Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Over the last several weeks members of this House have heard a great deal of the tragedy that has afflicted the people of Victoria. More particularly, what they have seen is a unity amongst Australians in responding to their particular circumstances. Tonight I want to indicate to the House that the generosity that has been given by all Australians is very much a feature of our multicultural society. Over the last week I know that amongst the Chinese community in Sydney, in particular, there have been extraordinary acts of generosity. I think it is appropriate to acknowledge that generosity because what it does is reflect the inclusive nature of our society.

There are some who often think that so-called ethnic communities are not part of our broader Australian community, feeling the same emotions and having the same responsibilities and the same duties as others. The Chinese community, in particular, have been generous to quite a considerable degree, and I want to take this opportunity tonight to thank them for their generosity. I attended a function, along with the member for McMillan and the member for Reid, at the Marigold Restaurant in Sydney when over $343,000 was handed over to the Australian Red Cross Executive Director, Lewis Kaplan, which was to assist in relation to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal. Russell Broadbent was present and he acknowledged the generosity of this contribution. His electorate had been particularly affected. This donation had been raised by the Australian Chinese Charity Foundation, along with other organisations—some of the Tongs and Sze Yup Societies of Sydney, the six Lions Clubs, the Wayin Network and the Australian Chinese Chamber of Trade and Commerce. The two individuals behind this act of generosity were Peter Wong, President of the Australian Chinese Charity Foundation, and Hudson Chen, along with Benjamin Chow, Monica Chu and Katie Young.

This organisation has been generous before. It raised considerable funds to assist those afflicted by bushfires in New South Wales. It raised moneys to assist with the earthquake in East Timor, floods in China, the tsunami, the earthquake in Pakistan, the snowstorms in China and the Sichuan earthquake, all of which demonstrate the breadth of their charity. Mr Zhao Shang Yan gave $188,888.88 and Mr Henry Ngai of ABC Tissues gave over $50,000. It demonstrates that the Chinese community are very much engaged and very generous. The function I attended with my colleagues was also attended by His Excellency Mr Wu Shan, Consul General of the Peoples Republic of China in Sydney.

Lest it be thought that this was the only activity amongst the Chinese community, I think it should be acknowledged that there were other major fundraising activities that took place in Sydney during this last week. The Committee for the Peaceful Unification of China, under Mr William Chiu; the Chinese Opera Group; my former state parliamentary colleague Helen Sham-Ho; and the Inner West Group also raised funds. Mr William Chiu’s support through the Committee for the Peaceful Unification of China raised more than $200,000.

So it can be seen that amongst the Chinese community in Sydney in less than a week more than half a million dollars was raised for the Victorian Bushfire Appeal. I think that, if anybody were questioning the commitment of our broader culturally diverse community to our society and its values and all that it is about, they would only have to contemplate the enormity of this generosity to understand their commitment to this nation. (Time expired)