Sada-e-Watan
Sydney ™
sadaewatan@gmail.com
Cricket
NSW Celebrates Australia Day in Style with Australia's Newest Citizens
{Exclusive report to Sada-e-Watan by
Mr.Sam.Almaliki,Community Engagement Leader Cricket NSW}
Cricket NSW held a citizenship ceremony in partnership with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship for 16 new Australian citizens among an array of activities as part of its “Celebrating Our Cultural Mosaic” function on Australia Day at the KFC T2O International.
Citizenship Ceremony with The Hon.Victor Dominello Minister for Citizenship and Communities
The Cricket NSW
“Celebrating Our Cultural Mosaic” function at the KFC T20 International on
Australia Day designed to recognise the nation’s shared cultural diversity and
cricket as a sport for all Australians, proved to be quite a spectacle leading
up to the on-field action at ANZ.
The celebration, hosted by SBS World News presenter Ms Kathy Novak featured a
Citizenship ceremony, cultural performances including a Cook Islands cultural
dance and much more reflecting the vibrancy and richness of Australia society.
Federal Minister The Hon. Anthony Albanese speaking at the function
The Hon.
Anthony Albanese MP,Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport delivered
a special address on behalf of the Australian Government and presided over the
citizenship ceremony. Addressing the Citizenship recipients and the 250 audience
of the who’s who in NSW, the Minister said of the event as being a prime example
of what cricket can do for a multicultural nation such as Australia.
“This stadium is a special place to become a citizen. It is where we gather to
see our best athletes compete and represent this nation. Sport has the potential
to bring people together from different countries and cultures. Cricket does
this particularly well and has a huge international following,” Mr Albanese
said.
Cricket NSW Chairman Dr Harry Harinath OAM speaking at the event also spoke of
cricket’s place in multicultural Australia. “Cricket as a sport for all
Australian’s is an integral part of our National story as nation of migrants. As
we are witnessing tonight, our sport brings communities together and unities a
nation. It is why cricket as Australia’s favourite sport is well poised to
celebrate the essence of Australia Day and what it means to be Australian”.
Cricket NSW Community Engagement Leader Sam Almaliki said “Saturday’s
celebration was only a small sample but an important one of the work Cricket NSW
is undertaking as part of its Mosaic Programs to ensure that it not only engages
with but also reflects multicultural NSW in the fine tradition of being a sport
for all Australians”.
Distinguished guests attending the function included The Hon. Anthony Albanese
MP Minister for Infrastructure and Transport; The Hon. Barry O’Farrell NSW
Premier and Minister for Western Sydney; Mr John Robertson Leader of the
Opposition, Shadow Minister for Western Sydney, and Shadow Minister for the
Illawarra; The Hon. Victor Dominello MP Minister for Citizenship and Communities
and Consul-General of Sri Lanka Mr. Bandula Jayasekar.
In addition to the corporate function, children wearing National costumes
representing an array of cultural backgrounds joined the Australian and Sri
Lankan teams in the National Anthem ceremony.
Multicultural Children Joined by Federal Minister The Hon. Anthony Albanese,The Hon. Barry O’Farrell NSW Premier, CNSW Chairman Dr Harinath & Mosaic Ambassador Nihal Gupta
