A ministry press release said the Swedish Presidency of the Council briefed ministers on the progress for an EU-Australia Free Trade Agreement for agricultural products.
Xenophontos requested that halloumi be included in the list of products that can be exported to Australia without tariffs.
European Union countries have reached a major deal to revamp the bloc’s migration and asylum policy, Euronews has reported.
The deal represents the first breakthrough of its kind after years of divisive and bitter debates that have pitted countries against each other.
Countries on the EU’s southern edge, including Italy and Greece, have long demanded more help to cope with the numbers of people arriving on their shores. Richer countries, including Germany and Sweden, have balked at how many head on to their soil.
On Thursday, Italy and Greece demanded last-minute changes to the proposed agreement, pushing for a cut in the number of people each state would take on and laxer rules to send people back to countries outside of the EU.
Under the deal that eventually came together, each country would be responsible for a set number of people, but would not necessarily have to take them in.
Countries unwilling to receive irregular migrants and refugees arriving ad hoc to the EU would be able to help their hosting peers through cash – around 20,000 euros per person – equipment or personnel.
The new rules were endorsed by a margin wider than anticipated, with only Hungary and Poland opposing the final draft.
Sweden’s minister of migration, Maria Malmer Stenergard, said the deal “is a historic step.”
EU home affairs commissioner, Ylva Johansson, added: “This is a great, great achievement, showing that it’s possible to work together on migration.”
We all know the typical Greek migration story. Men, women and sometimes even young families, would leave Greece by ship with just one suitcase in search of a better life in Australia.
The Honourable Justice Emilios John Kyrou AO, his parents and brother Theo were part of this migration story when in 1968, they left their home at Sfikia in northern Greece for Broadmeadows in Victoria, Australia.
“Back then, the Australian government needed unskilled workers to fill manufacturing positions in factories so they were recruiting and circulating around villages, encouraging people to migrate,” Mr Kyrou tells The Greek Herald.
“My mum and dad chose to leave because they realised that if we stayed in Greece, our life would just continue as it was. There was no real opportunity for us to advance ourselves.”
Emilios with his dad in Greece in 1961. Photo supplied.
Still, those early years in Australia weren’t easy for the Kyrou family. Their first home was in rudimentary accommodation at a migrant hostel. They then lived in other people’s houses, before buying their own home from the Housing Commission in 1973.
Mr Kyrou says the process of helping his parents buy their home, and other everyday essentials, was the catalyst of his passion for the law.
“Being the oldest in the family and after I learnt English, I would translate for mum and dad. I would go with them everywhere – when they applied for a job or sought to buy something. I initially was their interpreter, but after a while I became their advocate,” Mr Kyrou explains.
“During that process, I started to learn that in order to protect yourself and your family, you needed to know the law because not everyone does the right thing.
“So from about the age of 13 – 14, this had instilled in me two ambitions – one was to go to university and the other was to get into law and become a lawyer.”
Family in Australia in 1971. Emilios knew he wanted to be a lawyer from about the age of 14. Photo supplied.
Reclaiming his Greek identity:
With this newfound motivation, Mr Kyrou was determined to excel in high school, but it wasn’t without difficulties.
At the time, Broadmeadows was a predominantly low-social economic area, with a lot of blue-collar workers and not many migrants, so Mr Kyrou quickly became a victim of racism and bullying.
“The racism was really bad to the point where I was ashamed of being Greek because my Greek identity was a source of pain and hardship and cruelty from others,” Mr Kyrou says, while explaining how he tried to conceal his Greekness at school.
“When I changed schools and had an opportunity to enrol myself, I told my principal that I wanted to be called ‘John’ rather than ‘Emilios’ because John was obviously an Anglo-sounding name.”
Emilios also had blonde hair and blue eyes.
Fortunately for Mr Kyrou, by Year 10 many of his bullies had left school and he was able to reclaim his Greek identity, asking everyone to call him by his real name – ‘Emilios.’
“Things went better from that time,” he says.
“I ended up getting good results. I completed high school and I got into university. I was the only one from my school to get into the law faculty at Melbourne University.”
Once at university, Mr Kyrou says he didn’t face racism, but he did encounter self-doubt as he came across other students studying Law and Commerce like him who were “from private schools, very cultured and articulated.”
“Initially I felt a bit lost. I was on my own and when I heard other students speak up in class I thought, ‘they are really good, maybe I’m not as good as them, maybe I shouldn’t be here’,” the judge explains.
“But then after a while I thought to myself, ‘my whole life is about overcoming disadvantage and working hard to overcompensate. I’ll just work harder than them and see how I go.’ And I did. I worked very hard.”
Emilios’ graduation.
A role model for others:
This hard work has clearly paid off.
In 1982, Mr Kyrou graduated with First Class Honours from Melbourne University Law School and was recognised with the prestigious Supreme Court Prize. He was also awarded the Gold Cross of the Order of Honour by Greece’s President in 2015 and is Patron of Greek welfare charity, Pronia. This year he was honoured in the Australia Day Honours List.
Emilios receiving the Greek medal in 2015.
His first job was as a solicitor at Corrs Chambers Westgarth from 1984 and he became partner at the firm in 1988.
In 1990, Mr Kyrou was partner at King and Wood Mallesons until 2008, when he became the second solicitor in Australia to be appointed Judge at the Supreme Court of Victoria. Since 2014, he has been a Judge at the Court of Appeal of Victoria.
“My Greek background has had enormous influences on me as a person and what I’ve done in life. The encouragement and exultation my mum and dad gave myself and my brother to study and work hard was my mantra and has defined my life,” Mr Kyrou stresses.
“The experience I’ve described of racism and bullying also had a strong influence. I developed a very strong view that no one should have to go through any form of bullying or discrimination.
“No one should be disadvantaged because of their minority status, whether that be their migrant status, sexuality, anything related to them as a person should not hold them back in any way.
“So, I developed a very strong view about inclusiveness and celebrating and embracing people’s diversity.”
Emilios in court robes, 2009.
This progressive view has defined Mr Kyrou throughout his life and is something he hopes to continue advocating for as he encourages others to take up the law and enter the legal profession.
“There are still minority groups and disadvantaged groups who don’t have a lot of role models, that might feel like I did when I went to university,” he concludes.
“If I can overcome the obstacles that I faced, they can overcome their obstacles provided they persevere and work hard. I say that if I can do it, then they should feel confident that they can do it too.”
Multicultural leaders attended a political forum in the impressive Legislative Council Chamber at Victoria’s Parliament on Wednesday, June 7.
The Victorian Liberal Leader and Shadow Minister for Multicultural Affairs, John Pesutto MP, invited these representatives of different local ethnic communities to the forum to engage with and discuss a number of issues they face today.
Nationals Leader Peter Walsh alongside the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Georgie Crozier were also present, as were the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs Trung Luu and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, David Southwick.
Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs Trung Luu
In the room there were also representatives of different multicultural communities from the Somalian to the Lebanese, Chinese and the Greek community.
Mr Pesutto welcomed everyone on the day and said: “This is a very important opportunity to engage with you and we want this to be the first of a series of ongoing dialogues with you as a group.”
The Victorian Liberal leader talked about the importance of real, genuine consultation with community leaders to make sure that policies are meeting the demands and challenges those communities face.
The first topic discussed was the importance of education among immigrants, a value which is increasingly out of reach for many, and in particular for children. It was mentioned that: “kindergarten education should be free because it hits hard on the migrant population.”
From skilled migrants to visa issues, the current housing crisis, and the need for more multicultural candidate representation in politics – many topics were discussed.
In the end, the representatives in attendance thanked the Liberals and Nationals for the opportunity to speak about important issues facing Victoria’s multicultural communities today.
The need for better resources and more funds to go towards multicultural communities was also stressed in order to try to affect long term change in very important social issues such as mental health or family violence.
“We see that a lot of funding comes from the state or the federal areas or departments and governments, but it doesn’t filter down to the grassroots. Most of our organisations actually work at the grassroots level,” a multicultural leader said.
Finally, some also mentioned the need for increased representation of the multicultural community particularly in frontline services, whether that was policing, health or even teaching.
In the end, the representatives in attendance thanked the Liberals and Nationals for the opportunity to speak about important issues facing Victoria’s multicultural communities today.
On Tuesday, June 6, the third GleNTi Cup between Hellenic Athletic Club and Darwin Olympic Sporting Club took place in Darwin, the Northern Territory, ahead of the GleNTi festival this weekend.
The event kick started with the women squads of Hellenic AC and Darwin Olympic coming face-to-face. The night ended with a 2-2 draw.
Moska Papadakis and Sophia Makrlos found the net for Hellenic AC, while Imogene Briston scored twice for Olympic.
In the men’s match, Hellenic AC secured a 8-1 victory against Darwin Olympic at Darwin Football Stadium.
Hellenic AC goals came from Simon Bell, Matthew McNab, Nick Stefanidakis and Tega Adjeke, while Mitchell Amidy kicked a goal for Darwin Olympic.
Competition participants can be students in NSW from Kindergarten to Year 10 who study the Greek Community Language (at afternoon/Saturday schools, Secondary College of Languages, NSW School of Languages, mainstream schools, or students of private tuition)
The competition is organised by the University of Sydney, Sydney Institute of Community Languages Education and is under the auspices of The Secretariat General for Greeks Aboard and Public Diplomacy of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Consulate General of Greece in Sydney.
“Greek and Me” competition.
There are four categories that someone can participate in: “My family and me” for Kindergarten to Year 2, “A visit to Greece” for years 3 to 4, “A visit to Greece” for years 5 to 6, and “What Learning Greek Means to Me” for years 7 to 10.
Prizes for first, second and third place, along with highly commended awards, will be given for each category entries. All students, teachers and schools participating in this competition will receive a certificate of participation.
The prizes will be donated by sponsors from the broader Greek Australian community in Sydney and they will be given as e-vouchers to winners.
The competition has opened and it closes on August 1, 2023. Find out more here
Rale Rasic, the first coach to take the Socceroos to a World Cup, has died at the age of 87.
The Bosnian-born coach arrived in Australia in 1962 and in 1974 he led the Socceroos to their first World Cup appearance, lining up against West and East Germany and Chile.
Rasic’s career also included stints at Pan Hellenic from 1977–78 and South Melbourne FC from 1987–88.
In 2004, Rasic was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his service to soccer as a player, coach and administrator.
Rale Rasic on Australia's first ever men's FIFA World Cup finals campaign is everything 💚💛
This is how he built a culture unlike any other to create history for the Socceroos.
In a statement, Football Australia Chairman, Chris Nikou, expressed his heartfelt condolences on behalf of the entire Australian football community.
“Today, we mourn the passing of a giant of Australian football in Rale Rasic,” Nikou said.
“His dedication to representing Australia and his remarkable achievements as a player, coach, and administrator will forever be etched in our nation’s football history.”
Finance guru, Mark Bouris, has slammed the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) latest interest rate rise, saying the country is heading towards a recession.
The RBA delivered its twelfth interest rate rise in just 14 months, with the cash rate now sitting at 4.1 percent after an increase of 25 basis points.
The rate hike means Australian borrowers now face the heaviest mortgage repayment burden in history, with financial experts estimating that the rate hike will set Aussies back by an additional $1,200 every month.
“I am concerned we are going to get squeezed very, very hard,” Bouris told Today. “I definitely think we are going to head towards a recession, a technical recession at least.”
“Small businesses are going to suffer because most of the owners have rates or a property and their rents are going up.”
In an Instagram video after the rate rise, Bouris added that the RBA’s move could “be the nail in the coffin” and predicted a wave of mortgage defaults and ‘desperate’ house selling.
This comes as RBA governor Philip Lowe warned this week that further rate rises were on the cards “to ensure that inflation returns to target in a reasonable time frame.”
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers said a lot of Australians would find the rate decision “difficult to understand and difficult to cop,” but added he did not want to “second guess” the RBA.
The former NSW Labor Minister was found with head, body and leg injuries at Long Bay jail on Tuesday afternoon and was taken to Prince of Wales hospital. He remained there on Wednesday.
A NSW Police spokesperson told the SMH officers from the Eastern Beaches area command “are investigating” the assault at the Matraville correctional facility.
Milton Orkopoulos.
The 65-year-old is awaiting sentence on 26 charges after he was found guilty in April of sexually abusing four boys between 1993 and 2003. It is his second conviction for child sexual abuse.
He was previously convicted in 2008 of sexually abusing three other boys and supplying them with drugs between 1995 and 2006. He was jailed for a maximum of 13 years and eight months.
He is due to face court for sentencing proceedings on August 25.
The Greek pilot who killed his British wife Caroline Crouch has announced he will drop an appeal to overturn his life sentence,The Guardian has reported.
Babis Anagnostopoulos’ lawyer said the pilot had elected “for extremely serious reasons” to drop the appeal proceedings.
