I was privleged to hear Professor Charlie Teo give the Australia Day Address at the Conservatorium of Music in Sydney.
‘I would like to see this Australia Day as a turning point.
I want my fellow Australians, those who were born here and those who have immigrated here, to pause and think of the lives that have been sacrificed for what we take for granted today.
I want everyone who finds themselves angry and intolerant to think first about the misfortunes of those who are less fortunate . . . such as those with cancer.
I want anyone who has come from another country to embrace the Australian way of life, it has served us well.
I want all Australians to see how immigrants have contributed to our nation and to appreciate that a rich and prosperous country such as ours has a moral and global responsibility to share our resources.
Finally, I want to thank Australians for giving me professional and personal fulfilment, for believing in me when some of my colleagues didn’t, for seeing a Chinaman as an Aussie, not as a foreigner and for this wonderful opportunity to address the greatest nation in the world.’
