“Australians take the time out on Australia National Day to remember the stories that have helped shaped the modern country it is today. ”
In her message on the occasion of Australia National Day, Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Her Excellency HK Yu PSM said the Australian story began a long time ago. For at least 65,000 years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have lived in Australia.
“In the 21st century, Australia is a multicultural nation. Just like me, one of our Australians are migrants, and almost half of all Aussies have a parent born overseas,” Yu noted.
She added that it would not be possible to tell the story of Australia without mentioning the Philippines. According to Yu, Filipino migration to Australia could be traced back to the 1802 when pioneering “Manila Men” arrived in northern Australia to work in the pearling industry. Many of the first Filipinos settled in remote coastal towns like Broome, Cooktown, and Thursday Island.
“From these humble roots, the Filipino community in Australia has grown to become one of our largest and most important. Today, more than 400,000 Australians were either born in the Philippines or are of Filipino ancestry, making it our fifth largest ethnic group,” Yu said.
Strong people-to-people links
In addition to the permanent migrants, Yu said the people-to-people links between Australia and the Philippines are strong. She pointed out that in 2019, Australia was the top international destination for Filipino university students.
“On my recent visits to Cebu and Davao, I have greatly enjoyed meeting some of our alumni and hearing of how their studies in Australia have enriched them both personally and professionally,” she said.
“Having now been in the Philippines for six months, I can see the depth of ties between our two peoples is due to our similar national characters. Both Filipinos and Australians value humor, adaptability, openness and are down to earth people. Perhaps most significantly, we value true friends and share a willingness to band together including in times of adversity,” Yu added.
Strategic partner
While the strong connection between both countries underpins their excellent bilateral cooperation across the important areas of inclusive development, security and trade relations, Yu said there is so much more that can be done and done together.
“And I am committed to driving and raising our bilateral relationship to that of a strategic partner this year, We have an exciting 2023 ahead,” Yu added.
As the world bounces back from the Covid-19 pandemic, trade ties between Australia and the Philippines continue to grow. The Philippines is a priority partner for Australia, and more Philippine companies are looking to do business in Australia.
Australia is one of the Philippines’ top sources of beef and lamb, wines, dairy, and fresh fruits like table grapes, citrus, and stone fruits. A range of Australian healthy breakfast and grocery items, health and beauty products are also available in the market. With clean and pristine environment, strict health and food safety protocols, consumers are assured that Australian-made products are safe and high-quality.
Australian companies in the Philippines also cover a wide range of sectors, employing around 44,000 Filipinos across the country. Some of these include: Accolade Wines, Banktech Group, CCL Secure, GHD, IDP Education, Leighton Asia, Macquarie, Oceanagold, Orica, Privasec, Qantas, QBE, Telstra, Western Australian Government, Worley Power Services Asia.
Australian Festival
In celebration of Australia Day today, the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade), the Australian Embassy in the Philippines, and the Victorian Government bring you the Australian Festival available across all supermarket and online stores of the Robinsons Retail Group until January 31, 2023.
This year’s Australian Festival highlights over 600 Australian products, including iconic Australian brands and premium items from Woolworths available in Robinsons Retail Group’s supermarkets – The Marketplace, Robinsons Supermarket, Shopwise, and online stores like GoCartPH.