Auckland Citizenship Ceremony Speech

Good evening. E nga iwi, e nga mana, tena koutou. 

It is a pleasure to be here this evening to take part in this very special ceremony.

As Minister of Internal Affairs I am responsible for deciding whether to grant applications for New Zealand citizenship. I can tell you all that it truly is a privilege to be able to grant citizenship to those who wish to become New Zealanders.

I'd like to begin by acknowledging to those of you who are becoming New Zealand citizens tonight, that this ceremony is likely to be the final step in a long journey which, for some, has involved great hardship and sacrifice.

Ater coming to New Zealand you, unlike most of us born here, have had to choose to become citizens.  I am sure that you did not take this decision lightly.  Indeed if you come from a country that does not allow dual citizenship, you will have also have had to make the tough decision to renounce the citizenship of your homeland. 

You then applied for citizenship and had to pay a fee, which can be hard - especially for families.  You then needed to demonstrate that you met the criteria set out in the Citizenship Act.

But tonight, you have finally made it and I congratulate you.  The journey you have been on makes you a very special part of our family.
Many of you may be surprised to learn that 2009 marks the 60th anniversary of New Zealand citizenship.  Many people would assume that our citizenship began in 1840 when the Treaty of Waitangi was signed, but that is not the case.

Article 3 of the Treaty provided that Māori had the rights and privileges of British subjects.  From that time there were no New Zealand citizens, but rather British subjects living in New Zealand.

It wasn't until January 1 1949 that the British Nationality and New Zealand Citizenship Act came into force. On that day most people living in New Zealand became New Zealand citizens for the first time.  Also from that day onwards children born here automatically became New Zealand citizens.
And so for the last 60 years, those who have citizenship have been able to say: "we are New Zealand citizens".  Today's young New Zealanders have grown up thinking of us as nothing other than a proud, independent nation.

In commemoration of this 60th anniversary, in February the Governor-General, the Prime Minister and I had the honour of officiating at a small citizenship ceremony in Parliament.

That function also served to launch a number of activities planned to celebrate our citizenship throughout this anniversary year.

The focus of these celebrations is on educating our youth and I had the pleasure of launching a new, fun, interactive citizenship education website for both teachers and school children.  I would encourage you all to take a look at it at some stage - you can access the site though the Department of Internal Affairs website.

The reason why we are doing these things throughout 2009 is to raise people's awareness of New Zealand citizenship and what it means.
You see, from approaches made to me as an MP, and in my work as Minister, I know the tremendous value immigrants place on New Zealand citizenship.  Although these people know about the importance of citizenship, many people born in New Zealand do not.

This is different from what happens elsewhere where the status of being a citizen is given more prominence, such as in Australia, for example, where Australian Citizenship Day is celebrated each year.

There may be many reasons for this.  Perhaps it is cultural.  New Zealanders, on the whole, believe that every one is equal and generally shy away from singling out groups for special attention. 

Or perhaps it is that New Zealand allows permanent residents to vote in national elections, not just citizens.  As far as I am aware this is unique in the world.

Whatever the reason, our citizenship is none the less very important.  It represents our shared allegiance to New Zealand, its future, and to each other.

Our citizenship links New Zealand to the Pacific nations of Tokelau, Niue and the Cook Islands which are part of the Realm of New Zealand and considered part of New Zealand for citizenship purposes.

Our citizenship links those who are New Zealanders by birth to those who are New Zealanders by choice from different national origins.
People from Asia, the Pacific, Africa, the Americas, and continental Europe now make up a much larger proportion of the immigration and citizenship mix than was the case 60 years ago. 

And as we become an increasingly diverse country, our citizenship will play a greater role as a shared bond that unites us regardless of our background, ethnicity, or religion.

And so while we will always welcome people to live in New Zealand as temporary workers, students and residents, it is our hope that many will follow the example of those here tonight and choose not only to live here, but to make a formal commitment to that relationship and become citizens.

Those who become New Zealand citizens by choice give their commitment to our nation, and in doing so they give us hope for a brighter future as a strong, diverse people, able to draw on a wide range of cultures and traditions.

And so, again, to those of you receiving your citizenship here tonight I say ‘congratulations', I say ‘thank you for choosing to become New Zealand citizens' and above all I say ‘welcome to the family'.

Thank you all.