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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-08-28 Daily Xml
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Chinatown Adelaide South Australia

The Hon. J.S. LEE (Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (00:36): I move:

That this council—

1. Congratulates Chinatown Adelaide South Australia (CASA) Inc. for achieving a special milestone of 20th anniversary;

2. Recognises that CASA’s annual Lunar New Year Street Party has become a flagship event that promotes Adelaide as an inclusive multicultural city that embraces cultural diversity and celebrations valued by Chinese, Asian and all communities in South Australia;

3. Commends the longstanding contributions made by founding members, current and past presidents, committee members and volunteers of CASA and thanks them for their dedication and hard work over the past 20 years; and

4. Recognises the strong collaboration of CASA with local Chinatown traders, business community, business precincts partners (including Central Market, Grote Street and Gouger Street precincts), community groups and other stakeholders to support initiatives and activities that promote Chinatown as a multicultural melting pot and popular destination for tourists, international students, migrants and our South Australian community.

It is a great honour to move this motion to congratulate Chinatown Adelaide South Australia for reaching their significant milestone of their 20th anniversary this year. It would be fair to observe that every vibrant multicultural city in the world would have an area designated as Chinatown. From New York City to old London town—that sounds like a song, doesn't it?—areas known as Chinatown exist throughout the world.

It may come as a surprise to many that Binondo, in Manila in the Philippines, is recognised as the world's oldest Chinatown. It was established in 1594. Early examples outside Asia include San Francisco's Chinatown in the United States and Melbourne's Chinatown in Australia, which were founded in the early 1850s during the gold rushes period.

Chinatown in Adelaide began to grow in the 1970s and 1980s with the influx of Asian migrants particularly from Vietnam and South-East Asia. Produce was sold at the Central Market by hardworking market gardeners, and this began the growth of the Asian food shops, retail outlets, restaurants and cafes in the area. Our Chinatown is an important social and economic centre for the Chinese and Asian community and proudly stands as South Australia's popular multicultural melting pot for the locals as well as for tourists, migrants and international students.

I have a long association with Chinatown Adelaide South Australia, and today I would like to acknowledge its contribution over the last two decades. Chinatown Adelaide South Australia, known as CASA, is a non-profit organisation which was founded in late 2003 by traders, property owners and community-minded individuals of the Chinatown precinct. The success and contributions of CASA would not be possible without the hard work of the committee members and volunteers who contribute their knowledge, skills, time, financial resources and energy to make sure CASA remains an active organisation that allows the Chinatown community to continue to support each other in their growth and prosperity.

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge all the past presidents of CASA for their contributions and strong leadership. I have had the privilege to work with all of the past presidents over the 20 years. I would like to put my thanks on the public record to thank them for their unwavering support and friendship for our community over the years and acknowledge these community leaders for their dedication and enduring service.

These past presidents include David Wong, the founding president; George Chin, who served as president three times; Irena Zhang, who served as president twice; Cathy Chong AM; Peter Yang; Eric Lai; Herman Chin and Tianbo Zhang. These past presidents have paved the way for the next generation of leaders, committee members and volunteers. Many of these past presidents continue to provide advice and mentorship for the current committee.

I would also like to acknowledge the current committee that consists of president, Wayne Chao; vice presidents, Long Chen, LinLin Yu and Ye Yang; secretary, Jingjing Hang, treasurer, Yidan Wang; and committee members, Jiaqi Wang, Xuerong Bu, Yiming Yin and Jing Mao.

Since its establishment 20 years ago, CASA has held many successful events and has participated in other events, which have always been well supported by the governors, members of parliament, local, state and foreign dignitaries, leaders and members of business and other communities.

The largest and most recognisable amongst all of these events is the annual Lunar New Year Street Party. The Lunar New Year Street Party is Chinatown's flagship event and promotes the culture, heritage and traditions of Chinese and other Asian communities. This event has grown to embrace cultural diversity and celebrations valued by all multicultural communities in our state and showcases Adelaide as an inclusive and diverse multicultural city.

CASA organised the first street party on 24 January 2004 on Moonta Street, Chinatown. This first event not only celebrated 2004 Lunar New Year, it was also the inauguration of CASA and the groundbreaking ceremony of the new southern Chinatown gateway. As a result of the successful hosting of the 2004 street party, CASA won the prestigious Community Event of the Year Award presented by the Adelaide City Council in conjunction with the 2005 Australia Day celebrations.

By 2008, the Lunar New Year Street Party had expanded their cultural performances to include for the first time members from the Burmese, Filipino, Indian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean and Thai communities, making it a truly multicultural event. The Lunar New Year Street Party is now the largest celebration of its kind in South Australia, with over 25,000 visitors flooding Gouger and Moonta streets to enjoy this spectacular cultural event each year. The whole precinct would transform into an Asian village, with community coming together to watch dragon and lion dance, plus other colourful cultural performances.

CASA has also played a role over the years in supporting and hosting events for various Asian communities, acting as a central point for local council and other peak bodies and have facilitated sister-city receptions and Olympic and Paralympic fundraisers. Since 2017, CASA has also participated in the OzAsia Festival.

In addition to supporting festivals and social activities, CASA has been at the forefront of providing emergency support to those in need. For instance, in 2018, a fire in the Chinatown precinct caused an estimated $2 million in damage, destroying an Asian supermarket, a restaurant and severely damaging a number of shops. Based on my strong relationship with CASA, I was the first member of parliament to meet with the CASA leadership team on site to speak to the traders impacted by this devastating blaze and I saw firsthand the damage and distress the fire caused to business people and their staff.

Without any hesitation, CASA immediately jumped in, in a short space of time, and garnered supporters to put together the 2018 Chinatown Fire Appeal fundraising event to help support the recovery of small businesses and staff affected by the fire. It was a privilege to support the fundraiser with Chinatown traders and Adelaide's wider business and multicultural communities.

CASA has always maintained a strong focus on promoting the success and vibrancy of the Chinatown business precinct, partnering with its neighbouring precinct partners, including Central Market Quarter, Grote Street Business Precinct and Gouger Street Traders Association to advocate for and support the local business community.

In January 2020, I was proud to join with the former Premier, the Hon. Steven Marshall, and former Lord Mayor, councillors, traders and friends to launch a lighting project on Moonta Street in Chinatown. The Marshall Liberal government contributed $500,000 towards the Moonta Street reinvigoration project, which saw a total $4 million upgrade to the cultural heart of Chinatown. This investment supported the delivery of mural art, modern functional lighting throughout the street, and a spectacular creative lighting installation.

During the darkest time of the COVID pandemic, cafes, restaurants and businesses in Chinatown were in great pain. No-one felt safe to go out. Businesses within Chinatown were struggling to survive without customers. The CASA committee felt that it was important to raise morale and confidence within the precinct, and I had the privilege to join the former Governor, His Excellency the Hon. Hieu Van Le, for a site visit to Chinatown organised by the CASA committee during the pandemic to meet with businesses, community leaders and volunteers to show our support for the Chinatown precinct during those challenging times.

Through my social media I published photos of our visit, and subsequent visits to Chinatown at every opportunity, to encourage everyone in our community to hashtag #ShowYourLove, #showyoursupport, #supportourlocals and come to Chinatown for shopping, eating and catching up with friends and family, to ensure that the precinct is not forgotten. I thank everyone who has participated in the return to Chinatown campaign, particularly the CASA committee and members.

In addition to the many events and community groups that CASA has supported over the years, they have also played an important role in assisting international students and new migrants from China and Asia to integrate seamlessly into the larger South Australian community. CASA works closely with a number of community organisations to help provide pathways and services to support international students in Adelaide to engage broadly with our Australian community, to help them build life skills and volunteering experience, and foster a sense of belonging with the local community.

Once again, thank you to the president, past presidents, committee members and volunteers of Chinatown Adelaide of South Australia for their outstanding contributions over the last 20 years. I look forward to working with CASA to achieve greater success and a brighter future ahead. I wholeheartedly commend this motion.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.

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