Anne Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On 26 January I attended Liverpool's Australia Day citizenship ceremony. It's always a privilege to join with new citizens and witness their excitement on becoming part of the place they have chosen to call home. Liverpool City Council also held its Australia Day citizen of the year presentations. I'd like to congratulate citizen of the year Christopher D'Arcy, as well as Jorga Suga, Garth Eggleston, Ismael Shahid, Ahmad Alrubaie, Richard Azar, HammondCare and Cedar Pest Control. Fairfield City Council also had citizen of the year presentations on Australia Day. This year's citizen of the year was Diane Gorman, as well as Neethu Siril, Khanh Van Mach and Luka Knezevic. Campbelltown City awardees for the Australia Day awards were: Kyla Hodges, Reece Riley, Deb Evans-Clark, Lachlan Arbuckle, and Horizon Youth St Andrews.

Like many local government areas, Werriwa had some incredible family events, and I thank all the local governments for giving residents options to stay locally. I do acknowledge, however, that 26 January is a difficult day for many of our First Nations people. This year, I hope that all Australians will answer the call of First Nations people for a voice to parliament and vote 'yes' in the referendum, which is coming soon. We should reflect on Australia Day: reflect, respect, and celebrate.