9 October 1999
E&OE……………………………………………………………………………………….
Mr Tommy Wong; to Bill Honeywood, representing the Premier of Victoria; to Wellington Lee, the Deputy Lord Mayor of Melbourne, all the other distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
I am delighted on behalf of the Australian Government and the people of Australia to welcome the guests from around the world to this Chinese Entrepreneurs’ Convention, the fourth of its kind being held here in the city of Melbourne.
This Convention and particularly tonight’s gathering is a celebration of the contribution that ethnic Chinese people have made not only to Australia but also to the life and to the economies and to the societies of many nations.
Australia is very grateful for the contribution that Chinese people have made to the development of our community. The Chinese have made a massive contribution to the modern Australian, although their part in Australian society goes back to the 19th Century. In modern Australia we can find ethnic Chinese in all walks of life – in business, in the professions, in politics, in the arts, in sport, in entertainment, in every aspect of Australian life Chinese Australians are making an enormous contribution.
This Convention particularly solutes the entrepreneurial streak that is to be found in Chinese all around the world and Australia is no exception. In every part of Australian business the beneficial impact of participation of ethnic Chinese people is to be found and as a consequence there is benefit and value and a positive outcome for the entire Australian community. And what this convention, I know, has celebrated and deliberated about over the past few days has been that common bond, that entrepreneurial spirit and strength which is a common feature wherever Chinese communities are found throughout the world.
I’m very conscious that tonight there is represented in the official gathering representatives of the various communities and nations in our region with which Australia has very close friendships. We, of course, have a very important relationship with the People’s Republic of China, the most populous nation on earth. And recently the President of that country, President Jiang Zemin, undertook the first ever State visit to Australia by a Chinese President. He was welcomed to this country as the leader of a very big nation and a nation with which Australia has been able to develop a constructive relationship. We have our differences with China but we have a lot of points of common interest and similarity. And it has been the goal of my Government to develop a relationship with the People’s Republic based on common interests and a sharing of goals, pragmatic, practical goals, that can be achieved.
There are other societies, of course, within our region. We have a strong commercial relationship with Taiwan which is totally consistent with the Government’s maintenance of a ‘one China’ policy. We have very close relations with the Republic of Singapore. And, of course, the migration to Australia of ethnic Chinese people has not only been from the People’s Republic of Taiwan but has also been from Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and other parts of the Asian Pacific region. But whatever their original homeland the Chinese of Australia have become wonderful Australian citizens. They are a welcome and a well-respected part of the modern Australian community. And here in Melbourne it is impossible to imagine what the modern life of the city of Melbourne would be like without the contribution in so many ways of Australian-Chinese. But what is particularly noticeable and what is particularly positive is the contribution that the Chinese-Australians make to business, to the entrepreneurial spirit.
The Australian economy is experiencing very strong growth. It is fair to say that the Australian economy, over the past 12 months, has outperformed just about every economy in our region. We have been able to come through the Asian economic downturn without damage. Everyone has played a part in that. The Government has played a part. The broader Australian community has played a part. The businessmen and women of Australia have played a part and amongst them, of course, the Chinese businessmen and women of our country have played a very significant part. As Australians they have shared the achievements of the last year. As Australians they will share with the rest of their fellow countrymen and women the future that we have as we go into the 21st Century.
Australia as a nation seeks a friendly partnership with the communities and the other nations of the Asian Pacific region. We respect the values and the cultures of other societies and they in turn accept and respect the values of our distinctive Australian culture.
I, therefore, as Prime Minister of Australia, as the leader of the Australian Government, on behalf of all of our visitors from all around the world, I welcome you to the city of Melbourne. I hope that you have enjoyed Australian hospitality. I hope that you take from this convention some fond memories of the friendliness and the hospitality of the Australian people. You have been very welcome and I hope you take away from Australia from me and from the Australian Government the belief that the Chinese of Australia have made a great contribution to our community, that they are respected and loved and valued citizens of the broader Australian society, that they have brought to Australia as they have brought to every nation in the world to which they have gone, they have brought the principles of strong commitment to families, their strong small business commitment, their strong understanding of commerce and their great capacity to practise and achieve the entrepreneurial skills for which they are famous.
I hope you have an enjoyable night. I thank you again for honouring Australia and the city of Melbourne with your presence and I hope you leave our country with very fond recollections of all of us.
[Ends]