OZASIA FESTIVAL

The Hon. P. CAICA (Colton) (15:14): My question is to the Minister Assisting the Minister for the Arts. What will be the highlights of the upcoming 2013 OzAsia Festival?

Mr WILLIAMS: Point of order: surely that is not a serious question. Surely that is a theoretical question and is surely not a serious question.

The SPEAKER: No, the OzAsia Festival, I believe, will happen and I believe it has a program, and the minister is about to tell us about it.

Mr WILLIAMS: I do not know how the minister can possibly work out in advance what the highlights are going to be.

The SPEAKER: The anticipated highlights. The minister.

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Point of order, sir.

The SPEAKER: This had better be a good point of order.

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Standing order 97: the question contains argument and assumption that there will be highlights.

The SPEAKER: I am very tempted to have the member for Stuart leave the chamber. That is a bogus point of order designed to obstruct the business of the house. I call him to order and I warn him for the first time. The minister.

The Hon. C.C. FOX (Bright—Minister for Transport Services, Minister Assisting the Minister for the Arts) (15:15): Thank you, Mr Speaker, and for those on the opposite side, I can assure you that there will be highlights and I suggest that you actually attend a festival, perhaps, member for Stuart, and then you will find out for yourself. Last week, the program for the 2013 OzAsia Festival was launched, and there are items in it which may be of interest. Since it began in 2007, the OzAsia Festival has been a very successful vehicle for celebrating and enjoying the rich artistic and cultural traditions of Asia, as well as the increasingly strong links with Australian culture.

The OzAsia Festival has helped to position South Australia as a leader in Asian-Australian cultural engagement and continues to do so. The festival helps us to understand the diversity and dynamism of contemporary Asia. It acknowledges the significant cultural contribution of Asian culture to Australia's multicultural identity. As with previous years, the 2013 program encompasses theatre, dance, music, film, literature, exhibitions and food. It is important to note that the OzAsia Festival has great support from South Australians, Asian communities, audiences and sponsors. This festival also continues to garner an excellent reputation on a national level. It will run from 13 September until 29 September. It plays host to 28 performances and 47 events, featuring 195—

An honourable member: Just the highlights will do.

The SPEAKER: Just the highlights.

The Hon. C.C. FOX: Just the highlights?

The SPEAKER: Yes.

The Hon. C.C. FOX: Well, there are so many, Mr Speaker, but let me speak about one in particular. Those opposite can jeer and laugh at the arts, but it is very interesting. In relation to the highlights, those opposite seem to be quite happy to turn up at the launch of programs with highlights, at the arts events that are highlighted here, and yet in this place their colleagues ridicule it. So, perhaps you should work out where you stand on the arts, whether you—

The Hon. G. Portolesi: It's pretty clear.

The Hon. C.C. FOX: It's pretty clear: a bunch of philistines.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. C.C. FOX: So you are happy to turn up and eat and drink, but you want to mock them here. That is a very unusual combination.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: Why don't you get one?

The SPEAKER: I call the member for West Torrens to order and I ask the minister—nay, I instruct her—to give us some highlights.

The Hon. C.C. FOX: Okay, here is a—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. C.C. FOX: I think you will find that the Moon Lantern Festival is one of the most popular highlights not only of the OzAsia Festival but actually of every single festival that occurs in South Australia. It is attended by hundreds—nay, thousands—of children and their families, and is enjoyed by people from all over this great state. You will be pleased to know, member for Chaffey—because I know he is a great supporter of the arts; he is arts all over!—that there are even people from the regions who come to enjoy this, so great is its reputation. So, can I encourage those opposite—particularly the member for Stuart, the raging artistic fiend that he is—to come on in and enjoy one of our festivals, instead of just sitting there and knocking it, because everything that is good about this state—

The SPEAKER: Yes, that will be quite sufficient, minister. Thank you. The deputy leader.