Japan Australia Friendship Association

The Hon. J.S. LEE (15:41): It gives me great pleasure to rise today to speak about the Japan Australia Friendship Association (JAFA) and the Kodomo no Hi Japan Festival 2018. The festival is well known as a multi-award event and was presented with the Australia Day Council of South Australia Community Event of the Year Award in 2018 and 2013. In 2013, the City of West Torrens also recognised the festival as the Community Event of the Year Award winner.

It is always a great privilege to be invited by JAFA to the Japan Festival. The organiser and I recalled that the Hon. Rob Lucas, who has a proud Japanese heritage, attended the festival last year. I am sure the Treasurer would agree with me that Kodomo no Hi is a fantastic festival. It is no surprise that it is recognised as the biggest and most popular Japanese festival in Adelaide.

This year, on Sunday 6 May 2018, it was a great honour to attend the festival as the assistant minister to the Premier and represent the Hon. Steven Marshall, the Premier of South Australia, who is also a new patron of JAFA. The government of South Australia would like to thank the Japan Australia Friendship Association for its outstanding work, and especially thank the hardworking president, Mr Mike Dunphy, Mr Ben Sparrow, the dedicated management committee, stallholders, sponsors and an army of volunteers for organising this magnificent event every year as a part of our exciting multicultural calendar for South Australia.

In Japan, Kodomo no Hi means 'Children's Day'. It is a national holiday in Japan on 5 May—a day that is set aside to respect children's personalities and to celebrate the happiness of children and their gratitude towards their mothers. What a beautiful thing to do! Sunday was a perfect sunny day, and the festival drew a massive crowd. People were out and about enjoying wonderful food and many music and cultural performances, including a martial arts demonstration, arts and crafts, dressing up in traditional kimonos and participating in a tea ceremony, just to mention a few.

Kodomo no Hi celebrates its 23^rd anniversary this year. The festival is a celebration of friendship, cultural and social links between the people of Japan and Australia. It was indeed a pleasure to meet Mr Yoshimitsu Kawata, Deputy Consul General for Japan, and his lovely wife on the day of the festival. We spoke about the recent Japanese delegation that visited Adelaide from 1 to 3 May. The visit was arranged to mark the special milestone celebration of the 25^th anniversary of the South Australia Okayama sister state relationship. Our Premier, the Hon. Steven Marshall, was delighted to meet delegates from Japan, and he extended his warm welcome to Australia to the Ambassador of Japan, His Excellency Mr Sumio Kusaka, and the Governor of Okayama Prefecture, His Excellency Mr Ryuta Ibaragi, and many other government officials and members of the Okayama Association of Corporate Executives.

Japan is the world's third largest economy and South Australia's fifth largest export and import market. Currently, some 600 Japanese students are studying in Adelaide. Japan is our state's 10^th largest source market for international students. We are building strong relationships with Japan and our sister state to explore further exports and educational opportunities that South Australia has to offer.

Once again, I place my sincere thanks and heartfelt congratulations to Mike Dunphy and the JAFA team on hosting another fantastic festival for families and community members in Adelaide and South Australia. It was reported that over 6,000 people attended. I am pleased to say that our daughter and two grandchildren were among the 6,000 people. We all had a fantastic time. Once again, I would like to congratulate JAFA on the growth and success of the festival and thank them for their great work in celebrating our links with Japan, which enriches us as a proud multicultural state. Arigato gozaimasu.