The Albanese Labor Government has announced today it will be investing more than $1.25 million in local multicultural projects in New South Wales.
In NSW, more than two million people were born overseas, representing over 300 cultures, speaking more than 280 languages and practicing 148 religions.
In Sydney today for the announcement, the Federal Minister for Multicultural Affairs Andrew Giles will visit Asian Women at Work (AWAW), a network of Asian migrant women workers that empowers, resources and assists women to obtain secure employment and advocate for the end to exploitation in the workplace and at home.
AWAW will receive $100,000 towards English and computer literacy classes, education sessions on rights at work and domestic violence support to further support their network of over 2,000 members.
Other local multicultural projects receiving funding include a facility for cultural activities at Shree Swaminarayan Mandir, a new roof enclosure for Holy Apostles & St Abanoub Coptic Church, and a van to allow Islamic Women’s Welfare Association’s food program reach more people in need.
“As we emerge from the pandemic, it’s never been more important to invest in our local multicultural communities,” Minister Giles said.
“The Albanese Government is committed to working with multicultural communities, listening to them to ensure government better supports the needs of diverse Australians.”
The Greek Community of Melbourne’s (GCM) ‘Greek Summer Camp’ initiative has come to an end for the second year in a row.
Young Greek Australians took part in the camp program from July 1 to July 11 this year, starting in Thessaloniki and including multiple visits to neighbouring towns such as Serres, Kavala and Xanthi.
“From heart-warming friendships to daring outdoor challenges, our campers truly embraced the spirit of adventure and exploration. The memories created during their time in Thessaloniki will be cherished forever!” the GCM wrote in a Facebook post.
The booth – which will be open throughout the tournament at the Sydney / Gadigal site – presents a unique opportunity for fans to visit for a free check-up and receive critical first aid training in how to respond to someone suffering a cardiac arrest.
This is through a series of hands-on demonstration sessions. Visitors will also have the chance to meet high-profile heart health advocates – as well as experts who will share their heart health insights.
Founder of the Heartbeat of Football charity, Andy Paschalidis, said in a Facebook post that he is “very excited at what this live site will deliver for both local and international fans.”
“It’s the first time a non-commercial partner will feature at a LIVE site at a FIFA Tournament – ground breaking in so many ways,” Mr Paschalidis added.
“We are so honoured and excited to partner with FIFA Medical to deliver our heart health awareness, preventative heart health checks and rescue-ready CPR & AED model at the FIFA Fan Festival site in Sydney.”
Cardiovascular disease is the leading single cause of disease burden and death in Australia. Annually, it is responsible for 27 percent of deaths in the country, claiming the life of one person every 12 minutes. It affects more than four million Australians and costs the economy in excess of AUS $5 billion per year.
Meanwhile, out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrests result in more than 25,000 deaths per year in Australia – with a survival rate for someone suffering a cardiac arrest away from medical care just 10 percent. Many of the fatal incidences are preventable – through education, risk factor modification and/or appropriate and immediate application of first aid.
As well as providing free check-ups and advice, the Heartbeat of Football booth will also seek to educate visitors as to how best they can help prevent themselves, and their loved ones, from becoming one of those statistics.
Andy Paschalidis (right)_, Founder of the Heartbeat of Football Foundation charity.
Andrew Massey, FIFA Medical director, added: “We are delighted to collaborate with Heartbeat of Football at the Women’s World Cup. Heart health is one of the core pillars of FIFA Medical and we see this initiative as such an important legacy project for FIFA.”
In addition to general heart health awareness, the booth will also seek to spread awareness on how the condition affects women – figures that are largely under-recognised, under-funded and under-diagnosed in many countries across the world.
In Australia, nearly three times more women die each year as a result of heart disease than of breast cancer – and it is estimated that nine in every ten women have at least one risk factor for heart disease.
All those visiting the Sydney / Gadigal FIFA Fan Festival™ are encouraged to pass by the booth for their free check-up.
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) have published today the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ referendum pamphlets for the Indigenous Voice to Federal Parliament.
The pamphlets, which will be mailed to households around Australia in the coming months, will be made up of 2,000 word essays to inform voters why they should vote ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ in the upcoming referendum.
The proposed timeline for the referendum is said to be around October and December this year. The most recent poll conducted by The Australian shows 41 per cent of voters intend to vote Yes with 48 per cent saying No.
The ‘Yes’ campaign:
The ‘Yes’ campaign lays out eight reasons voters should back the referendum, saying it is about constitutional recognition, and making practical progress in Indigenous health, education, employment and housing to improve people’s lives.
According to ABC News, the Yes camp is endorsed by the likes of prominent Indigenous names such as former football professionals Johnathan Thurston and Eddie Betts, former tennis champion Evonne Goolagong Cawley and filmmaker Rachel Perkins.
The ‘Yes’ pamphlet quotes former AFL player, Eddie Betts: “I know the Voice won’t fix everything overnight but I feel like it’s the opening of a pathway to make sure we are induced and respected in decision-making on issues that impact us.”
The Yes PDF pamphlet. Credit: The Australian
The ‘No’ campaign:
The opposing ‘No’ camp says the referendum will be a “legal risk” with “unknown consequences,” and raised concerns about potential social divisions and whether the Voice will be effective on behalf of Indigenous Australians.
The pamphlet is endorsed by leading legal experts. Former High Court judge Ian Callinan, former Federal Court judge David Jackson, former NSW Supreme Court judge Terence Cole and former WA Supreme Court judge Nicholas Hasluck are some of the names opposing the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
The ‘No’ pamphlet quotes Central Arrernte Senior Custodian Ian Conway: “We’re all Australians. And that’s the way it should end up. It shouldn’t be divided by this so-called voice which is going to split this country right down the centre.”
The bill, which is formally named “Revoking restrictions for the registration in special voter registration lists of voters living abroad,” was posted for public consultation last week.
Some of the restrictions the bill abolishes include the length of stay in Greece (2 years during the last 35 years) before voting, and to have filed taxes during the current year or the previous one from the year of elections.
Είναι συμβολικό, αλλά και πολύ ουσιαστικό το γεγονός ότι το πρώτο νομοσχέδιο που καλούμαστε να ψηφίσουμε, ως νέα Βουλή, αφορά την άρση όλων των περιορισμών και τη δυνατότητα των συμπολιτών μας που κατοικούν στο εξωτερικό να συμμετέχουν σε ευρωεκλογές και εθνικές εκλογές. pic.twitter.com/TW3Bfg87lw
— Prime Minister GR (@PrimeministerGR) July 13, 2023
This news comes after a number of Greek diaspora communities sent an open letter to members of Greece’s Parliament calling on them to pass the proposed bill.
It was a victorious premiere for Greece’s men’s national polo team at the World Aquatics Championship on Monday, with the Greek team bending the resistance of Australia and winning 13-9.
After the first eight minutes, the Greek team increased its performance, steadily gaining the lead.
The first scorer was Argyropoulos and he was followed by Kalogeropoulos with two, while from then on there was a plurality in scoring.
Greece next faces Kazakhstan, while the USA faces Australia.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has confirmed the 2026 Commonwealth Games will not go ahead due to financial constraints.
“We have informed Commonwealth Games authorities of our decision to seek to terminate the contract and to not conduct, not host the games,” he told reporters today.
He said the forecast figure of $2.6 billion, was looking to more than $6 billion.
“I cannot stand here and say to you that I have any confidence that even that $7 billion number would appropriately and adequately fund these games,” he said.
In a statement, the President of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organising Committee, Andrew Liveris, responded to the Victorian Government’s announcement to withdraw from hosting the VIC2026 Commonwealth Games.
Andrew Liveris. Photo: Jason Alden.
“It must have been a difficult decision for the Victorian Government to withdraw from hosting VIC2026,” Mr Liveris said.
“The Commonwealth Games runs on a different business model to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, particularly with respect to event delivery, infrastructure usage, and commercial revenue models.
“In addition, the International Olympic Committee provides a financial contribution to the Organising Committee’s running costs and invaluable support in learning and best practice from prior Games.”
Mr Liveris added that the Olympics were awarded under The New Norm, “a new efficient model for Games which is designed to drive legacy outcomes for the host region, before and after the Games.”
“Brisbane 2032 has an 11-year runway for best-case planning and preparation,” he said.
“The International Olympic Committee is also leading the way on Games Optimisation to drive savings and efficiencies across Games delivery.”
Evacuations have been ordered across Greece as local authorities try to get under control four major fires raging across the country on Monday night, AMNA has reported.
Two of the four large fires broke out in Attica at Kouvaras (Southeast Attica) and at Dervenoxoria (North Attica), one in the forest area of Kallithea (southeast of Loutraki, in Corinthia), and a fourth at Kaparelli in Boeotia (Viotia).
Kouvaras and Dervenoxoria:
At Kouvaras, 210 firefighters with 10 ground teams and 68 fire engines are battling the flames, assisted by 10 water-dowsing airplanes and 6 helicopters. Greek authorities said the fire was moving really fast, spanning 12 kilometres in about 2 hours and aided by high winds.
A wildfire burns olive groves in Lagonisi, Greece. Photo: Yannis Kolesidis/EPA-EFE.
At Dervenochoria, 105 firefighters with 3 ground teams and 30 fire engines are operating on land. Efforts are focused on ensuring the fire did not spread to nearby Mount Parnitha.
Kaparelli andLoutraki:
At Kaparelli in Boeotia, 94 firefighters with 2 ground teams and 30 fire engines are assisted by 4 water-dowsing airplanes and 2 helicopters. According to officials, the fire at Kaparelli was contained within a specific area.
Breaking out almost at the same time as Kaparelli, the fire at forestland in Kallithea (Loutraki area) headed towards Agios Charalambos village at great speed, damaging several homes.
Man tries to extinguish a fire at Loutraki. Photo: AP Photo / Petros Giannakouris.
At least two villages, a children’s summer camp and rehabilitation centre for seniors were evacuated at Loutraki, the fire service and local authorities said.
The evacuations were ordered as gusts of wind up to 70 kilometres per hour (45 miles per hour) pushed flames through hillside scrub and pine forests parched by extreme heat.
Heatwave gripping Greece:
Greece has been gripped by a heatwave since last week with temperatures reaching 44 degrees Celsius in the centre of the country.
Greater Athens and much of southern Greece were on the second highest level of alert for wildfires Monday and Tuesday following a four-day heatwave that eased over the weekend. More heat wave temperatures are expected later in the week.
Greek community newspaper O Kosmos in Sydney, New South Wales, published its last-ever edition on Friday, July 14 amid growing pressures on multicultural and regional media in the state.
O Kosmos was founded in the early 1980s under the initiative of the late publisher of Neos Kosmos, Dimitri Gogos, along with then-Labor Senator Takis Kaldis.
The Greek Herald‘s journalist and former editor George Tserdanis was the first editor-in-chief of O Kosmos.
Hariclea Kaldis (left) cuts a cake on the first birthday of O Kosmos. Photo: The Greek Herald.
“At the time, Mr Kaldis contacted me to convince me to take over the creation of the format, content and editorial of the Sydney newspaper,” Mr Tserdanis remembers and tells The Greek Herald today.
“It was the period when I had given up journalism and devoted myself to the bohemian crystal trade, earning five times as much as working for a newspaper. But I couldn’t resist the ‘pull’ of journalism so I accepted the role as editor-in-chief.”
O Kosmos was supported by people such as George Messaris (former editor), Joanne Messaris, Tassos Nerantzis and Dimitri Ikonomou. Jim Ventouris was in charge of advertising and sales.
George Messaris Editor of the Greek newspaper ‘O Kosmos,’ with his wife Joan, and their son Stathis Geoffrey. September 16, 1988. Photo by David Porter/Fairfax Media via Getty Images.
In 1988, Mr Gogos sold the newspaper to Dimitri Skouloudis. The current owner was Spiro Haralambous, whilst Yannis Dramitinos was editor after taking over from George Hatzivassilis.
In his final message to readers in Friday’s print edition, Mr Haralambous said the decision to stop publishing O Kosmos after 40 years was “a sombre moment” and thanked readers, colleagues and sponsors for their support. He dedicated the final edition to Mr Dramitinos.
Mr Haralambous added that “the changing media landscape, declining readership and financial constraints” collectively contributed to the closure of the newspaper.
‘We remain by your side’:
The closure of O Kosmos comes asThe Greek Herald first reported earlier this month that regional and multicultural media in NSW have been left in the lurch amid broken promises by the state government and a failure to meet pre-election commitments.
In March this year, the NSW Minister for Multiculturalism Steve Kamper announced NSW Labor would review the state government’s advertising practices to ensure the role of the independent multicultural media is elevated and supported.
Publisher of The Greek Herald, Dimitra Skalkos, said that although saddened to see the closure of a multicultural media title and in particular a Greek one, it doesn’t come as a surprise given how many regional and multicultural titles have closed across NSW in recent years.
O Kosmos printed its last edition on Friday, July 14. Photo: Yannis Dramitinos.
“We appreciate recognition by state and federal governments however we need to see action for change to avoid further closures,” Ms Skalkos said.
“In the absence of multicultural media titles like O Kosmos and The Greek Herald, who will replace our vital role of informing and keeping our community connected?
“We are a trusted source of news and a voice for our communities, who shine a spotlight on those who would otherwise be underrepresented in mainstream media.”
The Greek Herald has documented the history of Australia’s Greek and Cypriot communities for almost 100 years. Ms Skalkos said whilst the daily newspaper will continue in-language in print and online, it requires the support of readers, advertisers and governments.
“The Greek Herald will remain beside its readers and in their homes. It will continue to inform them, as well as preserve and record the Greek and Cypriot culture in Australia and abroad for years to come,” she said.
On Sunday, July 16, misty eyed members of the Greek and Cypriot community, along with various dignitaries of Greece, Cyprus and Australia, gathered at the Australian Hellenic Memorial in Melbourne, Victoria to commemorate the 49th anniversary of the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus.
The wreath laying ceremony, organised by SEKA Victoria (the Justice for Cyprus Coordinating Committee), was opened by Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne Board Member, Spiridoula Demetriou.
Youth at the wreath laying ceremony. All photos copyright The Greek Herald / Marianna Alepidis.The Australian Hellenic Memorial.
“We pay tribute to the Greek-Cypriot and Greek soldiers who died, also to the civilians, including women, the elderly and children who were killed. And those amongst the long list of missing persons who are still unaccounted for,” Dr Demetriou said.
Ms Komodromou mentioned the efforts of the Greek and Australian soldiers that fought side-by-side during WWI and WWII, noting the ties that laid the foundation for what would become the Cypriot-Australian community of Australia.
Speeches.
“Please allow me to highlight at this point, we are also equally proud of the Cypriots that, in waves, migrated to Australia and were welcomed by the Australian Government as refugees decades later… thus creating the Cypriot community of Australia, of which many members are among us today,” she said.
The Consul General of Greece in Melbourne, Emmanuel Kakavelakis, emphasised the importance of resolving the ‘Cyprus Problem’ by ending the Turkish occupation and colonisation of the occupied part of Cyprus.
“The Cyprus Problem is a problem of invasion and of occupation; the termination of Turkish occupation and colonisation of the occupied part of Cyprus…The comprehensive, mutually acceptable, just and viable settlement of the Cyprus problem is a top national priority of Greek foreign policy which obviously has significance for Greek-Turkish relations and the peace and stability of the wider region,” he said.
The Consul General of Greece in Melbourne.
“There can be no comprehensive agreed settlement of the Cyprus Problem without the full withdrawal of Turkish occupation forces and the termination of the Anatolistic System of Guarantees of 1960.”
Mr Kakavelakis continued, noting the basis for settlement is determined by the high-level agreements of the two communities and the resolutions of the UN Security Council. He also expressed that any solution must also be fully compatible with the EU acquis.
“Greece does not intervene in negotiations of internal aspects of the Cyprus Problem from which the Cypriot Government has exclusive competence,” the Consul General said.
“Greece will always support the Republic of Cyprus’ sovereign rights, which are not linked with the process of resolving the Cyprus Problem.”
Official guests.
The Consul-General concluded with some personal thoughts.
“Cyprus is not simply an island. For us, Cyprus is a place of saints, of martyrs and heroes. I won’t hesitate to say that today Cyprus is a marble mill of our generation,” he said.
Dressed in traditional clothing, Maria Sotiriou, 13, followed Mr Kakavelakis’ speech, reciting the poem My Village, passed down from her great-grandmother Maria. The poem elicited many tears from community members, young and old.
“Being a part of this ceremony helps me be closer to the community and be a part of history,” she told The Greek Herald.
Wreath laying.
“It’s all about learning our history… I’ve learnt that what the Cypriots have gone through was much worse than what we thought.”
Maria was joined by her younger brother Sotiri, also dressed for the occasion.
“This event means that we can raise more awareness and commemorate what has happened,” he added.
SEKA Victoria President, Tony Kyriacou concluded the speeches for the event, extending his thanks to the esteemed guests and the community for their presence.
“It is obvious that today is a reflection of memory, a reflection of pain and a reflection of history. As we can see, human rights are being invaded, and there are serious injustices on our humanity. We deserve the right to return to our homeland,” Mr Kyriacou said.
Wreaths were laid by the speakers, representatives of various Greek clubs from across Australia, along with the High Commissioner of the Republic of Cyprus in Australia, Antonis Sammoutis, and Senator Jane Hume representing the Federal Leader of the Opposition, Peter Dutton.
*All photos copyright The Greek Herald / Marianna Alepidis.
