Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

'Chuc Mung Nam Moi', 'Gong Hei Fat Choy', and 'Xinnian kuaile'. Lunar New Year is an important time for many people within my electorate. Happy New Year to all those Melburnians celebrating the Year of the Rooster. Thank you for all that you do to make Melbourne the place that it is today.

The Victoria Street Lunar Festival is a major fixture in Melbourne's cultural calendar that has gone from strength to strength, bringing tens of thousands of people to Victoria Street, Richmond, every year. An extra drawcard this year was summer's newest sport, the first ever pho-eating competition. Congratulations to Meca Ho, the Victoria Street Business Association and to all who contributed to the huge success of this year's festival. It was a pleasure to join the Australian Vietnamese Women's Association in their celebration. I was proud also to secure a grant through the Stronger Communities Program that allowed the AVWA to commission a mural celebrating Vietnamese culture that now has a pride of place in North Richmond. The Yarra Chinese Friendship Association in celebrated the new year with dumplings and music, and many Yarra residents attended. Thanks to Xiao Yue Wang for her ongoing tireless work. I am looking forward to celebrating with the Indochinese Elderly Refugees Association at their annual celebration and lunch in Ascot Vale later this week. And later this month, Collingwood residents from all communities and cultural backgrounds will come together to celebrate the Year of the Rooster with performances and by sharing one of Kim Chua's famous banquets. Thank you to Bich-Hoa Ha and the whole cohealth team for making this possible.