On 11 May 2011, AAAB elected a new executive team for the 2011/2012 year.
President: Hugh Lee
Vice Presidents: Jon Soemarjono, Agnes Shim and Caroline Xu
Treasurer: Kon Hofstetter
Secretary:Cherry Cheong
Public Officer: Wilson Fu
Hon. Immediate Past President: Brad Chan
New President Hugh Lee thanked Brad Chan for his hard work and dedication and said: “I feel greatly honoured to be nominated by Brad as the new President and elected by AAAB members at the AGM. Rest assured that I will follow Brad’s foot steps to grow our association to its utmost and extend our coverage to include more groups in our membership.”
Brad Chan was voted Honourary Immediate Past President in recognition of his services to AAAB.
The Eastwood Chamber of Commerce was admitted as AAAB’s newest member at the AGM.
A Community Safety Information Booklet has been developed to provide a ‘one-stop-shop’ of safety information for residents of the City of Ryde and is available in English, Korean and Chinese.
A joint project between City of Ryde, the Australia Korean Welfare Association and the Australian Asian Association of Bennelong, the booklet is particularly aimed at newly arrived migrants and includes information on:
how to report a crime
renting
avoiding scams
fire prevention in your home
workplace safety for teenagers
what to do if you have a car accident
safety risks for children
dangerous spiders, snakes and sea creatures
water safety – both around pools and at the beach
You can get a copy of the booklet at:
Customer Service at the Ryde Civic Centre, 1 Devlin St, Ryde, Monday – Friday, 8am – 4.30pm
In light of the devastating Queensland floods, the Ryde Lunar New Year Committee has decided that all proceeds from this year’s gold coin donation collection from the public on the Grand Celebration Day on 12 February 2011 will go to the Queensland floods appeal.
Front (L-R): Jon Soemojono, Justin Li, Brad Chan, John Alexander, Agnes Shim, Hugh Lee, Back: Lina Guo, Caroline Xu, Kon Hofstetter, Julianne Park, Cherry Khoo, Danny Yap, Jason Koh
On 20 December 2010, the directors and executive members of Australian Asian Association of Bennelong (AAAB) held its first formal meeting and Christmas dinner with new Bennelong MP and former tennis star John Alexander.
John Alexander was elected in the 2010 Federal Election in the seat of Bennelong, which was formerly held by Prime Minister John Howard. The seat, which covers the Ryde area has been strategically important in Australian poltics in recent elections.
AAAB members introduced John Alexander to its aim of promoting harmony in the local area and the various organisations that make up AAAB, including the Eastwood Chinese Senior Citizens Club, Sydney Women’s Association, Meadowbank Chinese Neighbourhood Centre and Feng Hua Chinese School.
John Alexander spoke about his extensive travels around the world as a professional tennis player, including to China and said his travel experiences have made him very comfortable with the Bennelong electorate he now represents which is very multicultural.
John Alexander also raised the idea of one day holding the world table tennis championships in the Bennelong electorate and inviting players from all over the world to visit.
AAAB and John Alexander agreed to work closely together in the next 3 years for the benefit of the local community.
On 8 September 2010, the Chinese Australian Forum and UTS Research Centres – China, and Cosmopolitan Civil Societies jointly presented an evening forum on “Chinese in Australian Politics”.
Chaired by Prof. Stephen Fitzgerald (Former Ambassador for China), the speakers included: Clr Marc Receretnam @35:40 ( Ashfield), The Hon. Dr Peter Wong @18:35, (Former MLC and Founder of Unity Party), Clr Lo Jieh-Yung @9:20 (City of Monash), Clr Henson Liang @13:40 ( Burwood), Clr Justin Li @ 44:20 ( Ryde), Mr Francis Lee ( Media) and Prof Wanning Sun (UTS )
The panel members discussed some of the barriers to entry into politics for Chinese Australians and the effectiveness of Chinese politicians in the Australian context, then answered questions from the audience in a Q & A format.
The Hon. Kevin Rudd MP and local member the Hon. Maxine McKew MP visited Eastwood on 14 August 2010. They were received by local Asian community leaders and toured the Feng Hua Chinese School at Eastwood Public School. Mr Rudd emphasised the importance of encouraging the learning of Asian languages in Australian schools.
AAAB held a very successful inaugural annual fundraising dinner on 19 June 2010 at the North Ryde Golf Club, which was attended by about 160 guests. The dinner celebrated the achievements of Ms Caroline Yi Xu who was named Ryde Citizen of the Year earlier this year.
The event was very popular and tickets were sold out many weeks in advance of the event. After a welcoming address by President Brad Chan, there were speeches by Bennelong MP Maxine McKew, Ryde MP Victor Dominello, Ryde Mayor Michael Butterworth. Music and other performances and games followed throughout the night.
Thank you to AAAB corporate sponsors, the National Australia Bank, Westpac Bank, Sky Realty and the Eastwood Shopping Centre for their generosity. AAAB hopes to organise an even bigger event next year with the community’s support.
