Polish Festival
Natalie SULEYMAN (St Albans – Minister for Veterans, Minister for Small Business, Minister for Youth) (10:45): I rise today to acknowledge the 19th annual Polish Festival, which took place over the weekend at Federation Square. On 11 November each year we commemorate the anniversary of Poland’s sovereignty, which took place in 1918. I want to in particular thank His Excellency Dr Maciej Chmieliński, the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland in Australia. We had the deputy minister for education Tomasz Rzymkowski from Poland; Jan as well, the president of the Polish Festival; Elizabeth from the Polish Community Council of Victoria – and the work that she and her team do is fantastic; and of course Jan from the Albion Polish club, the best club in Melbourne. It was fantastic to see the annual community event. It was very successful, a showcase of all things that are Polish, from culture to food to folk dancing and so much more. The Allan Labor government is proud to have funded $400,000 to support and secure the festival for the next four years at Federation Square. It was an absolutely delightful experience of Polish culture and traditions, and I want to extend a special thankyou to all the volunteers, performers, stallholders and everybody that made it a fantastic event. A big shout-out again to the Albion Polish club, to Jan and Bettina and to all the volunteers.