Amandeep Singh became an Australian citizen only on Monday, but he has been doing one of the most Australian jobs for the past two years. He works two weeks on, one week off, as a fly-in fly-out horticulturalist for a mining company in Moomba in northern South Australia.
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On Australia Day he wore a bright blue turban to a citizenship ceremony in Sunshine, Melbourne, where he and his son Zorawar became Australian citizens.
Originally from the Punjab region in northern India, Mr Singh moved to Australian in December 2007 to study horticulture.
"Twenty eighth of December 2007. At eight thirty pm. I remember exactly," Mr Singh said.
After studying he found work as a horticulturalist with Frankston City Council, but has since moved into the private sector.
While the family misses Punjab, they love being in Australia. Mr Singh was sad that Zorawar has no extended family here, but said they try to return home every few years to visit. Australia was a "beautiful country with nice people and great opportunities," Mr Singh said.
Nearly 220 people took the citizenship oath at Sunshine on Monday. They received a gum tree sapling and a handshake from Opposition leader Bill Shorten, who used his speech to reiterate calls for a "mature debate about our head of state".
Also among the crowd was Kim Thien Truong, Brimbank City Council's Citizen of the Year for 2015. She received the award for raising money to help disadvantaged people and bringing Vietnamese children to Australia for surgery.
Ms Kim raises money though dinners, raffles, selling traditional Vietnamese straw hats and "shaking the tin" at the Lunar festival. She has also raised $13,000 for the Cancer Council and $18,000 for the Queensland floods relief.
Ms Kim currently sponsors four children in Australia and has raised money for both their transportation here and medical treatment, such as removing tumours and restoring eyesight. Hospital fees have to be paid in advance and this reached $30,000 for the first child, she said. Two children have finished their treatment and would soon return home, she added.
