Lunar New Year Celebrations

Hansard ID: HANSARD-1323879322-100338

Hansard session: Fifty-Sixth Parliament, First Session (56-1)

Lunar New Year Celebrations

Ms JODI McKAY (Strathfield) (15:41:53):I am delighted to speak to this matter of public importance, which recognises a festival that is significant to the Chinese Australian community across New South Wales. The importance of this festival in Australia can be interpreted through the various events that have and will be going on, including plans to light up the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge in the lucky colour of red.In this House we acknowledge the Year of the Dog and those across the world who celebrate Lunar New Year. The festival celebrates the commencement of the new lunar calendar, and the celebrations extend for 15 days. The festival is symbolised by red—a colour that is said to scare off evil spirits.

The first day of the lunar calendar falls on 16 February this year, but most families and friends gather on 15 February for the New Year's Eve reunion dinner, when food that symbolises good luck and prosperity is shared. It is also customary for families and friends to visit temples on New Year's Eve to pray for a lucky year ahead.Given the significance of the festival in Sydney, not only have I been invited to many events but also I will be hosting a few, including a walk through Strathfield tonight with the God of Wealth, handing out red pockets and Fai Chun posters.Red pockets symbolise good luck and are given by elders or seniors in the family. In return, it is customary for children to wish their elders a happy new year, good health and good fortune.

I have a wonderfully diverse electorate, and so Lunar New Year is important to my Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese Australian communities. As such, I will also be handing out the Fai Chun, which is a red, long poster with a lucky phrase on it.

It is traditional for these posters to be displayed in homes to scare away evil spirits. I will also be leading a traditional Chinese lion dance through Burwood to extend my best wishes to businesses and the general public. This year joining me on the walk will be members of the West Tigers rugby league football team, and of course their mascot. I thank Tommy Tong and his lion dance group from Tommy Tong's Traditional Chinese Performing Arts Centre for performing every year.

I am pleased to join the Chinese Australian community in attending many of their events, the first of which will be the inaugural Chinese New Year celebrations held this weekend with the Australian Zhaoqing Fellowship Association and Australian Zhaoqing Industry and Commerce Association. This event will be held at a farm in Rossmore in honour of the farming history of the Zhaoqing people in Liverpool. Also in Liverpool this weekend I will be attending the charming Asia New Year Festival. New Year's Day is always very busy, and I will be spending a part of that day at the Chinese New Year celebration at a temple in Bonnyrigg hosted by the Australian Chinese Buddhist Society. I thank Vincent Kong and his society for their continuing contribution to our Chinese Australian community. New Year is celebrated not only in temples, homes and businesses but also by community groups, and of course in nursing homes.

I have spoken before in this place about the work of the Bernard Chan Nursing Home in Burwood, and I look forward to joining residents for an afternoon tea. I also thank Ada Cheng, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Nursing Home Foundation, and her staff. They provide excellent care for the elderly in my community. I also commend the work of the Chinese Australian Services Society, an organisation that supports the Chinese Australian community in the inner west. I will join them in their celebrations, as I have done in previous years. In early March we have a wonderful day at the China Fun Fair in Burwood Park. I thank the Australian Commerce and Culture Association for their efforts each year.

Lunar New Year events will be held across Sydney, including the opening of the Chinese New Year Lantern Festival, hosted by the Australia China Economics, Trade and Culture Association; the New Year Celebration Dinner, hosted by the Australian Chinese Charity Foundation; the Vietnamese New Year—their Tet Festival—organised by the Vietnamese Community in Australia (NSW Chapter); and the annual Cultural Chinese New Year banquet, hosted by the Haymarket Chamber of Commerce. These are more than a few of the events that will be held this year. It is fitting that Australia's oldest Parliament wish the Chinese Australian community a happy Chinese New Year of the Dog.

Ms STEPH COOKE (Cootamundra) (15:47:10):

I contribute to the discussion of this matter of public importance about one of the world's most colourful and exuberant events: the Lunar New Year, which is also known as the Spring Festival or Chinese New Year. Our State is home to more than half a million people of Chinese ancestry and this year their celebration of the Chinese New Year begins on Friday 16 February. It concludes with the magnificent Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first Chinese calendar month. In Gregorian calendar parlance that is 4 March. What happens in between can vary, but the evening preceding Lunar New Year's Day will usually see families gather for reunion dinners. That tradition will also see those families thoroughly clean their house in order to sweep away any ill fortune and make way for incoming good luck.

Lunar New Year is now one of the high spots in our multicultural calendar of events across New South Wales. The celebration is stunning, replete with firecrackers and fireworks to ward off evil spirits, plus larger‑than-life lion and dragon dances, in glorious, spirited reds and golds. The positivity, strength and learnings we take from this very special time of year for the Chinese community, which they share so generously with us, gives us a buoyancy that is unparalleled. This spirit of inclusion and affirmation reinforces and cements our strong community ties, helping to forge a nation where we admire and celebrate our cultural diversities and rejoice in the strength that individuality brings to us all. Since 1972, when Australia established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, we have enjoyed years of close cooperation and friendship. Since 2007 Chinese students have accounted for the largest number of international enrolments in New South Wales, making up about a third of our international students.

Last December the Premier signed several trade deals during her trade mission to China. Among them was a two‑year arrangement with Chinese travel agency GZL that will promote New South Wales to Chinese travellers. Our State leads the nation in attracting Chinese visitors, whose numbers have grown by more than 150 per cent over the past six years, from 285,000 annual visitors to more than 700,000. In the last financial year, Chinese travellers spent more than $3 billion in New South Wales, which means more jobs at hotels, tourism operators and shops. It also boosts regional areas.

I am very lucky to live in Young. Each year we hold a multicultural festival that celebrates elements of the town's early gold rush days when Chinese miners came to try their luck at the diggings. The event also celebrates the contribution of Chinese people to Australia and features afternoon and night Chinese lion and dragon dancing, a sunset lantern parade amid tai chi demonstrations, and a marketplace filled with a mouth‑watering array of Chinese and Asian delicacies. The festival gives tremendous insight into Chinese culture to the people of our region, and it gives Chinese visitors a taste of New South Wales country life—yin and yang. I say "Gong xi fa cai" in Mandarin and "Kung hei fat choy" in Cantonese to all who join in the Chinese New Year celebrations. May this Year of the Dog reflect the qualities of honesty and loyalty of that zodiac sign.

Mr CHRIS MINNS (Kogarah) (15:51:21):

I thank the member for Strathfield for moving this matter of public importance—the first on which I have spoken. I would not miss it for the world because Chinese New Year is an important matter for our community. It is important to recognise the wonderful contribution that Chinese Australians make to our great State and country. Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is the launch of the lunar new year. The Chinese zodiac follows a 12‑year cycle. This year's symbol of the dog is thought to come from the historical importance of the domestication of the grey wolf in China.

Mr Mark Coure:

Really?

Mr CHRIS MINNS:

That's right. You learn something new every day. I understand that comes directly from Wikipedia—a very reliable source.

Mr Mark Coure:

Your zodiac sign is the goat.

Mr CHRIS MINNS:

There you go—1979 was the Year of the Goat. In Chinese culture, it is believed that people born in the Year of the Dog inherit some of that animal's wonderful characteristics such as loyalty, patience and reliability. This holiday is a wonderful reminder of the contribution that Chinese people have made to Australia's dynamic multicultural society. It is also a happy harbinger of Australia's future, with China already Australia's largest trading partner. The Chinese diaspora in Hurstville in my electorate, which is made up of ex‑pats, citizens, permanent residents and people on student or family reunion visas, adds dynamism to commerce, community relations, culture and dining. Particularly in southern Sydney, they are drivers of our civic life. It is wonderful that in this Parliament and more broadly we can take time to celebrate their special day.

In particular, I acknowledge Dr Lam and Mr Wang from the Australia China Economics, Trade and Culture Association; Mrs Maggie Wu from the Australian Chinese Community Association Dance Group; and Lina from Asian Woman at Work. I also acknowledge the amazing Benevolent Society of Hurstville, which has a deep engagement with the Chinese community through Mimi Lui, and Captain Sean from the Salvation Army at Hurstville. Many wonderful organisations have been established to bring the Chinese community together. They are doing good work in our society and I recognise them for their hard work.

Mr MARK COURE (Oatley) (15:54:36):

By leave: I thank the member for Strathfield for drawing Lunar New Year celebrations to the attention of the House. Next Friday 16 February is the Chinese Lunar New Year. Gong hay fat choy, or gong xi fa cai. The Chinese Lunar New Year is a celebratory season for many people in the St George region, which is why it is a great honour to recognise the occasion in Parliament. The Chinese New Year is the most important traditional Chinese holiday because it symbolises the arrival of luck, joy, health and goodwill. The New Year traditionally is a time of new beginnings and an opportunity to show our appreciation for the gifts and life opportunities we enjoy. It is a special time to share with family, friends and neighbours and a chance to reflect on the past year.

Chinese New Year is when families gather together for annual reunion dinners in peace and happiness. Many Chinese families have chosen to settle in the St George region, particularly in Hurstville in the Kogarah electorate and in my electorate of Oatley. It is a great honour and privilege to represent them in the New South Wales Parliament. I acknowledge and thank our local Chinese community for its contribution to our State. Today I hosted a morning tea for the Wei-in Network, which is a group of ladies who are prominent leaders in the Chinese community and who raise money for local charities, particularly in relation to women's health. Over the years they have contributed so much to various organisations and causes across Australia. I take this opportunity to thank the President of Wei-in Network, Annie Tang, on behalf of all members of the network for her leadership and vision in carrying the movement forward and for ensuring that charitable work continues to thrive and progress.

The Wei-in Network and their service to the community are deserving of appreciation. I honour the work of the Wei-in Network in this House on this occasion. The network is one of many Chinese organisations—the member for Kogarah mentioned the Australia China Economics Trade and Cultural Association—that marks the New Year by having many celebrations and festivities in forthcoming days and weeks. The Spring Festival Gala I attended on Friday last week in Hurstville brought me into the festive spirit as our community ushered in the New Year. I ask everyone who was born in the Year of the Dog to accept my best wishes for a healthy and prosperous 2018. I was born in 1978—the Year of the Horse.

Ms JODI McKAY (Strathfield) (15:57:48):

In reply: I thank the member for Oatley, who is present in the Chamber, the member for Cootamundra and the member for Kogarah for their wonderful contributions to the discussion on this matter of public importance. It is important at this time of the year to acknowledge the significance to our communities of the Lunar New Year. It is wonderful that the member for Cootamundra, who represents a country electorate, participated in the discussion out of respect for the Lunar New Year festival, which is celebrated across New South Wales. The members who participated in the discussion spoke about the importance of community in celebrating the Lunar New Year. I referred to the importance of family and community groups.

The member for Kogarah and the member for Oatley know that community is at the heart of Lunar New Year celebrations. I see the member for Oatley at many events that we both attend and I know that he is well regarded within the Chinese-Australian community. We experience firsthand the great enthusiasm of many of our community groups, which is at no time more evident than in celebrations of the Lunar New Year. As the member for Kogarah said, the Chinese-Australian community is very much a driver of culture and commerce in the communities in which they reside. As the member for Cootamundra said, that includes the students living in our electorates and the tourism it generates. These celebrations are important to the way this State operates. When we get together to enjoy the Lunar New Year celebrations we create something spectacular.

I acknowledge my staff member Michael Ng, who has worked with me in organising my many Lunar New Year functions. We are involved in many events, and my officers and I go to a great deal of effort. The office is festooned with decorations and we have about 3,000 red pockets that we will distribute over the next week, starting in about two hours when I take the God of Wealth through Strathfield Plaza and meet with my Korean community. This weekend I will be joined by the Wests Tigers in walking down Burwood Road. It is fitting that we will have the lion and the Tiger getting together in the Year of the Dog. Michael has done a wonderful job organising these events with my community. We have heard that the member for Oatley is a Horse, and I am a Rooster. It would appear that these zodiac signs are fitting. I wish everyone a Happy New Year in the Year of the Dog. Kung Hei Fat Choy!