5ive reunion tour coming downunder in 2026

The year was 1997, and record industry mogul Simon Cowell was on the hunt for the next big boyband. Auditions were held around the UK and out of 3,000 hopefuls, Jason "J" Brown, Abz Love, Ritchie Neville, Scott Robinson and Sean Conlon were picked to form the brand that was dubbed the male version of the Spice Girls. 

Things moved at lightening speed and they released their first album to critical aclaim. Their next album, Invincible followed with the major hit, Keep on Movin'.

The brand then embarked on a worldwide tour, which included Australia and New Zealand. At the time I was a teenager and was a major fan. They were the UK version of the Backstreet Boys  so when they announced their tour I had to go to it. I wound up going with my mum. 

Throughout high school I was a major radio station listener, to the point where I would skip out on school camps to listen to the radio. because I listened to the radio sco much and knew the announcers I was granted the opportunity to attend the interview on my trip to Auckland. The interview was held at the Sheraton Hotel on Symonds Street in the CBD. Only Sean, Abz and J were present and while I don't remember much about the interview I remember being incredibly starstruck and I remember only being allowed to get two items signed even though I'd taken all of my CDs. I still have those signed CDs today as you can see below.

 

 

About a year after the 2000 tour, the band released their third album, Kingsize but unfortunately due to the pressures of fame and internal conflicts the band split up. 

Over the years there have been some attempts to reunite but nothing solid ever happened, with J and Abz not particpating. Last year Scott, Ritchie and Sean toured Australia and New Zealand. I was going to go to the tour and did at one point have a ticket but it just wouldn't have been the same as a trio rather than a quintet.

Then fast forward to a few months ago and they announced that all five of them would be touring the UK and Ireland. 

Over the last few months I've been talking a lot about Five in acting, not even knowing that they'd reuinted and were planning a tour. Then a few weeks ago they teased an Australian and NZ tour and so I started thinking about getting my ticket. You may even say I manifested the Five tour like I manifested being front row at Taylor Swift during the Eras Tour as I'd talked about in an earlier blog that I posted in 2019 (for clarity, the Eras Tour wasn't conceived in 2019, but I said back then I'd be front row at her next tour, and then miraculously a front row ticket fell into my lap - A blog about The Eras Tour will come at some point. Just briefly though I went to all seven shows. I got extremely, extremely, extremely lucky. I'm getting sidetracked, but getting back to Five, maybe I'll be able to manifest meeting Five again...They have been on my mind a lot lately, even before the tour was announced.

Today the pre-sale commenced and of course I got my ticket. Five were the first ever international band I saw in concert and I was lucky enough to meet three of them when I was a teenager. I wish I'd had a photo taken but I was more concerned with getting an autograph as that was the big thing in the early 2000s.

I've been trawling through old and new interviews and there are no plans for new music but you never know what will happen in the future.

Anyway it got me thinking about One Direction, who are the most recent big boy band.  Of course on 16 October 2024, Liam Payne died so One Direction fans will never have the chance to attend a reunion tour like Five fans can and that's really sad for them.

My final comments in this blog are that if your favourite band is touring you should go because you never know if it will be the last opportunity to see them live. I am also so excited to be reliving the early 2000s and seeing Five live in concert again.

They are playing several shows in Australia and New Zealand. The one I'm attending is at the ICC Sydney Theatre on Saturday 16 May 2026. Tickets are available through Ticketek Australia for the Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth show and Ticketek New Zealand for the Auckland show.

The sexual assault and downfall of Britney Spears

Before Taylor Swift there was Britney Spears. Throughout the late 90s and early 2000s, she was the Princess of Pop and everyone loved her. She was on track to become the next Madonna. Unfortunately though, as the saying goes, what goes up, must come down and that was exactly the case with the girl from Kentwood Louisiana.

Her debut album, Baby One More Time came out in January 1999 and hit the top five in a number of countries. It was followed up with Oops!...I did it again, which went to number one in several countries. She was on top of the world and was on track to become the next Madonna.

Unfortunately, things started to go downhill in 2002 after she broke up with Justin Timberlake and culminated with her shaving her head in 2007 after her very public break up with Kevin Federline, who had clearlly been using her. There is an interview on The Ellen Show where you can clearly see that he did not truly care about her and that he was using her. 

That's not my issue though. My issue is the way the media treated her and I'm not just talking about the paparazzi absolutely hounding her when she was mentally ill. I'm talking about the way the media literally sexualised a teenager. 

An example of an inappropriate interview is from UK journalist, Frank Skinner who showed him pictures of himself in his underwear that she hadn't asked to see. It amounts to sexual harassment. There was also an interview with Diane Sawyer where she was asked if she was a virgin. Now I know the 90s were a very different time but in what world is it okay to ask a total stranger, let alone a teenager about their sexual activity? 

The really sad thing is that when Britney first burst onto the stage she was so happy and polite. She was generally thrilled to be doing what she was and then over the years that spark slowly begun to fade until teh light was completely gone.

The downfall of Britney Spears got me thinking about why current Queen of Pop Taylor Swift was able to rise above her being cancelled in 2016-2018 after Kanye West and Kim Kardashian exploited her. I can only put it down to one thing. The difference between Britney Spears and Taylor Swift is that Taylor Swift has always had a family that supports her, genuinely supports her and wants the best for her. Britney Spears never had that. If she had then things might have been very different.

Britney's memoir The Woman In Me which she released in 2023 reveals that Britney's father was an alcoholic and that she grew up in a poor household. One can only assume that Britney's family exploited her and used her talent to try and get out of poverty.

If Britney Spears had burst onto the pop scene today there is no way she would've been sexualised like she was. The paparazzi wouldn't have been able to harass her like they did back then and it would've been recognised that Britney was having a very normal reaction to a long time relationship breaking up and her favourite aunt dying.

The downfall of Britney Spears needs to be a lesson to all of us on how not to treat popstars and we need to remember that they are human just like us and go through ups and downs like we all do. 

And Just Like That season finale review

Okay, let's talk about what can only be described as the worst series finale that I have ever watched - the And Just Like That series finale, which was a spin off of Sex and the City.

I didn't watch Sex and the City during the original run between 1998 and 2004. I only began watching after a group of friends dragged me kicking and screaming to the Sex and the City movie, which was fantastic. I then got into the TV show and identify as a Samantha. When the second movie came out in 2010, despite negative reviews I liked it. I thought it stayed true to all the characters.

Now fast forward to 2022 and we have And Just Like That. Obviously the social climate is different than things were back in 2010. People now expect diverse casts even if the diversity is at the expense of the stories.

That's exactly what happened with And Just Like That. There was a lot of controversy around the character Che played by Sara Ramirez, who had a relationship with Miranda who had been married to Steve. Those who watched the original Sex and the City would also know that she was not lesbian as established very early on in season 1. That was one of the many issues. After season 2, Che was written out to the delight of fans.  I didn't mind Che personally. I thought the character was okay.

I liked the introduction of Seema. She was the closest thing to Samantha's replacement we got, however we never really got to see her interact with Miranda and Charlotte. It was always Carrie. We did see her have flings before getting involved with Adam the gardener at the end of seaason 3. 

I did however have an issue with killing Big off in the first episode of the reboot and I did have an issue with all the storylines that made it out like the characters were old and past their use by date.  I found that to be offensive.

I also had an issue with the way the series tried to have obese people, gay people, trans people etc. Basically they tried to tick every box they could. Now I don't have an issue with those communities, but I do have an issue with that type of stuff being rammed down our faces, especially in a non-realistic way, which is what it was. I also had a major issue with the way Aidan completely disrespected Carrie in season 3. Eventually they broke up towards the end of the series to everyone's pleasure. Some people have said that Aidan was ruined in the spin off and I would have to disagree. Aidan always had an issue with Carrie. Right from their first meeting he wanted her to change. When he found out she was a smoker he said he couldn't date a smoker. He never got over his trust issues when she cheated with Big.

That's not my issue though. My issue comes with the last three episodes of the series. 

In the 10th episode there were so many new storylines set up - Harry got diagnosed with Cancer, Miranda was possibly relapsing back into alcoholism, Charlotte was having vertigo issues, Seema got involved with Adam, Lisa Todd Wexley was going to have an affair with her editor, Marion and Brady ended up getting Mia pregnant, yet none of those stories gets any type of resolution. I also had an issue with what happened to Carrie's old apartment. While it's true you can never go back and the writers probably wanted us to say goodby to the apartment that was not the right way to say goodbye.

Those aren't my biggest issues though.

My biggest issue is the way the final episode was handled. 

Did we really need to have charactures at a Thanksgiving dinner with more airtime than the main girls? Did we really need to have scenes of men literally peeing and did we need to have a toilet mishap scene? It was just distasteful and showed the writers didn't care about the characters or have any knowledge of the original series and that they did not respect the audience - those scenes should have been cut immediately and not even made it past the original script writing process.

It also showed that Sarah Jessica Parker and Michael Patrick King did not intend to end the series at the end of season 3 and that there were plans to produce a season 4. Season 3 had been the best season out of all of them in the reboot. 

I didn't mind the final scene where Carrie was dancing and content with being alone but not lonely.

If it had been up to me to write the episode I would have done the Thanksgiving episode with EVERYONE there, including Anthony and Guiseppe, Miranda and Joy, Charlotte, Harry and their kids, Brady, Steve and Miranda (not the awful crew that had more airtime than the main characters), Lisa Todd Wexley and her family; and of course Seema and Adam.

Then I would have cut to a final scene the next day of Charlotte, Miranda, Carrie and Seema having coffee at their usual coffee shop and a text from Samantha saying she was sorry she couldn't make Thanksgiving and that she's flying out tomorrow.

The finale of And Just Like That forgot what the original premise of the series was which is: Men may come and go but your friends are always there, no matter what happens.

All of this said, I hope that by some miracle another network picks it up for season 4 so that isn't the actual finale of a show that was once great. 

Taylor Swift - The Life Of A Showgirl album announcement thoughts

After the conclusion of The Eras Tour it was hard to know what Taylor Swift would do next. Unless you've been living under a rock you'd know that she announced her new album, The Life Of A Showgirl this week, which will be her 12th studio album.

Before I start talking about The Life Of A Showgirl, I first need to talk about the re-records, her previous album - The Tortured Poets Department, The Eras Tour, the Karma theories and her relationship with NFL star, Travis Kelce.

In all honesty I'm not really sure where to begin because it all ties in together.  As we know she had been with British actor, Joe Alwyn for 6 years and broke up with him a short time after The Eras Tour had commenced in the US. She then had a brief relationship with The 1975 musician, Matty Healy. After those two relationships ended she announced when she was accepting the Album of the Year Grammy for Midnights that her 11th studio album would be coming out on the 19th of April, 2024. When the album was released it initially had 17 tracks and then a few hours later, the second half, The Anthology was released with a further 14 tracks bringing the total to 31 tracks all together.

Critics slammed the album as being too long and that it wasn't "sonically cohesive" which is a call back to what they said about Red, which was released in 2012.  I completely disagree with that and it's not just because I'm a Taylor Swift fan. I don't think an album can possibly ever be "too long" and why would you want a short album from an artist you like? That aside, the melodies and lyrics are absolutely incredible. Bottom line is that I just think that the critics couldn't handle the lyrical genuis that went into the album and didn't understand, or want to get to know the themes which were relationships, fame, friendship, fantasy, the past and the future. 

If you look at the charts in most countries other artists, if they can even be called that are writing superficial lyrics with terrible melodies. A case in point is the success of K-Pop Demon Hunters, which isn't even a real band. Sure the beat is good but as I once said to someone when I had just turned 18, the lyrics are the most important part of the music. That is why my favourite song of all time is All Too Well Ten Minute Version.

Moving on from The Tortured Poets Department and onto The Eras Tour. The Eras Tour was the biggest tour of all time and grossed over $2 billion over the two years that it was performed. It was hard to know if Tayor Swift would be able to out perform that tour because of how successful it was. It was the hottest ticket around in 2023 and 24 (and yes I had tickets to all 7 Australian shows, including Melbourne night 3 which was front row - which was a goal of mine since 2019). 

After The Eras Tour Swifties were expecting the announcement of Reputation (Taylor's Version) or Taylor Swift/Debut (Taylor's Version) but instead we got the announcement that she had bought back her masters, which had been something she'd wanted to own ever since she started making music. 

With that news came the question, "So when will we get our next Taylor Swift album?"

Well it turns out that Taylor had been flying back and forth between Sweden and where she was performing when she was in Europe to work with renowned producers Max Martin and Shellback on her 12th studio album. For those who don't know Max Martin, he worked with Britney Spears on her debut album, Baby One More Time and other artists like Backstreet Boys, Katy Perry, Pink and many more. He also worked with Taylor Swift on Red, 1989 and Reputation. 

Taylor's 12th studio album is titled The Life Of A Showgirl, and unlike The Tortured Poets Department it has only 12 songs, which marks a departure from her last four albums which had at least 16 songs. It is also the shortest album in her entire discography and I have to say I'm disappointed about that. I favour longer albums, especially when it's from my favourite artist. 12 songs feels way too light.  Despite that I cannot wait for the release on the 3rd of October.

What do I expect from the album? I genuinely have absolutely no idea what to expect however before the announcement I did expect Sabrina Carpenter to feature on the album and that was confirmed this week. She features on the closing track, The Life Of A Showgirl, which based on the leaks I've seen I expect to be a country song. Before anyone says "you shouldn't look at leaks" - I always pre-order her albums before they are officially released so there is actually no loss. It doesn't affect that purchase. 

I wish the album was going to be longer but Taylor has explicitly said that the album is 12 songs and that there are no bonus tracks or future releases. That does not mean that the 13th album isn't being released soon. I expect she's already working on her 13th album and that we can expect it towards the end of 2026 or early 2027.

I'm not sure if she will tour this album because it's only 12 songs and The Eras Tour was massive. If she doesn't tour The Life Of A Showgirl then I do expect she'll tour her 13th album which would mean the next your would be around 2027-2028 but it's really hard to predict especially when there are rumours that she's going to do a Vegas Residency. Personally I think she is way too big to do that and I also think the rumours of her doing a Superbowl half time performance are just ridiculous. She's way too big for that too.

In terms of the one theory I do believe in. I do suspect that some of the songs on The Life Of A Showgirl were written as far back as the 1989 era and I do believe that this album was supposed to come after Midnights as TS11, but of course with her two heartbreaks so close together she had to record The Tortured Poets Department. I believe this because of the use of the colour orange and also because of the album cover and themes sung about on the album. I don't think we'll ever have this theory confirmed or denied but we'll find out on album release day.

It also gets on my nerves when people are amazed she was able to write and record while on tour. To those people I have to say this is her full time job. Of course she was able to. The reason why she is the number 1 artist in the world is because of how hard she works. 

Lastly, I'm still not Travis Kelce's biggest fan but there is absolutely no way that this is a PR relationship and if it's not end game I would be bloody surprised.

I'll post again when the album is out on the 3rd of October.  

And Just Like That - Women in their 50s are grandmothers who are obsolete

Five weeks ago, Sex and the City reboot, ...And Just Like That was released around the world to mixed reviews.

Aside from Big (Chris Noth) being written out in the first episode of the ten part series, Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall) refusing to participate and Stanford (Willie Garson) being suddenly written out due to the actor's untimely passing I want to talk about the representation of different groups walking amongst us.

Charlotte and Harry's non-binary child

When Charlotte finally got pregnant she had a daughter named Rose, who now goes by the name Rock and is questioning their gender. As you would expect, Charlotte will always love her children no matter what happens to them. She will never desert them and she'll support them. She met with the school in the fifth episode and it felt like the story was glossed over. If this was back in the original series, Charlotte would've talked to Samantha and asked for her advice. She also would have talked to Rose/Rock to find out more. The storyline feels extremely rushed as if the writers are trying to cram too much into the show.

Steve's hearing loss

Steve Brady is the same age as Miranda, so he is in his 50s. According to Forbes, the average age of first time hearing aid wearers is 70. Even if you account for the fact that Steve owns a bar, you wouldn't expect him to start wearing hearing aids this young. It's as if the writers of the show want to age the 50 something cast before their time and are writing them as if they should be in rest homes.  

Miranda's alcoholism

Miranda has always had her issues and struggled in her marriage to Steve, since the very first time they met in Sex and the City but after the first movie it was implied that they had worked through their issues. Maybe they hadn't though. Maybe Miranda had been looking for an out for a while and during the pandemic she started drinking. As she said in episode five, "we all drunk in the pandemic and didn't stop". I have no doubt that is true. Some people did drink. Me, I ate during the pandemic because I couldn't go to the gym but that got fixed as soon as gyms reopened. Miranda's alcoholism was glossed over. I haven't known anyone who experiences alcoholism but I think it would take more than a month to notice that someone has an issue with alcohol.

Miranda and Che

It's one thing to be unhappy in your marriage but Miranda had such an issue with Steve's cheating in the first Sex and the City movie that her cheating with Che is out of character. Yes, it was always going to happen but it doesn't fit the character's back story. If she was unhappy in the marriage she could've at least divorced Steve first. Steve still could've been in the reboot with them sharing custody of Brady. There should have been more of a build up to it rather than it happening suddenly.

Carrie's hip surgery

And this is the storyline that really grated on my nerves. The one that got under my skin that I found quite offensive. Of course everyone ages and of course some people have physical issues but the way the show is carrying on you would think that the cast are all one foot in the grave and you would think that women become pathetic old ladies the moment we reach our 50s. Women over 25 have a hard enough time as it is without a show treating us as though we're invalids after 50. It goes against the tone of the original show. There is no way that Carrie would act like an old lady in her 50s. Even though she enjoyed married life until Big's death she would still be getting out there but instead she's feeling sorry for herself and acting way older than she actually is.

Samantha Jones

Samantha Jones was always older than the rest of the characters. I think she had a decade on them. In the first movie she talked about how much she loves Botox and in the second one she was on hormone replace pills to fight the signs of aging. Aside from her views on aging, which is that it's just a number (which it is) her presence is missed from the show. She was always open with her sexuality and loving men. She was accepting of others. She never judged Carrie for cheating on Aidan with Big or for being the other woman. She'd know how to deal with Miranda's alcoholism and Charlotte's child's gender doubts. It's become very clear that Samantha was actually the glue that held the group together and that without her the friendships don't really have a solid foundation.

I do hope that the show is renewed for a second season despite the allegations against Chris Noth, who to my knowledge has not even been charged with these alleged offences but if it is I really hope that Kim Cattrall can mend her feud with Sarah Jessica Parker. The show badly needs Samantha. Anthony Marentino however has been bumped up to a core cast member and that is a very welcome addition. He always stole the show in whatever scene he was in.

 Finally, I want to reiterate that if the show is renewed the writers need to stop treating women as if they're invalids the moment they hit 50. When Samantha went through her cancer battle in season 6 of Sex and the City she still rocked trendy wigs and wasn't afraid to party. She didn't let her birthday dictate who she was.

Of course time has passed but that doesn't mean the women should be treated as though they're one foot in the grave. 

The Australian government is right on its border protection policy

As you know, after 13 years of waiting and working my ass off, I finally got Australian citizenship a week ago. When I wasn't an Australian citizen I always shared the same point of view as the Australian government, that if you aren't an Australian citizen you don't deserve the same rights as an Australian citizen. 

Sure, don't get me wrong. It annoyed me that I couldn't vote or join a political party and it was frustrating that I was still referred to as a New Zealander. Until 2016 it frustrated me that there was no pathway unless I retrained or married an Australian citizen but I never wanted to get citizenship based on who I was married to. I wanted to get it on my own merits. In 2016 when the new pathway was announced I did everything in my power to qualify for the Skilled Migration 189 NZ Stream and secured that visa before waiting another year to get my Australian citizenship.

Anyway, now that you know how I got my Australian citizenship I want to talk tonight about how the vast majority of New Zealand citizens do not take up Australian citizenship. Based on estimates that have been calculated using information from the Department of Home Affairs I have concluded that only about 1% of NZ citizens living in Australia apply for the 189 permanent visa and about the same number apply for Australian citizenship. The chances are high therefore that if you become a permanent resident you are doing so with the intention to become an Australian citizen.

Now let's talk for a minute about what Australian citizenship actually means because I don't actually think people understand. Yes, of course it means that you are recognised as being a member of the Australian community and yes you can participate in politics, get government help when in financial or other trouble, but there are also intangible benefits to holding Australian citizenship.

The first, and biggest one is a total sense of belonging. When your application for citizenship is approved the Australian government is saying that they accept you as an Australian. They're saying we've got your back. They're saying you're one of us. They're saying you're home and that you can stay permanently without any risk of deportation. They're putting their trust in you.

So my question is, why do NZ citizens who do not hold Australian citizenship feel that they can dictate to the Australian government and the Australian community how they should be treated? The reality is that a lot of New Zealand citizens whinging about the rules arrived before 2016 and they have had ample opportunity to naturalise as an Australian citizen but they chose not to. The ones who arrived before 2001 are even worse because they have a much easier process to go through than post 2001 arrivals. It just doesn't make sense to me that people expect the Australian government to go out of their way when they've refused to make a commitment to Australia and become an Australian citizen.

For people who've arrived after 2016 I can understand and the 189 NZ stream should be expanded to include post February 2016 NZ citizen arrivals. I can't see any reason why NZ citizens who arrived after that date and would otherwise qualify should be excluded just because of the date they arrived.

I do however see the point to the Australian government not backing down on deporting NZ criminals. It's not just NZ criminals who get deported. Any criminals get deported. I know someone who was a Scottish citizen who overstayed by a couple of days several years ago and she was banned from entering Australia. I'm unsure how long she was banned for. My point is that the Australian government is not unfairly discriminating against NZ citizens.

The government is actually saying: if you want to be treated as an Australian citizen you need to become one, otherwise you're a New Zealand citizen who is visiting Australia, and that's the other thing. Australia is actually very welcoming to NZ citizens. NZ citizens have a free pass to enter Australia whereas those on other passports do not.

The Australian government is right on its treatment of New Zealand citizens and if people really do consider Australia home then they need to become an Australian citizen. They can't have it both ways, with one foot in and one foot out. The NZ government also should not be interfering in Australia's border protection policy. The fact is they are trying to undermine the value of Australian citizenship and they are being disrespectful of Australia's generosity in even letting NZ citizens come over to Australia without having to apply for a skilled visa.

It's time the NZ government and public looked at it from the view of Australians and new Australian citizens.

Living the dream: My journey to Australian citizenship

Let's talk about immigration. There's a misconception in the media that life is easy for people who emigrate to a new country. Common statements that are made are things like they commit crime, they clog our prisons, they steal our jobs and they rely on the welfare system. These statements couldn't be further from the truth and in today's blog I want to share the story of my journey to Australian citizenship which was finalised on Thursday afternoon and bear in mind that being an NZ citizen I already had an advantage because I could just get a plane and live on a temporary working visa (this is a subject for another blog) unlike people from other nations who couldn't necessarily gain entry to Australia.

So it's 2008 and I've just finished my undergraduate degree at university - a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Politics and a minor in Film, TV and Media Studies. I had been thinking of moving to Sydney for two years - Sydney because it's a lot like Auckland - It has a sky tower (Sydney Tower) and it has a harbour bridge (the Coat hanger). Two of my friends from uni also moved to Sydney so after two years of deliberation I took the plunge and moved to Sydney. I lived in King's Cross from April until June and in that time was working for the NSW Department of Housing - now FACS) and I had a second part time job in the evenings as well. I missed my friends though so I moved back to Auckland but I always had the intention to move back to Sydney. When I was back in Auckland I started my post graduate studies in Communications.

I spent about 18 months in Auckland and then in December of 2009 I moved back after two of my other friends moved to Sydney. This time around I stayed for nine months but hated my job so I went back to Auckland to complete my Post Graduate Diploma in Communications. I stayed for a few months from August 2010 until December 2010 when I moved back to Sydney where I stayed until April 2011.

I stayed in Auckland until December 2013. The reason that time was so long was because I wound up getting a job I really loved that I didn't want to leave but when the company announced their intention to close the department I worked in that was my opportunity to come back to Sydney which had always been my goal.

I arrived back in Sydney on the 24th of December 2013 at about 6pm. I'm in communications and the work here has been incredibly unstable and after several casual jobs I had a really good job I liked but it didn't work out so I left that job in November of 2015. Luckily a couple of friends let me stay with them but it was only for a short time. Fortunately I had another friend who let me stay with them and I lived there for a few years. That was only supposed to be for a month but I really liked it there in Redfern so I stayed. 

In February of 2016, then Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and then New Zealand Prime Minister John Key announced a new skilled migration pathway specifically for NZ citizens living in Australia. Under that pathway you had to earn a minimum of $53,900AUD plus super for four years prior to applying which I knew I probably wasn't going to do for that financial year.

I decided to earn money freelancing but due to some unfortunate circumstances the work dried up so I needed to go back to working for other people. Of course, a lot of employers in Sydney are incredibly dodgy and look for a scapegoat, or the work is good but it's contract work so it has an expiration date and means that the job hunt must continue. There were periods where if it hadn't been for friends giving me a place to stay I would've been homeless. It is because of this generosity that I was able to get Australian citizenship after 13 years and 28 days, which included 7 months and 1 day of processing time.

What a lot of people don't realise when you emigrate to a new country is that it's not actually necessarily smooth sailing. It took me FOUR attempts to emigrate to Australia before I was able to successfully do it. During that time there was a lot of uncertainty with casual or contract jobs and some periods in between. There were times where I had to freelance and was working 16 hours a day to earn enough money to qualify for the skilled visa pathway that Malcolm Turnbull and John Key introduced. There were periods where I couldn't pay rent. There were periods where I didn't know where my next pay was coming from. There were periods of so much uncertainty. So much uncertainty because when you move to a new country you're on your own. You're in a weird limbo land where you're still legally recognised by your old country but you're not yet recognised by your new country.

It's very hard for migrants in a new country. This could be why only 3.4% of the world's population have emigrated from their country of birth. 3.4% of the world's population is 272 million. The rest of the 9 billion people in the world live in their country of birth.

I was thinking about it a couple of days ago since becoming an Australian citizen, and the reality is, most immigrants struggle. You're away from your friends and family. You're away from your support networks and you're basically on your own. I think that's actually why we see so many immigrants setting up their own businesses. They simply have to in order to survive. I did it myself, and even today while I still work a casual job and hunt for a permanent job in the Australian Federal Government, I have my freelance writing business and I am hoping to build that up.

Instead of saying immigrants should go back home (and I've been guilty of this myself) take the time to find out their story and learn about why they decided to move to a new country because immigration is not as clear cut as people think it is. It takes a lot of hard work and determination. This blog is just a short snapshot of what goes into getting citizenship in a new country, and for me, it took 13 years and 28 days plus a lot of uncertainty and struggles along the way.

It is for that reason I am not just proud to call myself Australian, I am proud that I achieved something that not many people do. I successfully emigrated to a new country after multiple attempts. I'm very proud of that achievement in fact because along the way I had no idea if it was going to happen and in 2008 when I first decided I wanted Australian citizenship there was no pathway for me other than through marriage but I didn't want to get Australian citizenship based on who I married. I wanted to get it because of how hard I hard worked for it, and I did. There is a huge amount of satisfaction in being able to say that I achieved what I always set out to achieve - something that only 3.4% of the world's population achieve, and legally being recognised as an Australian by the government.

The other reason for this blog is to show that when things seem impossible you should never lose faith that if you persist you will get what you want and you will achieve your dream. My dream was to be an Australian citizen and I am.