Warren Entsch (Leichhardt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about one of the most important cultural festivals in the Cairns and Far North Queensland calendar. Now in its 15th year, thousands of locals, domestic visitors and international tourists from mainland China and Hong Kong will descend on our beautiful city to celebrate Chinese lunar new year. This year will be no different. There will be an estimated 25,000 people saying 'zai jian'—goodbye—to the year of the rooster and welcoming the year of the dog. Our overseas visitors, many on charted flights, will give our local tourism sector a massive boost. This influx of Chinese visitors will be extremely welcome by our tourism and hospitality operators after the debacle last year with the Queensland Palaszczuk government selling out Cairns in favour of direct flights to Brisbane.

Cairns has always had a very rich Chinese heritage and culture, spanning more than a century. Grafton Street precinct will come alive over the coming weeks with Chinese dancers, delicious food and cultural displays. One of the highlights of this year—as it is every year—will be the street festival on 24 February. However, Cairns' Chinese new year wouldn't be the success it is today without the vision and continued support of the Cairns and District Chinese Association, especially under the leadership of the festival director, Nathan Lee Long, and his amazing team of volunteers. Mr Lee Long has been a passionate advocate for his community and a driving force behind the Chinese new year celebrations. It's people like Mr Lee Long who make Cairns a rich and vibrant community and one that I'm proud to call my home. (Time expired)

Apology to Australia's Indigenous Peoples: 10th A nniversary

Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It was a remarkable honour this morning to be in the Great Hall of the parliament for this, the 10th anniversary of the apology to the stolen generations of Indigenous people. I pay tribute to the survivors of the successive stolen generations, their families and their kin for their grace, their good humour, their thoughtfulness and their forgiveness—the forgiveness they offer to us that we might reconcile our dark history and create a better future for the first peoples of this nation.

I ask members opposite, I ask the cabinet, I ask all those in the ministry, I ask the Prime Minister: where were you? A few members opposite have paid their respects today—Senator Scullion, the member for Hasluck, the member for Grey, and there may have been others. But, for the most part, members of the Liberal and National parties here in this parliament failed to even turn up to a celebration of the most significant days in the history of this parliament and the history of the nation. Where were you all? Where was the Prime Minister? What was so important? What could you not drop to come along to pay your respects to the stolen generation here today? Were you all following the example set by the member for Dickson 10 years ago to this day when he failed to turn up to the apology to the stolen generations? Is that your moral compass these days? This country deserves better than a disrespectful government.