Dave Sharma (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tomorrow, when the full moon is apparent in the sky, the Chinese Australian community will celebrate the Mid-Autumn or Moon Festival. This is a festival that traditionally marks the end of the harvest season in the Northern Hemisphere, but it has come to take on significance not only for the gathering of crops but also for the gathering of family—giving thanks, hopefully, for a bountiful harvest season in traditional times, but more recently giving thanks for family friendships, relationships and prosperity—and to pray and offer wishes for children, for longevity and for a brighter future. I want to wish the Australian Chinese community a very happy Mid-Autumn festival. There are about 1.4 million Australians of Chinese heritage or descent, many in my own state of New South Wales and in my home town of Sydney, and I know they will be preparing moon cakes and making arrangements to eat at one another's house or dine out, to celebrate the good fortune that has seen them make their own home in Australia and to wish for good times ahead.

The Chinese Australian community has made a massive contribution to our country, and it continues to do so today. Many of the students studying here are from China, many of our strongest trade links have been forged using our Chinese Australian diaspora, and of course mainland China remains our single largest trading partner and one of our major export destinations. So I want to extend my warm wishes for a happy and prosperous Mid-Autumn Festival, give my best wishes to the Chinese Australian community for the years ahead and thank them for their many contributions. Happy Moon Festival, Australia's Chinese community.