Mayor Steve Chadwick welcomes new citizens to Rotorua

Ronald Manulevu says he's always the last person in his family to do things. That included becoming a New Zealand citizen.

Manulevu was one of 30 people from 12 countries who became New Zealand citizens at a ceremony at Rotorua Lakes Council yesterday.

He said he had been in New Zealand for close to 30 years and his brother often teased him about not being a true All Black supporter but yesterday that changed.

Each of the new citizens were cheered as they official became Kiwis and all were gifted a book called Choice and a plant they could cultivate.

It symbolised the roots they would lay in New Zealand as they took their oath.

Usually pupils from a local primary school perform waiata at the ceremonies but because the schools have only recently resumed, the new citizens, their friends and family were treated to a performance from the Rotorua Lakes Council Waiata Group.

Mayor Steve Chadwick said she enjoyed having primary schools visit and the school groups had many shades and shapes.

"Your children will be part of that one day," she told the new citizens.

The citizenship ceremony was the second of 2018.

Chadwick said ceremonies would usually be held every six weeks, but there had been two in as many months due to a backlog of people wanting to become citizens.

The next citizenship ceremony will be on March 20.

New citizens:
Kerry Alemann (British), Molly Armstrong (Australian), John Bowyer (British), Kate Bowyer (British), Juan Fourie (South African), Lewis Griffiths (South African), Bindu Joseph (Indian), Elsan Paul (Indian), Ejaz Khalid (Pakistani), Xuequn Li (Vietnamese), Ronald Manulevu (Fijian), Maria McLean (Swiss), Roneel Naidu (Fijian), Irina Neeson (Russian), Samantha Parris (Australian/British), Gi Hwan Song (Korean), Michael Thorne (British), Virginia Vinuya (Filipino), Hengie Vinuya (Filipino), Luming Yang (Chinese), Gale Alderson-Wallace (British), Ian Harvey (British), Phillip Kerrison (Australian), Catherine Oxley (British), Jasmine Strange (British), Akil Pathan (Indian), Farheen Pathan (Indian), Kim Perks (British), Graham Perks (British), Leonie Sinclair (Australian).