Corporal Joseph Mijares reports on the Citizenship Ceremony held 28 November 2014:
On November the 28th four NCOs took part in the Porirua Citizenship Ceremony (CPL Daniel Hawinkels, CPL Tere Ngaro, CPL Nikki Hurnen, and me)
I’ve been to a few citizen parades already. Normally held in Pataka Art and Museum, Citizenship Ceremonies are where new Citizens of New Zealand take an oath to finalise their process towards Citizenship. The ATC provide support for the official party which includes the Mayor of Porirua City (His Worship Nick Leggett) and other high profile distinguished guest. Our main role is to hand out native plants to each recipient and guard the official party.
My favorite part of the ceremony is seeing different recipients dress up in their native attire to showcase their culture to this widely diverse adopted country. After each ceremony, recipients and their families are invited to a buffet of finger foods and photos with the official party members.