Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to thank the Chinese Club of Queensland and President Michael Chan for inviting me to be part of their wonderful annual Chinese New Year dinner. This year was no exception. It was a wonderful evening. Master of Ceremonies Frank Liu put a lot of planning into the night, as always. He particularly oversees the entertainment for the evening. My invitation arrived last November; although it was sad not to have his father Eddie Liu with us for a second year, I know Eddie would have been very proud of the organisation of this evening.

It is a very significant event and it was noted that it has been going since 1953. They have always had the governor in attendance; indeed in 1953 the then Governor, Sir Henry Abel Smith, was the first governor to attend. We were joined by his Excellency Paul de Jersey and his wife on Saturday night.

The Chinese Club of Queensland has noted that it is the year of the goat or the sheep. The Prime Minister asked me to represent him by reading his message on the night. I thought that the sheep, perhaps, is more significant to Australia given the fact that, as a young nation, our wealth was built on the back of the sheep. Possibly the sheep is a better omen and symbol for Australia going forward. The Prime Minister also mentioned in his speech the fact that President Xi was with us late last year as part of the G20 and in his address— (Time expired)