THE announcement by Olympic cycling medalist Matthew Richardson that he will be riding for England, and no longer for Australia has upset many people, including the Australian Institute of Sport that reportedly invested more than a million dollars in the training and coaching of the high performance cyclist.

The reason this ‘defection’ is possible is the dual citizenship Richardson has. He’s now moving to England to be with the woman he loves. 

I believe that is a good enough reason, that does not deserve the harsh criticism the young man has received.

But why does Australia financially support those with dual citizenship?

Commit

Does not dual citizenship mean that people are sitting on the fence, and are unwilling to commit themselves to the new country they choose to live in?

I have never been a supporter of dual citizenship. 

I lost my Dutch citizenship when I became Australian in December 1985 and I have never regretted it. 

I never had the desire to return to the Netherlands, although I enjoyed living there for the first 20 years of my life.

The Netherlands, like Germany and many other countries, did not allow dual citizenship and that makes sense to me. 

I wonder for example if it is a good thing that people can become members of the Australian Defence Force when they have not committed themselves to Australia and hold dual citizenships? Should there not be a sense of unease about that?

I remember, when I lived in Sydney, I applied for a job as photographer at Australian Customs. 

I did  a very long interview with high ranking Customs officers, at the end of which I was offered the job… until one of them said: “I assume you have Australian citizenship?” 

I had only been in Australia for less than two years, so it was not possible to apply for it so early, hence the job was no longer mine.

I have Dutch friends who have been lobbying the  government of the Netherlands to permit dual citizenship. 

They want to be able to vote both in Holland and in Australia, and that is something I also do not support. 

Citizenship for me is about commitment to the new country, that is willing to support one in every way, from Medicare to age pension, etc. 

To want to have it both ways is a cop out.

Cop out

I will always be proud of my Dutch heritage and fondly remember my youth there, but I also loved living in Germany for 13 years, where I lived on a yearly residence permit, that needed to be renewed every year and where I had to show proof of employment, etc. 

The thought of applying for German citizenship never entered my mind. 

The European Union has made that pretty much irrelevant now, as one can live where one likes within the EU.

I love living in Australia, especially in WA and even more so here in Fremantle.

I feel absolutely committed to our little city and try to make a positive difference with whatever I do. I had a great time in Europe, but the place I want to live until I die is right here in our wonderful port city. 

That Matthew Richardson wants to be with the woman he loves should be admired, not  condemned. 

Love is the most beautiful feeling in the world. 

Love conquers everything. Even citizenship.

Roel Loopers/FREOVIEW