David Coleman (Banks, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On 20 July I attended the 43rd anniversary dinner of the Australian Chinese Community Association of New South Wales, or ACCA, as it is well known. It was a great evening, celebrating ACCA's tremendous achievements over its long history, and it was terrific to be there. ACCA provides a range of social services, including in-home care support for older Australians of Chinese background, support groups, meals services and a range of other activities. It is a diverse service provider for Australians of Chinese background. With about 17 per cent of all people in my electorate being of Chinese background, ACCA is a particularly important group and is very valued in our community. I'd like to recognise the president of ACCA, Shirley Chan, and thank her for all the work that she does, and recognise the vice presidents, Tim Feng, Daniel Kwan and Theresa Liang, for their contributions to ACCA. I'd also like to commend Ted Seng, the general manager of ACCA, for all of his ongoing efforts. ACCA is a great organisation, with a long track record of doing good work in the Chinese community.

On 4 August I attended the members exhibition opening night at the Oatley 101 Society of Artists. Oatley 101 is a unique group in my electorate. It is an in-house group of resident artists who come together at a former scout hall in Oatley West and learn about painting and a range of different forms of art. It's a very active group, with about 200 members. Oatley 101 holds an annual exhibition to showcase the work of members and other artists. It is always a great night, and the exhibition is judged by a professional artist. The society has been around since 1997 and does great work in the Oatley area. I'd like to congratulate Ann Clark, who was awarded best in show for her work at the awards evening. I'd also like to thank the local businesses that sponsor Oatley 101. It's really important that these small businesses back Oatley 101, because it is a very valuable part of our community. So, to PRDnationwide Oatley, St George Maso's, The Gardens on Forest, Galluzzo's pharmacy and Jenny Bates Hair Studio, at Penshurst, thank you for your support of Oatley 101. Most of all, I'd like to thank Geraldine Taylor, the president of Oatley 101, who does an extraordinary amount of work in holding together a really important group in our community.