Citizenship ceremonies restart with waiata
Twenty-five new citizens were welcomed to Waipā with a waiata from Council staff at a citizenship ceremony on Friday.
Originally spread across the globe, from India, Canada, The Phillipines, Ireland, Great Britain, South Africa and Thailand, the latest New Zealand citizens were addressed by Waipā District Mayor, Jim Mylchreest and welcomed to the district on Friday 23 September 2022.
Executive Assistant to the Mayor Cathy Plowright, who organises the citizenship ceremonies at Council said it was wonderful to have citizenship ceremonies back in person again after a long absence.
“We haven’t held a ceremony in person since August 2021 and during that time new citizens have been receiving their citizenship through the mail which doesn’t have the same sense of occasion.
“To be able to celebrate this occasion with our new citizens in person again is a truly wonderful experience.”
Council staff from across the organisation volunteered their time to attend the ceremony and sing Te Aroha, to welcome the new citizens.
Citizenship ceremonies were on hold for the past year on direction from the Department of Internal Affairs, who gave the green light at the end of August date to recommence the services face to face.
The next citizenship ceremony will be held on 9 December 2022.