'Friends of Victoria' Event Shanghai

It’s a pleasure to join you this evening.

Next month marks exactly 50 years since Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser – another Victorian – travelled on his own Official Visit to China.

It was not the first visit of an Australian Prime Minister, but it formed part of Fraser’s first trip overseas – undertaken less than a year after he assumed the leadership.

The choice to visit China on that first trip was significant, and deliberate.

It signified Australia’s increasingly open approach to the world, and our desire to engage with our region by exploring new opportunities for trade and diplomacy based on common interests.

On that visit in 1976, the then-Prime Minister delivered an address at a State Banquet that is worth reflecting on now, half a century later.

In it, he spoke of China’s “long perspective on the world” and of the “many achievements of the long Chinese civilisation.”

Perhaps more than any other State in Australia, Victoria has been a beneficiary of that long perspective and the rich culture that accompanies it.

Melbourne is home to the oldest Chinatown in the Southern Hemisphere – a historic connection that has had an enduring influence on our musical, artistic and culinary scenes.

Fraser also spoke of China’s desire to “look far into the future.”

This is another perspective that Victoria shares.

Through our global network of 24 Victorian Government Trade and Investment Offices, we are always looking to innovate and invest in the industries of the future – and we have five such offices in China, including here in Shanghai.

Finally, Fraser stated that the “present time is an important one in setting the course for that long journey.”

That was true when he said those words 50 years ago, and it remains true today.

And – once again – Victoria is unparalleled in our efforts to invest in the shared opportunities before us now.

China is home to Victoria’s oldest, as well as our newest, sister-state relationships, which are helping our institutions to learn from one another.

And the Vic House building adjacent to where we gather tonight is testament to our State’s growing engagement with Shanghai.

The visit of the Prime Minister back in 1976 was an important moment for Australia and China, and for Victoria and Shanghai.

Our nations stood before a time of great, but as of yet unrealised, potential.

In reflecting on the past five decades, I am reminded of a Chinese proverb:

Zhònɡrén shíchái huoyàn ɡāo.

(Translates to “When everybody adds fuel, the flames rise high.”)

In the last 50 years, Victoria done much to add ‘fuel’ to our partnership with Shanghai and China.

And looking around tonight, I can see that it is a relationship that is shining brightly.

It remains a relationship built on a rich history, with a view to look to the long future by investing heavily in the present.

Exchanges of commerce, culture and skills have made this possible – thanks in no small part to the work of people like yourselves.

I welcome the shared value we place on this partnership.

I’d like to acknowledge Shanghai Municipal Government for their longstanding support.

And I know Victoria and its institutions will continue to do our part in pursuit of better futures with Shanghai.

Thank you.