Thank you so much for that generous introduction, and I thank Uncle Michael for his welcome to country, and I join with him in acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we're meeting and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging.
I also want to acknowledge my colleagues who are here. Peter Cai, thank you very much for the introduction, the CEO.
Dr John Yu AC, the founding chair.
Daphne Lowe Kelly, the chair of the Museum of Chinese in Australia.
The Lord Mayor of Sydney, at Clover Moore.
But I want to particularly acknowledge my local my federal colleagues who are here.
We've got Zhi Soon, who is here. We've got Ash Ambihaipahar, who is here. Sally Sitou, who is here, and Tanya Plibersek, the local MP.
I am indeed proud that my team in Canberra includes Sally, Zhi, but also Gabriel Ng, Sam Lim and Julie-Ann Campbell, as well as of course, Penny Wong.
Australians who are proud of their Chinese heritage and who are an example of what I aim for, which is I want a parliament that looks like Australia.
That looks like modern Australia, which is diverse, which is enriched by our multiculturalism as well.
I'm very pleased to be here today, I've got to say.
I was in Melbourne, in the Box Hill area, just on Thursday of this week, celebrating the Year of the Fire Horse. And there I had to make dumplings and try calligraphy as well. Here I just have to give a speech - something I'm much more comfortable with, it's got to be said.
During the campaign last year, Tanya came here with Foreign Minister Wong to announce that a re-elected Labour government would provide $2.6 million for the completion of this museum.
This is something that we supported very strongly.
I came here a couple of years ago and just saw the progress that was being made.
And it's important that we understand our history, that we understand the contribution which people of Chinese descent have made here in Australia over a long period of time.
By making contribution to the commercial activity in this great city of Sydney. Made a contribution to the cultural life here in Sydney, and continue to do so with descendants as well.
There are Chinese Australians in every aspect of Australian life, something that enriches our country and something that is part of the reason why we need to tell the story about that long and extraordinary history of the connection between Chinese Australians as contributors to our nation.
I'd particularly like to mention the generosity of the three Pang sisters, who donated $4 million to help make this dream reality. I'm pleased to say Winnie Pang is here with us today.
Now I can't think of a better site for this museum than right here in the Haymarket.
I also acknowledge Jerome Laxale is here as well, the member for Bennelong.
I have spent a fair bit of my life, I grew up not far from here in Camperdown and went to school here in the city of St Mary's.
And one of the things that I well recall growing up as it was just myself and my mother at home. And when you've got just two people at Christmas, a Christian celebration, of course, then it's not a big group - there's no point having a big turkey.
So what we did was to come to one of the outlets down here, and we had duck and pork barbecue was our Christmas meal, every single year.
And that way, as well, whoever dropped in and everyone was welcome at our place - that was a part of the benefit that we had.
But of course, it goes to very much every aspect of Australian life.
People who've served in our defence force, people who've built businesses, people who have served as doctors and lawyers, people who have made an extraordinary contribution here.
And this building here, that was once home to a library, is a haven of those stories.
Storytelling is at the heart of how a nation has a sense of our self.
Stories that tell us who we are and bind us together.
Stories that illuminate the rich and beautiful complexity of all that Australia has become.
Stories that are in themselves, the conscious act of memory.
And in the case of somewhere like this, stories have doubled as a collective act of appreciation as well.
The truest power of this museum is that it shines a light on individuals like Gordon Mar and families like Simpson-Lee, who can be overshadowed in the telling of our history.
Yet theirs are all important stories.
Stories of contribution, of ambition and aspiration, of energy and hard work.
The sheer determination to realise a dream and to make a difference.
And whether it's in hospitality, business, commerce, medicine, science or culture, this is all the stuff of nation building, and that is what undermined my underpins the spirit of the Museum of Chinese in Australia.
The very real and important idea that these stories are not just worth remembering because they remind us of what we have and enjoy as Australians didn't just happen of its own accord.
It was built and nurtured generation after generation.
And as we enter the Year of the Horse, people right across Australia are celebrating Chinese New Year.
What was once a preserve of those with Chinese heritage is beautifully burst its banks and proudly taken its place on our Australian calendar.
And at a time where multiculturalism and our diversity under challenge from some, pretending that we can go to an Australia that, if it ever was, certainly isn't the case now.
People who don't acknowledge that, with the exception of First Nations, people, we are all either migrants or descendants of migrants, who cover this country to make a better life for themselves, but also for their children and generations to come.
We need to challenge that very directly when racism raises its hand.
But we also need to challenge it by our actions, by our deeds, by the positive messages, such as what this shows right here with this museum.
So I want to thank everyone who kept believing in the museum project here.
To everyone who puts their hand up to make a difference or put their hand in their pocket to make a difference as well.
You've all been a part of something quite wonderful, and you have added something really, really important to our city and to our nation.
It is a great honour for me to be here opening this museum.
We not only cherish diversity and celebrate culture here in Australia, of course, my government is very proud of the fact that we've worked very hard towards a peaceful and secure Indo-Pacific region as well, and we continue to do so.
We continue to reach out and argue the case for friendly relations with our neighbours, but also with making sure we celebrate who we are as a modern Australian nation, and that's precisely what this museum here does.
Thanks very much.
