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

'Gongxi facai!' to all who've been celebrating the lunar new year and welcoming the Year of the Rabbit and bidding farewell to the Year of the Tiger. Like you, Mr Speaker, I attended some lunar new year celebrations on the weekend—with a huge crowd on the rooftop of Sunnybank Plaza. It was a wonderful celebration with line dancers weaving through the crowds and lots of kids. The rooftop celebrations were scheduled back in 2020 but were cancelled each year due to the pandemic, but this year the organisers were able to go ahead. They were filled with lots of children wearing bunny ears, dance, music, performers and floating red lanterns—all with a backdrop of a beautiful Brisbane sunset. The night ended with some fireworks as well. In the Chinese zodiac, 2023, the Year of the Rabbit, is predicted to be a year of hope, as I'm sure the Prime Minister would be apprised of.

May this year bring not only hope but also peace, harmony and tranquillity. I especially want to say, 'Happy birthday!' to one of the special rabbits in my life, a bloke from St George, Wayne Long, whose birthday it is today. He's a Kamilaroi man with Chinese ancestry who's been having a hard time of it lately. So happy birthday, Wayne. Let's have a good year. Gongxi facai! Xin nian kuai le!