Newest citizens excited and proud to call Australia home
CAIRNS welcomed 200 new citizens hailing from 47 countries of origin at the largest citizenship ceremony the regional council has ever held.
Melinda Noipo of Papua New Guinea and her three young children joined her eldest son in becoming fully fledged citizens after moving to Australia five years ago.
Ms Noipo said she followed her eldest son, Clinton, who came to Australia first and became a citizen in 2019, in the hope of finding a better life for her family.
“I’m proud to be an Australian now,” she said.
“It’s opened up so many doors and opportunities for my children.”
Ms Noipo lives at Redlynch as a full-time mum with her youngest daughter, Yvonne, 9, while her two middle sons, Newman, 15, and Waterman, 14, board at Peace Lutheran and her eldest Clinton studies a double degree in law and finance.
She said it was great to see so many people from different backgrounds welcomed to Australia at the citizenship ceremony.
“It was a wonderful ceremony — I thought it was going to be small because of COVID but lots of people were there to become citizens,” she said.
Em-On Suwannasri from Thailand moved to Australia 12 years ago and fell in love with the Cairns atmosphere.
“It looks like Thailand … the gardens are beautiful; people are smiling — you see it when you walk through a shopping centre,” she said.
“I feel over the moon … last night I couldn’t sleep because I was so excited to get my citizenship.”