_ A USTRALIA 1
PROME MUM~ ISTER
FOR PRESS 26 JANUARY 1977
Embargoed until delivery:_ 3.00 p. m.
ADDRESS BY PRIME MINISTER AT CITIZENSHIP CEREMONY, TOWN HALL,
SYDNEY
It is a great pleasure f or me to be here today to witness your
citizenship ceremony. I am sure that this is an important moment
in your lives, and it is a proud moment for Australia. Around
the country, at fifty or more ceremonies timed to coincide with
Australia Day, our national day, 3,000 people from a score of
different nationalities, will be becoming Australian citizens.
The granting of citizenship and its acceptance are acts of
mutual respect and confidence. The grant of citizenship shows
Australia's confidence in the ability of the people becoming
citizens to make a valuable contribution to the nation. The
acceptance of citizenship is a mark of the confidence men and
women from other nations have in Australia, and their wish to
identify their destiny with Australia. Citizenship does not
require forsaking earlier affections and ties. A perscon can
love Australia fully and participate productively and responsively
in Australia's national life while retaining his affection for the
country of his birth, treasuring its memories, its culture and
its language. The people who mistakenly believed new citizens
could only embrace Australia by denying their country of birth,
and who were intolerant of those who refused to accept this point
of view, are fortunately fast dwindling in numbers and even more
rapidly in significance. Both Australia and our new settlers
have benefited greatly from their association.
In the last 30 years, more than 3 million people from all the
worlds countries have migrated to Australia, seeking to make a
better life for themselves and their children. They have been
attracted by the opportunities Australia offers, Australia's
freedom and its equality. People like yourselves have made an
enormous contribution to Australia's development enriching
Australia both materially and culturally. Since the great
migration programmes were initiated in the mid-1940s, new
settlers have enabled Australia to aspire to and achieve things
which would not otherwise have been possible. Australia could
not have made the economic progress she has, could not have
undertaken the massive development works, enlarged so greatly
her commerce, industry and agriculture, without the hard work
of migrants from all countries. In terms of population, without
the inflow of migrants, Australia would today be a nation of only
ten million people occupying a country the size of the United
States. We are in fact a nation of 13.5 million people, and
one quarter of our people have either been born overseas or are
the children of migrants. / But
-2
But the economic and demographic contributions migrants have made
are by no means their sole or even their most important contributions
to our society.
Migrants and their children have excelled in every sphere of cultural,
scientific, intellectual and artistic life. Ethnic cultures have
added a new dimension of diversity and richness to the traditions
of those other migrants, the English, Scots and Irish. To focus
totally on the positive side of migration for the migrant and for
Australia, how'ever, is to present an incomplete picture.
Migration has its costs for the migrant as you will all know. The
fact that one moves from one society to another imposes great pressures
on the individual even though he moves by his own free will in
pursuit of his aspirations for a better life. The psychological and
social tensions produced by migration are great, language difficulties
are often severe and there are always initial economic difficulties to
be faced without the support provided by family and well known friends.
Going from one land to another with a different culture, history and
often a different language is an act of courage venture into the
unknown. This is part of the reason we have placed so much emphasis
on family reunion so that migrants can join relatives who have
already charted a path through Australian society.
Invariably, the migration experience involves a complex and difficult
period of adjustment. There is a great deal that needs to be done to
assist migrants to overcome the difficulties of the migration
experience, and we are establishing the structures with which this
can be more effectively done. We are acting to get greater coordination
by all departments of the Commonwealth Government providing
assistance to migrants. The formation of the new Ethnic Affairs
Unit in the Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs is intended
to advance policies designed to secure the integration of migrants
for functional departments and authorities -to implement. Most
departments have some responsibility with respect ID migrant affairs,
and we are placing special emphasis on meeting the needs of migrants.
Particular attention has been given to extend the interpreting and
translating services available to newcomers to this country who
have difficulty in speaking English. We are seeking to enhance
the resources of ethnic communities so that they can extend the
services they provide to migrants. At the moment, we are beginning
an imaginative experiment with ethnic resource centres in Melbourne
and Sydney which should give us greater insight into the mix of
Government and commnunity involvement necessary for the most
sensitive and effective assistance to migrants.
Ladies and gentlemen, Australia welcomed you when you came here,
you have sustained yourselves through the difficult period of
adjusting to a new society. It is a very real honour now to be
able to welcome you as fellow citizens.