Brimbank will welcome more new citizens at its Australia Day service at Sunshine than any other municipality in the state.
And more than a third of the state’s 183 new citizens with a Vietnamese background will now call Brimbank home.
At the council’s citizenship ceremony at the Kevin Wheelahan Gardens, 220 new residents from 38 different countries will be sworn in.
Star Weekly understands Brimbank is usually in the top bracket statewide for new Australians each year, but it’s the first time in recent years it’s taken the top spot.
Most new Australians set to read the oath in Brimbank come from Vietnam (63), India (40) and the Philippines (17).
Former Victorian premier John Brumby will be ambassador at this year’s Brimbank ceremony, while federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will also attend.
Chairman of administrators John Watson said this year’s swearing-in ceremony would be another huge event, after more than 200 people took the oath last year at Sunshine.
“Council has such a fantastic morning planned, which will culminate with the largest Australia Day citizenship ceremony in Victoria,” he said. “Brimbank is a proud, multicultural city. Almost half our residents were born overseas and many more are first- generation Australians whose parents settled here.”
Former Victorian Multicultural Commission chairman Stefan Romaniw said the figures reflected Brimbank’s diversity.
“We’re not surprised by the numbers and we’re happy to see so many people in that region wanting to become Australians,” he said.
The 8am-noon ceremony will offer free coffee and a community barbecue, a performance from the Sunshine Community Brass Band and roving ‘Aussie Bush Explorer’ puppets.
