Record number will take citizenship pledge on Australia Day A RECORD number of people will become Australian citizens at Australia Day ceremonies across the nation today. The federal government says 17,863 people will pledge their allegiance to the nation at about 400 ceremonies to be staged across Australia as it marks 65 years since the first such citizenship ceremony was held. Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said "the 65th anniversary of Australian citizenship is an opportunity for all of us - whether Australian by birth or choice - to pause and reflect on the privileges and responsibilities which come with being an Australian citizen." Mr Morrison will preside over a ceremony in Sydney today to welcome 30 new citizens. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Tony Abbott will confer citizenship on 24 people at the national flag-raising and citizenship ceremony in Canberra. Victoria will welcome the most new Australians of any state, with 4500 people to gain citizenship. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten wants to reframe the immigration debate and "continue the Australian anthem of inclusion." In his Australia Day speech prepared for a Melbourne citizenship ceremony today, Mr Shorten reflects on how the finest moments in Australian history have come from turning national will towards ending exclusion and bringing people in from the margins. "Our challenge is to continue the Australian anthem of inclusion," Mr Shorten says. Mr Shorten urges Australians to go beyond the politics of fear that he says have tainted the public debate on immigration. "From this day on instead of talking about migration as a threat to the peaceful, multicultural nation we have built, let us see it as the irreplaceable element in the making of modern Australia," he says. He believes welcoming migrants is a national duty and helps drive prosperity. "The sooner we recognise the benefits that migration brings, the faster we will arrive at a policy that truly reflects the warmth of the Australian people," he says in the prepared remarks. According Aboriginal people a long overdue place in Australia's founding document, the constitution, is an important priority in order to create an "Australia worthy of the pride of its oldest custodians," Mr Shorten says.