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Citizenship must be earned: Iemma
By Amy Cooper
20jan06

ONE month on from the Cronulla riot, New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma has delivered a timely Australia Day message – citizenship is not automatic, it is earned.

And it is about respect.

The son of Italian migrants, and an MP who represents a diverse western Sydney electorate, Mr Iemma called for a special reflection on the "unfinished business" of national unity this January 26.

"However much we celebrate our miracle, the veneer of success is too often thin, masking painful processes of integration and adaptation both for migrants and for those among whom they have come to live," Mr Iemma said at the Australia Day Lunch in Sydney.

"Citizenship is acquired, earned, learnt. Not just in the classroom, but in the home, in our streets, in our workplaces.

"And yes, on our beaches."

Reconciliation and becoming a republic were an essential part of the debate on Australianness, Mr Iemma said.

But above all, it was about respect.

"Respect for the first Australians. Respect for the achievements of our European civilisation. Respect for those who've come here seeking a better life," he said.

Wearing her customary diamond-encrusted specs, Dame Edna Everage greeted the crowd via videolink from America with her traditional "Hello Possums!".

She also revelled in what it was to be Australian.

"My message to my fellow Australians is quite simple. Be proud of Australia," she said, in a live cross from Denver, Colorado.

"As I travel the world I think to myself what a wonderful place we live in down there ... one of the few countries that is not dysfunctional."

Dame Edna and comic creator Barry Humphries were today immortalised as Australia Post's Australian Legend 2006, with a limited edition stamp set.

"And to think too that I'm lickable and self-adhesive!" Dame Edna said.

Veteran actor Jack Thompson recited Sydney Scherzo, a poem by his father John Thompson, who he thanked for teaching him "what it is to be a patriot, not a nationalist."

Indigenous representative Deborah Cheetham called for all Australians to build bridges, forge relationships and make a difference.

"I hope for a future of inclusiveness which moves us well beyond ticking the box of indigenous content," she said.

Australia Day will officially be launched on Sunday, and a range of events will held to mark the national holiday on Thursday, ranging from a wombat tractor pull in the south-western NSW town of Harden to a world record-breaking lilo float attempt at Sydney's Coogee beach.

Thousands of people also will become Australian citizens at ceremonies across the nation.

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