Fair Dinkum Aussie

On this year's Australia Day, I was just one of 78 people from 38 countries who turned up at the council offices of the City of Yarra in order to officially become citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia. The ceremony itself was relatively straightforward, but rather inspiring at the same time, particularly given the extensive rhetoric devoted to supporting the concept of diversity in Australia. While Australia's Liberal party continues to attempt to use immigration and multi-culturalism as a wedge issue, it's nice to see that many value the contributions that Australians (regardless of their origins) have made to the nation.

We celebrated my new citizenship in a traditional Australian manner - a day at the park followed by a few shrimps on the barbie (OK - it wasn't shrimp, but close enough, right).