Gary Hardgrave (Moreton, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last weekend I joined with hundreds of other local people to celebrate the life of Shirley Su-Lan Huang. Shirley Huang came to Australia to settle in 1988. She was in every possible way a pioneer of the enormous number of Taiwanese born residents in the electorate of Moreton. Shirley worked to support and settle others who followed her from Taiwan. Now some 20,000 Taiwanese born people and their children—their ABCs, Australian born Chinese—live in and around Sunnybank. Shirley sponsored great charitable acts, large and small. Be it helping the Warrigal Road State Primary School or the Sunnybank State High School or perhaps fundraising for typhoon and earthquake victims back in Taiwan, Shirley Huang was always there. She helped form the Queensland Chinese Forum, the Taiwanese Friendship Association and the Taiwan Women’s League—all in their own right wonderful supporters of our community. In 2000, on my recommendation, Shirley Huang was appointed by the Howard government to be one of the first members of the Council for a Multicultural Australia. To that she took the same style and approach of helping to bring people of all backgrounds and beliefs together. She was appointed by President Chen Shui-bian of the Taiwanese government to be a commissioner for overseas compatriot affairs. She was appreciated by both nations. Her final tribute to her love for Australia was that, even though she died unexpectedly in Taipei, she saw her final resting place to be here in Australia. Shirley Huang, we salute you. To her husband, Jerry, to Steven, to Jack and to her ABCs Jessica and Johnathon: thank you for sharing Shirley with all of us. (Time expired)