Another important marker in the journey to belonging was the decision of whether to take up Australian citizenship. Becoming an Australian citizen, whether for emotional or practical reasons, was a significant event for Kiwi migrants which indicated that their life was now based in Australia. But belonging in Australia was not necessarily the same as identifying as an Australian. For a few New Zealand migrants, citizenship signalled that they felt
Australian. For others, the ‗operation‘ (as it is jokingly called) was a more ambivalent
decision made for practical reasons. This group admitted that while Australia was home, they remained New Zealanders. Alternately, a considerable number of long-term New Zealand migrants never became Australian citizens as they felt it showed disloyalty towards New Zealand.
Australian census statistics show that in 2006 only 37 percent of New Zealanders in Australia had taken up citizenship. This was a very low take-up rate compared to the general overseas born population, of whom 71 percent were Australian citizens in 2006.78 Naturalization rates were even lower amongst Māori; only 22.8 percent had citizenship in 2001.79 A greater percentage of my narrators had taken up Australian citizenship probably because most of them have lived in Australia for at least 15 years. As the below graph demonstrates, the longer a migrant has lived in Australia, the more likely they were to be an Australian citizen.
77 Campano, interview
78 Australian Bureau of Statistics, ―New Zealanders in Australia.‖ 79
Department of Immigration and Citizenship, ―Population Flows: Immigration Aspects,‖(January 2007), www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/statistics/popflows2005–6/Ch4.pdf (accessed 12 March 2007)
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Figure 40. Australian born citizenship of overseas-born residents, by year of arrival, 2006. ABS 2006 Census of Population and Housing. 80
A few migrants decided to become Australian citizens because they identified as Australians. For example Christine Reis, after much thought, became an Australian citizen in September 1983 because she felt settled. From that day on she ‗proudly travelled on an Australian passport and voted‘.81 Shirley McNicol became a naturalised Australian only after her father died in New Zealand. She felt that now the ‗thread was broken‘ she could become an
Australian as she had been wanting to do for years.82 Shane Ashton reflected that over time he was becoming ‗less Kiwi and more Australian‘. He took Australian citizenship 10 years ago and now travels on an Australian passport.83 But the number of migrants who took Australian citizenship because they claimed that they felt Australian was very small. Most Kiwi migrants who became Australian citizens did so for a mix of emotional and practical reasons but still identified as New Zealanders. One common reason migrants took citizenship was so they could vote in Australian elections. New Zealanders who moved prior to 1984 were automatically able to vote in Australia, but Kiwis who moved after this date could not vote without Australian citizenship. Migrants also became Australian citizens to qualify for scholarships, government jobs, educational funding, and homeowner grants. Others such as Vanessa Farrell were frightened into applying when political rhetoric warned
80 Australian Bureau of Statistics, ―New Zealanders in Australia.‖ 81 Reis, written narrative.
82
McNicol, written narrative.
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that migrants would be expelled or denied benefits unless they became citizens.84 Often there was a mixture of motivating factors. Jonathan Archer became an Australian citizen in the early 2000s after living in Australia for over thirty years:
I had the operation about eight years ago. Why did I do it? I did it because I felt I‘d been here long enough. I‘d married an Australian woman. We‘d been together for a long time. Things weren‘t gonna change. I felt some allegiance to Australia. Also there was talk at the time that they were – it had become progressively tougher ... They introduced a thing that you needed a passport to travel but that was not a problem. But then they talked about tightening up on that too, and wanting permanent residency permissions and things like that. So I thought ―Well it simplifies everything if you‘ve got citizenship‖.85
Jonathan‘s reasons for naturalisation were a combination of his recognition that he had an Australian life, but also a practical response to tightening travel regulations. Migrants who became Australian citizens for practical reasons reassured themselves that as they were able to retain dual citizenship.
In fact, many migrants who became Australian citizens still identified as New Zealanders. Trina Campano took Australian citizenship to ‗keep a foot in both camps‘ but even on the day of the naturalization ceremony did not change her national allegiance:
It was quite patriotic towards Australia but I didn‘t feel patriotic towards them. I mean I abide by their laws and I think I did all the right things as a citizen. But I never felt Australian. I felt a part of Australia but I wasn‘t Australian. Most Kiwis are probably the same.86
Trina‘s quote reveals that while she felt at home in Australia, and part of the society, this did not change her personal identification as a Kiwi. Hammerton and Thomson in their study on British migrants to Australia found that most of their narrators had a mixed identity, and were uncertain when asked to declare their primary national loyalty.87 By contrast, most Kiwis had no trouble with the apparent contradiction of belonging in Australia but staying a Kiwi. A significant number of Kiwis in Australia never became Australian citizens even after many years. Matthew O‘Brien stated clearly the reasons he had never become an Australian citizen even after 20 years in Australia:
RB What‘s your citizenship?
84 Farrell, written narrative. 85 Archer, interview. 86
Campano, interview.
191
MO I‘m still New Zealand. I‘ve just never really bothered to do it. I don‘t see why. You know a few people go, ―Oh [you] right sod‖. But I just couldn‘t bring myself to become an Aussie. I‘ll always keep New Zealand ... I‘ve been here 20 years, but if you‘re an Aussie, you‘re an Aussie; if you‘re a Kiwi, you‘re a Kiwi. Well that‘s my attitude to it anyway.88
Often Māori migrants found it difficult to ‗betray‘ their New Zealand heritage by becoming Australian citizens.89 Toni Te Kowhai, who became an Australian citizen for practical
reasons, worried about Māori who did not take up citizenship as it deprived them of financial support and advantages.90 These migrants often could not bear to become Australian citizens as they felt it was incompatible with their New Zealand identity.