East Gippsland’s newest citizens had a different Citizenship Ceremony than previous participants, with social distancing requirements creating a unique experience for the 12 conferees.

East Gippsland Shire Council held two ceremonies on Tuesday, July 14 with six conferees part of each ceremony. Unfortunately, conferees could only invite one guest each due to the restrictions on numbers. Council live streams its Citizenship Ceremonies so people can watch live from anywhere in the world, or later on council’s YouTube channel.

The region’s new citizens hail from Singapore, Scotland, New Zealand, United Kingdom, India, Thailand and Vietnam. Mayor Cr John White officiated the scaled back ceremonies.

“In order to practice social distancing and protect the health of guests and our staff our Citizenship Ceremonies were slightly different this time,” Cr White said.

“People weren’t able to bring their friends and family and the celebratory morning tea could not be held. However, becoming an Australian citizen is a milestone event and I am sure each of our new citizens marked the occasion in their own way.”

Another Citizenship Ceremony will be held on Tuesday, July 21 with another six candidates.

Council can usually accommodate up to 24 conferees at a single ceremony and generally holds four citizenship ceremonies each year. The live stream will be available on council’s YouTube channel ‘EastGippyTV’.