Darwin Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis has publicly condemned the behaviour of members of the Darwin’s Greek community following a church service on Sunday, according to NT News.
Mr Vatskalis, speaking on ABC Darwin and Mix 104.9, shared his disappointment after members of the community used the OXI Day celebrations at the St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church to push anti-vaccine mandate rhetoric.
“There were about 300 people yesterday and there were about 20 or 30 people that you very rarely see at this event and all of a sudden they became very patriotic. But obviously the patriotism generated very quickly into their own personal views by yelling, calling out ‘shame, shame, shame, sold-out’,” he told the radio program.
Mr Vatskalis said the most concerning behaviour on display inside the church was the treatment of NT Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro.
“[She was addressed] in a very confronting and intimidating manner, which I find very disturbing,” he said.
“I want to tell people this is not the Greek community, this is a very small minority of the Greek community…”
In a statement, Ms Finocchiaro said she had remained in the church and “listened respectfully to some concerns raised by community members.”
“Leadership is about turning up and listening, even in difficult circumstances,” Ms Finocchiaro said.
Last month, the NT government issued a legal direction mandating workers in a broad range of settings receive their first COVID-19 vaccine by November 12.
Source: NT News.
