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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-02-21 Daily Xml
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Tet Festival

Mr FULBROOK (Playford) (15:17): I rise to extend my congratulations to everyone associated with last weekend's Tet Festival. For those unfamiliar, Tet marks the first day of the Lunar New Year and the beginning of spring in Vietnam. The holiday traces its origins back to the early days of Vietnamese settlements in the Red River Delta, when Tet meant a new cycle of wet rice cultivation.

In the interests of transparency, I do point out that one of its main organisers, Mr Tony Pham, is one of three newly elected vice-presidents of the SA Chapter of the Vietnamese Community in Australia and also a very talented member of my staff. Since I was elected, he has been invaluable in communicating to the many Vietnamese constituents across the communities I represent, and it is great to see him taking the pride he has in his heritage a step further.

Despite the hot weather, this year's Tet was nothing short of a success. With around 4,000 people in attendance at the Vietnamese community's Athol Park community centre, it was a great experience to sample the best of Vietnamese culture with my political colleagues, the Premier, the federal member for Adelaide, Steve Georganas, the member for Cheltenham and, from the other place, the Hon. Justin Hanson, the Hon. Tung Ngo and the Hon. Jing Lee. We were captivated by the incredible lion dance to open events. This year we were treated to five lions. I want to give special praise to the Phap Hoa Lion Dance Group who, despite the heat, displayed incredible athleticism and kept us all enthralled, with firecrackers exploding and clown dancing happening all around us.

It was a big honour, along with the Premier and the Hon. Justin Hanson, to hand-feed them a lettuce at the end of the dance. I understand that this tradition stems from language: in Chinese and Cantonese, a word for leafy greens sounds like a word for becoming wealthy. With that task behind me, I promise to be benevolent if any good fortune comes my way this year.

A key point I want to make about this year's Tet is that it very nearly did not happen. A new management committee was elected last month, and since then they have moved heaven and earth to make the special day happen. As an invited guest who felt spoiled by the community on the day, the very least I can do to repay the kindness is to place on record that the event went without a single glitch. When you think about the amazing food, dance, pyrotechnics, music, speeches and other entertainment all coming together in the space of just over four weeks, it is incumbent on me to offer my praise for them all working incredibly hard. Of course, it takes a village, and we all know the Vietnamese community is renowned for helping and supporting one another.

In saying this, I want to congratulate the new 26th management committee of president Khuyen Tran, Tony Pham, Tien Pham, Quan Chuong, Jennifer Nguyen and Holly Le for their recent election. I could see how proud the elders in the community were to note that membership is made up of the second and third generations. It is also testament to the original migrants who worked so hard to keep their culture and traditions alive. It is fantastic that the foundations they laid are paying off to ensure longevity in their culture locally for many years to come.

I want to make a quick digression and thank my friend Johnny Truong and his team for managing the car park in the scorching heat. I used to work with Johnny in the immigration department around 20 years ago, and since I have been elected it has been great to reconnect with him and get to know his lovely wife, Quin.

In arguably no time at all, the community put together a fantastic event against the clock and next year they will be celebrating their 50th anniversary. Noting that great personnel are now in place, it was the icing on the cake to take a sidestep from celebrations to inspect with the Premier his government's $250,000 investment in their upgraded commercial kitchen.

It is looking like Tet and, indeed, the SA Chapter of the Vietnamese Community in Australia, are in great shape. I congratulate the new management committee on their efforts and encourage the greater South Australian community to get behind them as they prepare for their 50th anniversary celebrations.

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