Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to acknowledge and praise the great contribution by the Lions Club of Brisbane Chinese. I went to their changeover dinner on Saturday night at the Landmark Restaurant in Sunnybank, which has the best food in Brisbane. I am sure the member for Forde would agree with that. I was there with Peter Russo and Duncan Pegg, the state members, and a few other elected representatives. We saw the outgoing president, Ron Yap, hand over to the new president, Johnson Chen, and the installation of a new committee.

The Lions Club of Brisbane Chinese is 20 years old. It does a great service to our community, and not just around Brisbane. It has also had links to an orphanage in Sichuan Province. It has a real international focus. As anyone who is a Lion—I know many MPs are; I am a member of the Lions Club Macgregor, although not the best member—would know, the Lions clubs do great work around the world. The 1.4 million Lions Club members are able to serve their communities in all sorts of ways.

I particularly commend Johnson Chen, who said he was going to have a focus on international work. This is significant at a time when, unfortunately, the aid we are delivering overseas has decreased. Johnson Chen has made a commitment to having a focus on reaching out internationally to do good—to look after our local community but also reach out to the Sichuan Province orphanage. (Time expired)