WHILE he might be more interested in what games he can get for his PlayStation 3 at present, Paul Macam jnr’s father is adamant Australian citizenship will eventually become the best gift of all.
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The six-and-a-half-year-old’s enormous smile stole the show when he joined his father, Paul, and 11 other Katherinites in becoming Australian citizens on August 24 in front of a packed public gallery at the Katherine Civic Centre.
The 13 residents listened to Katherine Town Council mayor Fay Miller describe citizenship as a “new allegiance and a new responsibility” before they took their pledges and sang Advance Australia Fair as the country’s newest Australians.
“[Australian citizenship] is a status you can be proud of anywhere in the world,” Alderman Miller told the group.
Mr Macam, who is from Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, said not becoming a citizen was never an option for him and his son.
“It’s not a decision,” he explained.
“You just have to do it.
“For me, it took more than a decade, because I was just back and forward [from Manila].”
He added that Australian citizenship was something he believed would provide long-term security for Paul jnr.
“I don’t think he understands at the moment,” Mr Macam said.
“But he will; it’s for his future.”
For Sandeep Buttar, hearing himself referred to as an Australian citizen for the first time on Monday afternoon ranked as one of the proudest moments of his life.
He explained that his journey to citizenship had begun on June 24, 2008 as a goal to become a permanent resident.
“I arrived in Australia exactly seven years and two months ago today, actually,” he explained.
Hailing from the Punjab region of India, Mr Buttar has embraced life in the Top End and said he had found the road to becoming one of the country’s newest citizens “fairly easy” since moving from Brisbane to Katherine.
As the sun set on his first night as an Australian, Mr Buttar tried to convey how it felt.
“It’s a really proud moment,” he beamed.
“It’s probably one of the best ones of my life.”
Katherine’s newest Australians are Kobey Babilondo, Lorna Babilondo, Sandeep Buttar, Svetlana Davidson, Alex Jose, Paul Macam, Paul Macam jnr, Jared Mullet, Cheryl Mullet, Alice Mullet, Bethany Mullet, Cameron Mullet and Jeevana Yenigalla.
