Australia Day is a significant event within Maroondah, with Council hosting a Citizenship Ceremony and the Australia Day Awards at Karralyka Centre. In addition, Council provides a barbecue and bands at Ringwood Lake for the afternoon.

As the Mayor of Maroondah, I officiated the proceedings this morning, as we announced the recipients of the Australia Day Awards and welcomed 37 new citizens in Maroondah. The Australia Day Awards provide an opportunity for the City of Maroondah to recognise service within our community and consist of three categories:

Maroondah Event of the Year
Maroondah Citizen of the Year
Maroondah Young Citizen of the Year

We were fortunate to receive a significant number of nominations this year across each of the categories and each participant reflects the strong sense of community that we are fortunate to possess within the City of Maroondah.

Likewise, the citizenship ceremony enables Council to welcome new citizens in Maroondah, each of whom were extremely delighted to have now been declared Australian Citizens. Citizenship Ceremonies are one of the most enjoyable council functions, as it is provides a welcome to new members of our community.

It is an absolute delight as Mayor to be able to welcome these new Australians, as well as to congratulate the many people who contribute to the wellbeing of our community.

One of the projects I discussed as part of my inaugural speech as Mayor was the need to discuss the values we hold as a member of the Maroondah Community and events like today help demonstrate just how important it is to maintain a sense of community within our municipality.

The City of Maroondah holds regular Citizenship Ceremonies throughout the year, providing an opportunity to welcome these new residents within our community.