Hoa Hao Buddhist Festival

Mrs VLAHOS (Taylor) (15:31): Hardly surprising, from the person opposite. I would like to speak this afternoon on the 75^th anniversary of the foundation of the Hoa Hao Buddhist faith when I recently attended an event in Virginia with the community there. The Hoa Hao community is a Buddhist religion that was founded in Vietnam in 1939, sited near the original Hoa Hao village in Chau Doc province, which I visited in October.

Their founder, Huynh Phu So, was born in 1919 and, after a life of weakness and infirmity, he was miraculously healed and began to proclaim his doctrines of Buddhist reform through his national area. Hoa Hao Buddhism is part of the reform area of Theravada Buddhism and stresses a simplifying doctrine and practice that is based around the western area of the Mekong Delta. There are no grand buildings or massive monuments in evidence. People honour their parents, love their country, respect Buddhism and its teaching, and love their fellow man. Their earth-coloured robes reflect their agricultural connection to the land. Many of them are farmers.

The religion came to be here in South Australia around 28 years ago in 1986. In the electorate of Taylor, there are around 40 families (around 100 people) who are followers of Hoahaoism. The majority of the Hoa Hao followers live in Virginia and make their living as farmers and market gardeners and contribute greatly to the economic development of the northern suburbs. Theirs is a strong faith, and followers have been using a shed in Virginia to honour their founder, Huynh Phu So, for many years. This year's festival was indeed particularly special as it was a national congregation gathering.

The annual festival occurs in the fifth month of the lunar calendar or June/July. The festival attracts many guests, community leaders and local residents. On 21 June this year, the followers of the congregation marked this 75^th anniversary by inviting Lieutenant-Governor Hieu Van Le (our incoming Governor), legislative councillors Tung Ngo and Kelly Vincent and me to celebrate with them. Even though the numbers of Hoa Hao followers are small compared with other religious areas in this state, they play an important role in the Vietnamese community, and in the South Australian community as a whole, through their generosity. For 75 years, their Buddhism has helped guide and support them through many troubled times of profound change in Vietnam, particularly those who arrived in Australia as refugees.

The triumph of this faith and its celebration of 75 years is a significant one. Having visited the Hoa Hao temples in Chau Doc in October last year, I understand firsthand the challenges and difficulties these people have faced in practising their religion due to the efforts of the Vietnamese government to control and restrict their religious activities. I pay my respect to these brave individuals who have fought for the freedom of their religion and their nation. Freedom of religion is a vital part of a multicultural society and, here in Australia, they are welcome to practise their faith freely, and I welcome them to our community.