Steve Georganas MP has spoken in support of making South Australia’s capital city, Adelaide a sister city to Athens in Greece.
This follows the sister city proposal instigated in May 2023, which was designed to strengthen the shared cultural bonds between Athens and Adelaide. It also aimed to  strengthen economic, business, and cultural ties between Adelaide and Athens.
This proposal was backed by the Mayor of Athens, Kostas Bakoyannis, Greece’s Deputy Minister of Development and Investment, Dr Christos Dimas, and the Director General of the Acropolis Museum, Professor Nikolaos Stampolidis. It would also be supported by the Hellenic Australia Chamber of Commerce of Industry (HACCI), as well as SA-Best MLCs Connie Bonaros and Frank Pangallo.
During an interview with Dimitris Kontogiannis and Petros Diplas on Ert News’s radio show, Mr Georganas discussed the similarities between the city of Adelaide and of Athens.
He emphasised the importance of why a sister-city relationship with Adelaide and Athens would be beneficial.
Mr Georganas added that approximately 70,000 Greek immigrated from Greece to Adelaide due to the nice climate, and big Greek communies. He said and that today in Adelaide, many first generation Greeks can be found, as well as third and fourth generation Greeks. He also added that some of the largest Greek communities can be found in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide.
As Chair of Joint Standing Committee on Trade and Investment Growth, Mr Georganas also discussed the production and name of Greek feta being one of the obstacles to the conclusion of a free trade agreement between the European Union and Australia.
When asked about inflation, Mr. Georganas emphasized that Australia, like Greece, faces a serious cost of living issue. To alleviate the problem of high property prices and expensive rents, the Labor Party has tabled a bill to build more housing, especially for low income earners.
Source: Ert News.
