.

In 2021, the top five languages used at home (apart from English) were (1) Nepali, (2) Mandarin, (3) Punjabi, (4) Urdu, and (5) Filipino/Tagalog.

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