Chinese Welfare Services of South Australia Inc.

The Hon. J.S. LEE (19:46): I move:

That this council—

1. Congratulates Chinese Welfare Services of South Australia Inc. for celebrating its 25^th anniversary in 2016;

2. Acknowledges the work and commitment of the committee, staff and volunteers of Chinese Welfare Services for delivering important services to its members and the broader Chinese community of South Australia; and

3. Recognises the importance of their contributions in developing tailored programs and strategic partnerships that are socially inclusive and beneficial to members of the diverse Chinese community residing in South Australia.

I am honoured to rise today to congratulate a wonderful community organisation, namely, Chinese Welfare Services, for celebrating its 25 years of achievements in South Australia. As an Australian with a proud Chinese heritage, it will be no surprise to many that I have known Chinese Welfare Services for the whole time that they have been in existence. Many leaders and founders of the association have known my father and my family for over 25 years.

Every time I walk into a function organised by Chinese Welfare Services, a sense of warmth and happy spirit fills the air. It makes me feel like I am visiting family and friends for a reunion party. There are many respected grandmas and grandpas, uncles and aunties, and brothers and sisters who I call out to. I am grateful for the kindness and generosity of Chinese Welfare Services over the years. The sort of friendship and generosity they have shown me makes me feel very welcome in their community.

I am a proud supporter of Chinese Welfare Services. I feel very privileged to have participated in their activities over the years. I have sang many Chinese New Year songs and birthday songs with them. Every time they celebrate birthdays, I would have 10 different people celebrating their 50^th, 60^th, 70^th, 80^th or 90^th birthdays. If I blew out all the candles, I imagine I would probably be many years older than I am, but it is always very warm and fun to be with them.

I am a great admirer of the leadership, wonderful work and contribution of Chinese Welfare Services. It is important to put my acknowledgement on the public record in recognising their outstanding commitment, dedication and compassion to serve and improve the lives of their members and so many Chinese migrants in South Australia.

As a not-for-profit organisation, Chinese Welfare Services had a humble beginning. It is through hard work and perseverance that the association has reached a remarkable milestone of 25 years. Over a quarter of a century, current and successive committee presidents, staff and volunteers have worked tirelessly to overcome many challenges and implement many successful and innovative programs for their cult members.

Looking back on the history of various Chinese organisations in South Australia, it is interesting to note that welfare services for migrant communities during the seventies and late eighties were fairly minimal. Back then, the only Chinese organisation assisting Chinese migrants was the Indo-Chinese association. During that period, migrants of Chinese heritage arrived in Adelaide from different countries. That means that these Chinese migrants all had different needs and settlement requirements in Australia.

A number of Chinese leaders recognised the need to establish a new organisation to provide more cult-friendly welfare services to cater for an increased number of Chinese migrants coming to Adelaide. To set up a new organisation at the time was not an easy task. A steering committee consisted of Mr Li Wen Jia, Mr Cui Zhijun, Mr Philip Ng and a handful of overseas Chinese students from China. The steering committee agreed that they needed to be incorporated legally as an SA body to get government grants, if necessary, to run a welfare service. They also recognised the need to demonstrate some results, to show the government that they were capable and committed to providing welfare services.

On 29 June 1991, Chinese Welfare Services was incorporated, and later that year it received its first government grant to assist their community. Once Chinese Welfare Services was formed and incorporated, they applied for a grant in aid funding to enable them to employ a full-time worker to provide services to their members. That then allowed them to employ staff and it allowed the Chinese Welfare Services to provide linguistically appropriate services to its members, and this position has continued over the last 25 years.

Presidents and committees have worked tirelessly throughout their terms to ensure the services and programs of Chinese Welfare Services are kept to the highest standards and are responsive to the needs of members and continue to address the concerns of their members and the Chinese community as a whole.

I wish to congratulate every president and committee member, past and present, on their contribution and dedication to the development and advancement of Chinese Welfare Services and the broader Chinese community. Along with a very successful committee, they also have an army of volunteers who give a lot of their time to develop new programs and things that are interesting and appropriate to the cult members within the association.

In 1989, at the beginning of Chinese Welfare Services, they did not have money to rent an office or employ a social worker to lay the foundations. The organising committee was grateful at the time to the Migrant Resource Centre, which provided a free-of-charge small room for clerical support at their Gouger Street office. Since its inception, a number of presidents have contributed greatly to the association and have influenced and had an impact on Chinese Welfare Services in so many different ways.

I would like to put on the public record my special thanks and acknowledgement to past presidents and pioneers of Chinese Welfare Services. The first president was Li Wen Jia, who operated from 1991 to 1995. Under his leadership the first Moon Lantern Festival was organised, along with a number of other events happening that day. I would like to especially mention that Li Wen Jia was one of the founders, together with Philip Ng and Cui Zhijun, who had the foresight to set up the association.

Mr Cui Zhijun deserves a special mention because, although he was not a president at all, he was the first vice-president and served as the longest vice-president for this association, for 12 years. His commitment has been outstanding.

The second president was Mr Joe Leung; he served from 1995 to 1999. He was the brains behind the first Chinese New Year celebration on Gouger Street in Chinatown. Later we know that other associations have taken up that responsibility to organise Chinese New Year festivities. I recall that in one of the speeches made by Philip Ng that he paid tribute to Joe Leung and said that Joe was his mentor. Joe Leung has guided Chinese Welfare Services to the right path of delivering services in a multicultural society. Joe was certainly quite a giant within the Chinese Welfare Services.

The third president was Mr Philip Ng, from 1999 to 2003. Philip (I would call him 'Uncle Philip', because he was a good friend to my father, and he also learned Chinese kung-fu from my dad, Sifu Lee) spent a lot of time with my brothers when we were teenagers. We had many memorable fishing trips together to the countryside in South Australia. Under Philip's leadership Chinese Welfare Services reached out to the broader South Australian community, and had lots of concerts and other events held during that time. They were also able to secure funding for things like the anti-smoking campaign, funded by the Department of Human Services, and also other lectures and art exhibitions during his term as president.

Mrs Esther Soong took over as president between 2003 to 2007, and under her leadership participation in the Australia Day parade became like an annual event for Chinese Welfare Services. A number of projects were actually established, such as the Living in Harmony Project and the first gambling awareness campaign, and she established a Chinese ethnic school, funded by the Ethnic Schools Board, as well as things like the commencing of the home and community care program, and many very relevant programs that were suitable for the Chinese Welfare Services members.

In 2007 to 2011, the wonderful Vivien Shae took over as president. Vivien was a very caring president. She is one of those most wonderful community leaders who would do everything for their members. She introduced things like the Positive Ageing Learning Cross Culturally project, and she also instigated the relocation of Chinese Welfare Services to Grote Street. She has also involved all the elderly and senior citizens in participating in celebrating the Olympics held in Beijing in 2008. They also ran the Sichuan Disaster World Music Concert in the Town Hall. She was very active and made a great contribution and impact to further the advancement of Chinese Welfare Services. In 2010, the Chinese Welfare Services website was then established under Vivien Shae's leadership. She is another wonderful contributor and, believe it or not, she stepped down as president, and now in 2016 she is back again as the president this year.

Mrs Cathy Chong, another wonderful community leader, is well known not only in the Chinese community but in the broader South Australian community. She took over from 2011 to 2015 as the president, and under her leadership new projects and activities for Chinese Welfare Services helped to engage seniors at a very intimate level. She was able to draw such a big crowd of seniors from Chinese Welfare Services to participate in singing classes, in mahjong, in various activities like dancing, etc. The Positive Ageing elements of the Chinese Welfare Services programs have really extended through the leadership of Cathy Chong.

Under her leadership, they also expanded their services in the Commonwealth Home Support Program with their bilingual staff, which is an increasing area of need because the community, as they grow older, go back to their roots more. They were able to enjoy different aspects of this home support program. It allowed them to be in the comfort of their own home and still get very qualified, insightful information about clinicians and visits to various services.

Students in the ethnic school of Chinese Welfare Services have also grown under the leadership of Cathy Chong. More than 100 students were not just learning about language, they were getting an appreciation about dance and Chinese performing arts. It allows students to participate in a way that connects the new generation back to the Chinese culture. Cathy played an enormous role as the president for Chinese Welfare Services. Under her leadership, Chinese Welfare Services also applied successfully for 13 different grants, besides a commonwealth grant that was given to them. Many of the programs benefited a great deal, for all the families as well as the senior citizens who are members of Chinese Welfare Services.

A community like Chinese Welfare Services would not operate so successfully without so many volunteers. There are about 70 volunteers who assist in all their programs and services. These volunteers have worked day and night to build the reputation of Chinese Welfare Services over the years. I have heard stories from various members I have spoken to that if seniors require help at 7, 8 or 9pm, or even when emergency calls are received at 11 or midnight, the volunteers will actually drop everything, wake up from their sleep if they need to, and rush to assist members within their community. It is that sort of spirit that really is the backbone of the community. I would like to congratulate those hardworking volunteers for their ongoing support to the community.

Obviously, in addition to all the presidents, who are volunteers themselves, there are also people like Kam Chiu, who is the executive officer for Chinese Welfare Services. Kam has been a key dynamic driver of many programs. His work commitment is just outstanding. My office has worked with Mr Kam Chiu over many years now. My PA, Haley Welch, has said that he is just a wonderful person to deal with. He is always very courteous and any information that is requested of him is never too hard. He is just a wonderful volunteer, as well as the executive officer of Chinese Welfare Services.

Claudia Cream, who is another well-known identity in the Chinese community, has been able to assist with legal services and is a great fundraiser for the organisation. Michelle Dieu assisted with English classes and helped to apply for various governmental grants. Other key volunteers include Mrs Tam, who single-handedly provides Monday to Friday mahjong classes from 8am to late afternoon. It has almost become a full-time role.

Mr Martin Fong, has been a bookkeeper all these years. Mr Alistair Mackintosh has been another volunteer. Apparently, he was the first Australian volunteer of Chinese Welfare Services since its establishment in 1991. Mr Mackintosh's contribution to Chinese Welfare Services was invaluable. He assisted the organisation in applying for government grants and understanding any correspondence from the Public Service and departments. He stated in one of the newsletters in 2010 that:

Because Chinese Welfare Services is a welfare organisation, it frequently has contact with government departments. This can be different because public service often use their own special language, which is confusing to the general community. When Chinese Welfare Services started I was able to help the committee to understand the pamphlets and leaflets that we received from government departments—

They needed to use appropriate and cultural language—

explaining their words in plain English.

Another volunteer is Yapp Hau Pehn, who needs a mention because he is the honorary legal adviser who has seen all the Chinese Welfare Services' development through the 25 years. Ms Chen, also organised many visitors' groups. Another gentleman I would like to highlight is Bill Bailey. Bill is a longstanding member of Chinese Welfare Services. He said of his involvement in the organisation—he is probably like an Aussie-Chinese now—that everything that the organisation does makes him feel at home. He classifies Chinese Welfare Services as his family.

Because of that family commitment, he presented a very large financial donation to Chinese Welfare Services, in the thousands, and I am not able to disclose the actual amount in my contribution today, but let us say that it is very substantial. To honour Bill's generous contribution, I was delighted to host a parliamentary luncheon last year to acknowledge his generosity. It has been a privilege to host a luncheon with the president and the committee of Chinese Welfare Services.

The Chinese Welfare Services' main objective since establishment has been to assist and support the settlement and social participation of Chinese migrants, as well as promote the Chinese cultural heritage to the wider South Australian community. In addition, it has been a strong voice and advocate for the members of the Chinese community. Through their advocacy, they have contributed to the development of public and government policies that encompass the interests of the Chinese community in South Australia.

Over the last 25 years it has made significant contributions to the cultural understanding and promotion of Chinese culture. It expanded its original membership of 45 in 1991 to now over 1,000 members, which is a significant fellowship of members and supporters. Its strong and unique and tailored programs, that address and continue to support those most vulnerable in the Chinese communities, such as migrants, families, disadvantaged youth and seniors, have been remarkable. So it is great to be able to pay tribute to the work of Chinese Welfare Services.

From providing settlement services to new migrants in the 1990s, Chinese Welfare Services now offers a wide range of services including Chinese language school, aged care, care and support services, with the main focus of assisting the elderly Chinese citizens with activities that enhance better living in our community. Some of the services include centre-based day-care, which involves talk-to-talk senior groups in Cantonese and Mandarin, Friday Fitness, which includes Tai Chi and Qi Gong Kung Fu classes, loving community visiting group, tax help programs, emergency relief, aged-care facility visits, grey power cultural performance at aged-care facilities and volunteer training.

They also conduct Parliament House tours, and I have hosted three of those. It is really lovely to have them in the house because they are very chatty. They want to find out why my chamber here is red and why there are green carpets. They show a lot of enthusiasm when they come through and ask all the questions under the sun, which is wonderful.

One of the major programs offered by Chinese Welfare Services is Home and Community Care—Be a Friend. This is a grant-funded program that provides home support and respite care to seniors who are frail, disabled and suffering from diseases and illnesses such as dementia. The benefit of this program is it enables and encourages those individuals to continue living independently in their own private homes. Many do not need or want to move into aged-care facilities; therefore, such programs assist seniors in staying home longer and more comfortably and really improve their wellbeing.

It is interesting to note that research has shown that many migrants in their senior years revert back to their native language. This can be a problematic issue with migrant seniors unable to be understood when solving day-to-day bills or making appointments to see doctors and for other essential services; therefore, providing multilingual services and programs to this community of Chinese migrants is extremely important. It allows the seniors to live comfortably and safely, of course, without all the stress.

The various projects and activities outlined by me earlier tend to draw seniors out of the house at least twice a week for exercises, for building friendship and mateship, and also for training in various ways. Language training allows them to understand how to access government services, etc. These programs also combine with other welfare associations, which is a core objective of Chinese Welfare Services because it then allows other friendships and strategic partnerships to be built around them.

In 2005, the Living in Harmony and Barriers Removed projects were two of the first community programs that promoted harmony and understanding of other cultures. For example, the project included the visitation of places of different faiths, such as churches and other groups. From this project, Chinese Welfare Services have formed long-lasting partnerships with other communities.

The Barriers Removed project actually linked Chinese Welfare Services with the Latvian, Hungarian and Italian communities. To this day, Chinese Welfare Services' tai chi classes teach more than 60 people, all from different cultural backgrounds. Many, as I mentioned, are from the Latvian, Hungarian and also Italian communities. This cross-cultural network has really benefited and enhanced the multicultural society of South Australia.

Earlier, I spoke about the Ethnic Schools Board. The school of Chinese Welfare Services is funded under the Ethnic Schools Board. The commitment of the school is to teach standard Chinese—Putonghua—and to ensure that such services are available to any child, not just from a Chinese family but any child from an Australian family as well, who wishes to learn Chinese, regardless of their background. The former chair of the Chinese School Management Committee and current president of Chinese Welfare Services, Vivien Shae, has stated that:

We feel that the work of teaching Chinese language and culture at our school is important for the Chinese community in maintaining our language and culture as a whole for the future of our children. Learning is important for every child's identity and is also a children's right. For some children learning one's home language—

mother tongue—

also helps in developing literacy and therefore helps in learning English.

The school itself is not only language based. A number of activities that focus on cultural customs are also taught at the school, such as the Chinese lion dance, cultural songs, poetry writing, lantern making and also arts and crafts that involve traditional arts and craft forms.

It is through this teaching and sharing that Chinese Welfare Services have been extremely successful with mainstream Australians and other migrants. Being able to share their customs and cultural traditions through the Chinese school allows the Chinese culture to be preserved and respected in the wider multicultural community in South Australia. I would like to thank Chinese Welfare Services for continuing to share and teach the Chinese language and culture.

Every year, Chinese Welfare Services have their school and dance groups perform at the OzAsia Festival to showcase Chinese culture and their passion for Chinese performing arts through local talents within a growing Chinese community in South Australia. It is great to see the students loving to be a part of OzAsia. They practise every day leading up to the festival. The OzAsia Festival is well known for its objective of promoting cultural harmony and social inclusion. As an ambassador for OzAsia and the shadow parliamentary secretary for multicultural affairs, I am proud and thrilled to see Chinese Welfare Services playing a wonderful role in supporting OzAsia.

Another significant event I wish to highlight that also promotes social inclusion is the World Music Project. The project was organised in 2008. It extended its community reach by working collaboratively with the African Burundian community, the Spanish community, the Greek community, the Italian community and also the Indian community to bring world music together. It is such a wonderful demonstration of working together towards a harmonious multicultural society. I want to congratulate them on this great initiative.

Another event I would like to highlight is the Brighton school concert with the Shanghai Conservatory of Music High School. This particular project brought them together with the legendary Jeffrey Kong, former head of music at Brighton school. Together, they organised a wonderful cultural concert at Park Lok restaurant. Members of the South Australian community were able to participate and enjoy performances by very talented students from Shanghai as well as local talents from Brighton Secondary School. It was an amazing concert. I was honoured to support this event by bringing a number of tables of friends to support this particular event. It is a great example of the collaboration between the overseas Shanghai Conservatory of Music High School and Brighton Secondary School.

With these very extensive remarks about Chinese Welfare Services, I would like once again to congratulate this wonderful organisation and all the individuals involved on such a remarkable voluntary effort in building this organisation to service the Chinese community of South Australia. With those remarks, I commend the motion to the chamber.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. S.G. Wade.