HONG KONG AUSTRALIA BUSINESS ASSOCIATION

The Hon. J.S. LEE (15:28): It is with great pleasure that I rise today to congratulate the Hong Kong Australia Business Association (HKABA) South Australian chapter on their successful 2013 business awards. I was honoured to be invited to this spectacular awards dinner. The black tie event was very well supported by the South Australian business community and industry leaders. Special guests in attendance included Lieutenant-Governor Hieu Van Le; the state Liberal leader, Steven Marshall; the shadow minister for industry and trade, Martin Hamilton-Smith; and other distinguished guests.

My heartfelt congratulations to Mike Higgs (President) and Patrick Ho (Immediate Past President) and the team for organising yet another successful Hong Kong ABA-SA awards event on 19 July 2013. I have had a long-term interest in and direct connection with the awards for more than a decade. I was the vice-president of the HKABA-SA chapter back in 2001, and it was a privilege to be the inaugural chair for the business awards. Honourable members may be interested to know that the inaugural awards event was launched by one of our esteemed colleagues in this chamber, the former minister for industry and trade the Hon. Rob Lucas, on 18 August 2001. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of successive presidents, chairs and committee members, I am delighted that the business awards program has gone from strength to strength. It deserves the highest recognition and its strong standing in the business community.

The business awards recognise and promote the achievements of South Australian companies that have made a substantial contribution to the economic, trade and cultural relationships between South Australia, Hong Kong and China. There are five business award categories, and I would like to congratulate all the finalists, and specifically mention the winners, on their outstanding achievements.

In the category of Contribution to Professional and Financial Services, the winner was the Confucius Institute at the University of Adelaide. I congratulate Professor Mobo Gao, Dr Ning Zhang and the team at the Confucius Institute. As a proud ambassador for the Confucius Institute I know first-hand about its extensive work and achievements.

In the category of Contribution to Tourism, Hospitality and Recreation, the winner was the Adelaide Festival Centre's OzAsia Festival. As a fan and great supporter of OzAsia, I offer my congratulations to Douglas Gautier, Jacinta Thomson and the team for winning this award for the second time. OzAsia has continued to impress audiences with multidimensional Australian/Asian performances.

In the category of Export of Goods and/or Services to Hong Kong/China, the winner was Pitcher Partners. I congratulate Andrew Faulkner and his team on providing a full suite of accounting and business services to the business community. The Adelaide firm set up a dedicated China advisory team in 2009 and led a successful China business delegation in partnership with ANZ earlier this year.

In the category of Import of Goods and/or Services from Hong Kong/China, the winner was Flavio Sandstone. I congratulate Flavio Condelli and his team for being at the forefront of developing precast sandstone products for the ever-expanding designer landscaping market. They have successfully grown their business by adding imported outdoor lifestyle products to their range and serving the needs of their customers.

The final, but not least, award category is that of Entrepreneur of the Year. The winner was Janice Fok of Craneford Wines. Janice heads up the company's business operation in Hong Kong and China, and has been a catalyst in the formation of an Australian-owned import and export company based in Guangzhou. The company exports about 60 containers of wine per year. Her skills and experience in expanding the distribution networks in Hong Kong and China and managing the complex company structures made her a standout as Entrepreneur of the Year. These were all well-deserved winners indeed.

The awards event this year was a full-on program managed by two talented MCs, Graham Wakeling, from in-business magazine, and Chris Carpenter, from Coast FM radio. It was a great night, and the smooth proceedings delivered the sensation of excitement, inspiration and entertainment. Highlights included the exciting awards presentation ceremony, the outstanding keynote presentation by the former minister for foreign affairs, the Hon. Alexander Downer AC, and an impressive fundraising effort for the ICU at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

I would like to place on record my appreciation of, and acknowledge, the 2013 organising committee, consisting of Darren Wilson, Mike Higgs, Patrick Ho, Malinda Kuo, Frank Bueti, Tony DeCorso, Frank Cutillo, Edmund Ng, Becky Li, Ivy Xu and Jing Li. All in all, the HKABA put together a showcase of business and industry excellence and demonstrated its compassion for charity work by raising approximately $10,000 for the RAH ICU. Congratulations to everyone for their wonderful achievements and contributions.