Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Da jia hao! Chinese New Year officially concluded yesterday, and what a whirlwind of celebration it's been. Across the length and breadth of Australia, Chinese Australians exchanged red envelopes, set off firecrackers, watched lion dances and sang that well-known refrain, 'Gong xi, gong xi, gong xi ni.'

I was privileged to attend a Chinese New Year celebration at the Adelaide Zoo, as we marked only the second Chinese New Year in Australia of our new pandas, Yi Lan and Xing Qiu. The Year of the Horse is particularly apt here. Not only is the Year of the Horse associated with energy, momentum and progress; I also have it on good authority that it's a great year to have babies. I can only hope that somebody will mention that to the pandas!

I also hosted a Chinese New Year lunch at the House of Tien in my electorate of Boothby. A famous 18th century Chinese novel, Dream of the Red Chamber, describes a Chinese New Year banquet at which glutinous rice balls with sweet red bean filling are eaten, drinking games are played, lively discussions are had and extravagant entertainments are enjoyed, and I'm glad to report that not much has changed since the 18th century. I thank my friend Say Kapsis in particular, without whose hard work and know-how the event would not have been so successful.

The historic relationship between Australia and China is a long and valued one. In the 1700s, First Nations people and Chinese fishermen developed trade relationships. The first Chinese migrant to Australia, Mak Sai Ying, arrived in 1818. Thousands of Chinese made their way to Australia in the 1850s at the height of the gold rush, and, today, 1.4 million Australians claim Chinese heritage and ancestry. Indeed, Chinese Australians continue to enrich and enhance Australia's way of life. Chinese New Year is a fixture in the holiday calendar. Chinatowns are the beating hearts of our cities, and Chinese language, in addition to being spoken in over one million Australian homes, is taught by many schools as a matter of priority. Our trade with China is a vital part of our economy and culture. Our goods and services to China totalled $189 billion last year, 29 per cent of our global exports. Here, in Australia, we enjoy Chinese technology, cars and much more, and, in China, they enjoy our top-quality seafood, beef and wine while being a vital market for our resources and tertiary education.

The Chinese Australian community is not incidental to who we are; it is who we are. May I wish all Australians happiness, prosperity, wealth and good health in the Year of the Fire Horse. Gong xi fa cai, and xinnian kuaile! Xie xie.