Two votes and counting
Juliet has submitted her application to vote in the council election. That’s two votes I should get now; only 698 to go!
Juliet is a South African citizen with permanent residency in Australia. She can’t vote in state or federal elections, but can exercise her right as a ratepayer to vote in council elections.
If I win election, I will be a councillor when Juliet attends her naturalisation ceremony at the Shire Office. The Mayor may even permit me to swear her in.
Juliet has applied to the South African Government for permission to have dual citizenship. That was nearly a year ago, but the approval should come through soon.
She can then apply for Australian citizenship without having to renounce her South African birthright.
The births of all our children have been registered in South Africa and they can claim dual citizenship if they wish.
I'm a 41-year-old father of four working as a newspaper editor at Mount Gambier in South Australia.
