Tuesday, 12 May 2026

 Richard WELCH (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (14:11): Over the weekend Liberal leader Jess Wilson announced that a future Liberal government would back the construction of a Chinese Australian community and cultural centre in Box Hill, and this is a really welcome commitment. The Chinese Australian community is one of Victoria’s largest communities, and particularly in the north-east of Melbourne we are well known for having the largest Chinese Australian population in the whole of the nation. This centre will bring together young and old and will celebrate food, culture and society. We know that the Chinese community itself is not homogenous; it is diverse. There are many backgrounds within that group, and this will bring them all together. This commitment is actually the product of some amazing and consistent professional advocacy by a number of community members. The organising committee itself, the Federation of Chinese Associations, Asian Business Association of Whitehorse and many community groups and trading associations have all worked incredibly well together to start to bring this vision to life, so I commend them for it. It is a marvellous thing.