- Premier opens Tet Festival at Wanneroo Showgrounds
- Marks Perth's 30th annual Tet Festival Vietnamese Lunar New Year
- About 12,000 people of Vietnamese heritage in Western Australia
Premier Colin Barnett tonight opened the Tet Festival, celebrating the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, at Wanneroo Showgrounds.
The celebration, the 30th to be held by the Vietnamese community in Perth, heralds the beginning of the lunar year represented by the dragon.
"The Tet Festival at Wanneroo Showgrounds has become a major event for the wider community and I congratulate the local Vietnamese community on its 30th anniversary," Mr Barnett said.
"With stalls and family entertainment, the festival provides an enjoyable family event and a chance to support Western Australia's Vietnamese community."
The Premier said WA was home to about 12,000 people of Vietnamese heritage, many of whom arrived in the late 1970s, during the Vietnam War.
"They came from a homeland ravaged by war and after suffering hardship that many of us would find unrecognisable," he said.
"As settlers in WA, the Vietnamese community has made a big contribution to our society.
"The Tet Festival, coming just a day after Australia Day, is a strong example of how we can celebrate as a nation and still retain the culture and heritage of those born outside this country.
"The organisation Vietnamese Community in WA was established in 1987 and has since been instrumental in settlement and relocation; social services work and preserving Vietnamese culture."
Mr Barnett said the dragon held special significance for Vietnamese people.
"The dragon symbolises power and authority and promises to deliver good fortune," he said.
"For all Vietnamese-born people who call WA home, I would say they could not have picked a better State in Australia in which to ensure this symbol and promise delivered a reality."
Fact File
- Lunar New Year Tet Festival is held at Wanneroo Showgrounds
- In Vietnam, Tet starts at time of full moon before spring planting
- 10,489 Vietnam-born residents of WA (0.5 per cent of population)
- 11,844 people in WA nominate Vietnamese as their ancestry
Premier's office - 6552 5200
