Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Immigration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It was my honour to welcome His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to Sydney last month on behalf of the Australian government. His All-Holiness is the patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church throughout the world. As the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians, he has become one of the most revered religious figures of our time.

The visit coincided with the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia. The church has helped preserve the culture, language and traditions of Australia's Greek community, connecting more than 400,000 people to their heritage. Thousands of Greek Australians turned out in our community to celebrate this special anniversary, and I was fortunate to join hundreds at St Andrew's Greek Orthodox church in Redfern for a mass presided over by His All Holiness, and the Prime Minister and the Governor of New South Wales were in attendance as well.

I'm proud to represent Kingsford Smith. It has a thriving Greek community, and they were involved in those celebrations. We were deeply honoured by the presence of His All-Holiness during that special time. I want to pay tribute to him for his spiritual guidance to so many in our community. He has worked for the peaceful coexistence of all people. As we reflect with thanks on the past 100 years of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, we have so much reason to be hopeful for the next 100 years as well.

Earlier this month I was delighted to join celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the Australian Chinese Community Association of NSW, in Sydney. It's an incredible journey that the association has taken since it was founded, in 1974, by a group of dedicated volunteers. Since that time it's been a vital part of our community, helping new migrants settle into Australian life. What started as a small service has grown into a broad organisation that provides essential support to so many. Today the Australian Chinese community association employs over 350 staff, who assist around 1,100 clients each week. It celebrates Chinese heritage through language classes, festivals and cultural events, as well as building connected communities through various services, including aged-care and disability services. In our community of people with a Chinese background, they have helped so many with disabilities, allowing them to live independent and fulfilling lives.

I'm very proud that in Kingsford Smith we've got over 23,000 locals with Chinese heritage. In our community, Mandarin is the most spoken language, after English, and Cantonese is the third most spoken language. I want to pay tribute to Christine Mok, the president of the Australian Chinese association, and good friends Ted Tseng and Shirley Chan—Shirley was a previous president—for the hard work they do in our community. Congratulations to the Australian Chinese Community Association of NSW on your 50th anniversary.