Randy Bakeua, Baiki Ngatau-Bakeua and their sons Martin, 14, and Iannang Anthony Bakeua, 12, were all conferred New Zealand citizenship at a ceremony at the Dunedin Town Hall yesterday.
It had been nearly 13 years since the family first came to New Zealand, and Mr Bakeua said it was the best decision they had ever made.
Kiribati, a nation of 32 coral atolls and one raised limestone island, is located in the central Pacific Ocean.
Mr Bakeua said it was among the most vulnerable nations to climate change .
As an extremely isolated and very low-lying island nation, Kiribati faced considerable risk from climate variability and sea-level rise, he said
"New Zealanders don’t know about climate change the way we people in Kiribati do.
"We experienced it all the time; we had regular alerts for tsunamis ... With king tides, the well water was not very good.
"I had just had my first son. I didn’t want him to live in a place that was not safe from climate change."
They chose New Zealand over Australia because it had "more culture, more diversity and fewer things that could kill you", Mr Bakeua said.
They moved to Invercargill, and lived there for nearly six years, as Mr Bakeua worked on a dairy farm.
Although it took them a bit of time getting used to the cold, he preferred it to the heat of Kiribati, Mr Bakeua said.
The family moved to Dunedin about seven years ago.
Mr Bakeua continues to work as a dairy farm manager on the Taieri Plain.
"We’ve been waiting for this day for some time; we applied for our citizenship a while ago, but Covid-19 got in the way.
"We love it in Dunedin, we love being New Zealanders. I want to die here."
Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich oversaw the ceremony, where more than 70 people became New Zealand citizens.
New citizens
Other new citizens confirmed at yesterday’s ceremony included: Mahmoud A A Brham(Iraq), Yousef M A Brham(Cyprus), Rana N K Mohammed (Iraq), Muhammad Arbab Akhtar (Pakistan), Humara Fiaz (Pakistan), Sajjad Akhtar Malik (Pakistan), Hadeel Sajjad (Saudi Arabia), Haneen Sajjad (Saudi Arabia), Mazen Ahmad Al Sheikh (Syria), Samir Bassel Alghourani (Syria), Lujayn Bassel Alghourani (Syria), Yuna Irsane Zigor Barbenel (France), Samuel Bettinelli (Italy), June Bryan Remorque Biado (Philippines), David John Cox (United Kingdom) Sharon Elizabeth Cox (United Kingdom), Eoin Rory Deasy (Ireland), Jayalakshmi Mohan (Kuwait), Ryan Reid Easton (USA), Lilia Herene Faataui Solofuti (Samoa), Yunni Floyd (Indonesia), Simranpal Singh Gill (India), Claire Concepcion Gonzales (Philippines), Pyaet Kyaw Htin Bhone (Singapore), Muna Mohamad Adel Jebneh (Syrian Arab Republic), Hala Zakaria Kabakobji (Syrian Arab Republic), Zakaria Ahmad Samir Kabakobji (Syrian Arab Republic), Ahmad Zakaria Kabakobji (Syrian Arab Republic), Tintu Joseph (India), Bibin Kaduppil Babu (India), Manpreet Kaushal (India), Subhash Kaushal (India), Wing Chung Kwok (China), Mai Thanh La (Vietnam), Felise Sani Lam (Samoa), Carlo Armando Marra (Canada), Maya Ariel Marra (Canada), Jamie Marie Marra (United States of America), Ana Sofia Francesca Marra (Canada), Gwynaeth Lois McIntyre (Canada), Easter Joy Valmonte Ngo (Philippines), Hana Obradovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Mandy Scott Osborne (South Africa), Nicolas Ryan Osborne (South Africa), Ross Rory Osborne (South Africa) Chad Ryan Osborne (South Africa), Helena Cadwallader Pattison (United Kingdom), Frederic Michel Ikoliaka Pointe (France), Noelia Florence Asele Pointe (USA), Artus Jerold Michel Pointe (France), Esengo Gerard Harold Pointe (USA), Fleur Betty Odile Pointe (France), Rupert John Villanueva Reyes (Philippines), Thagana Riunga (Kenya), Albert Savary Malayapa (France) Cheol Shin (Korea, Republic of), Anup Singh (India), Kathryn Engelhardt Tilson (USA), Anncharline Vaimoana Ednia Uele (Tonga), Caelan James Stuart Welford (United Kingdom), Yasmin Wilkinson (United Kingdom), Yu Yang (China), Juan Zhang (China).
