Chinese New Year Reception - Year of the Wood Snake

Premier of Queensland and Minister for Veterans, the Honourable David Crisafulli MP;  Minister for Finance, Trade, Employment and Training, the Honourable Ros Bates MP;  Mr Speaker, the Honourable Pat Weir;  the Honourable Justice Debra Mullins AO; The Right Honourable, the Lord Mayor of Brisbane, Councillor Adrian Schrinner;  Members of Parliament;  Consul-General of the People’s Republic of China in Brisbane, Dr RUAN Zongze;  Deputy Consul-General, Mr YANG Chengi; Vice Consul, Ms Ruoxi Sun, and Members of the Consular Corps; Mayors; Councillors; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen.

I begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the lands around Brisbane, the Turrbal and Jagera people, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and to any First Nations people here this evening.

Graeme and I are delighted to be with you tonight to welcome the Year of the Wood Snake. On New Year’s Day, in just a week’s time, we will be celebrating the beginning of a year that we hope will be marked not only by the wisdom and intuition of the snake, but by two of the most powerful qualities of the element of wood – creativity and growth.

Those two qualities have been an enduring feature of the relationship between the People’s Republic of China and Queensland since the very beginning of the bilateral relationship we enjoy today – and it’s a relationship that has demonstrated exceptional growth in the 20 years since a consular service was first established in Brisbane.

Back in 2005, the primary purpose of the office was to cater for the growing number of Chinese tourists and international students coming to our State. Still, within just 18 months, the office was upgraded to full Consulate-General status, to support growing Chinese investment in Queensland’s resources, infrastructure, and other sectors.

The opening ceremony on the 24^th of March 2007, conducted by then Vice Premier of People’s Republic of China, His Excellency Mr Zeng Peiyan, was a landmark occasion in the relationship between China and Queensland.

The importance of these consular services has continued to grow as diplomatic and economic ties have expanded, supported by the development of locally based Chinese organisations such as the Queensland Chinese United Council, the Queensland branch of the Australia China Business Council and many, many others.

Members of those organisations are among the guests here tonight, and I take the opportunity, on behalf of all Queenslanders, to thank them for their contribution to both the business and cultural life of our State.

That contribution is vital to sustaining a healthy and stable relationship between our two nations, as is the growing number of agreements between our sister cities, provinces and states.

Graeme and I have personally seen the enormous value of those links during our visit to China last year, and through attending important events here in Brisbane such as Shanghai Ballet’s recent season of The Lady of the Camellias.

Such people-to-people links are the very basis of international understanding and cooperation.

As Dr Ruan said so memorably at a lunch at the Brisbane Club last year: “The development of China-Australia relations is not about changing each other but about shaping better versions of ourselves.”

May the year of the Wood Snake bring us all the wisdom to continue to work towards that goal.

With that, I would like to wish you all a happy Chinese New Year!

Thank you.