Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten

Addressing his audience as “fellow punters, fellow capitalists,” Shorten praised the contribution of Chinese-Australians, arguing that bilingualism and Chinese family structures contribute to the educational achievements of Chinese children.

He said: “The ability of a child to master not just two languages but two alphabets, two sorts of reading, perhaps puts in more brain connections, surely, more inter-linkages of the mind, than a monolingual education. On top of that, though, I suggest is a stability of family life. A respect for the old, a capacity for familial feasting, a love of children, a love of scholarship, a readiness for the testing task, that puts Australian Chinese among our premier citizens.” [Read more…]