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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-02-06 Daily Xml
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VIETNAMESE NEW YEAR

Mrs VLAHOS (Taylor) (15:29): Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and congratulations on your appointment. You have served us well over the preceding months and it is a pleasure to call you by your official title.

I would like to speak today on an event I have had the pleasure of attending several times before: the Vietnamese Farmers Association annual Vietnamese new year celebration, which took place this year a week earlier, last Saturday, at the Virginia Community Centre at Port Wakefield Road, Virginia. It was great to return to the traditional side of this celebration with the local farmers and broader Vietnamese community in the northern suburbs of Adelaide last week.

With me on the occasion, after visiting the Tết festival, was the Lieutenant Governor of South Australia and Chairman of the Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission, Hieu Van Le, and his wife, Lan; Mr Phung Phuong Duy of the Hoa Hao Buddhist congregation within my electorate; federal member for my area, Nick Champion (member for Wakefield); the Hon. Jing Lee and David Ridgway from the other place; and the Mayor of the City of Playford, Mr Glen Docherty.

Particularly, it was lovely to see Tung Ngo, the Labor candidate for the upper house in the forthcoming state election with his longstanding connection to the farmers federation and the broader northern area and the Vietnamese community, and also Thanh Phu Nguyen, the President of the Vietnamese Farmers Association, and members of the broader committee and their families. This year is the year of the snake, and each year as the zodiac turns we learn of the features of the different zodiac signs.

This year, the South Australian Vietnamese farming community was celebrating a very successful year, not just the arrival of the new year but how they have achieved so much since 1991. They have supported each other and helped build strong relationships both within their internal community but also with the government and the broader South Australia community. They have also worked hard to maintain their Vietnamese cultural traditions, and wonderful events like this, where my children and I actually wore traditional Vietnamese clothing, are a great way of celebrating that.

We are grateful for the richness they have bestowed on our local community. The Vietnamese community has made an enormous contribution both culturally and economically both with produce and with their children now growing up in the South Australian community becoming doctors, lawyers and contributing in different ways. There is a warmth and a generosity in this community that is something that is to be experienced and I always enjoy spending time with them.

I also enjoyed on Saturday night presenting my annual youth leadership award to David Huynh, a third-year chemistry university student, who won a $150 voucher chosen by the farmers association. I am glad that I donate it every year to that community and they make that selection, and I look forward to continuing that over the coming years.

In conclusion, I would like to congratulate the Vietnamese Farmers Association for yet another fantastic celebration and fundraising event, and I wish them every happiness, good fortune and prosperity in 2013, the year of the snake. Chúc mù'ng năm mó'i!

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