Desperate construction workers in Sydney’s west and southwest say they will fight for a class action over the State Government’s mandatory vaccination rules.
Last week, NSW Deputy Premier, John Barilaro, announced work at unoccupied construction sites would resume from Wednesday, with new worksite capacity limits and introduce minimum vaccination requirements for workers from the eight affected local government areas.
These regions include: Blacktown, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Georges River, Liverpool and Parramatta.
Workers from the specific LGAs will need to provide evidence that they have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, at least one dose three weeks before attending work, or one dose of a vaccine and a negative COVID-19 test in the previous 72 hours.
Construction workers are planning a class action.
Small business owners, Harry and Rebecca Gattis, say these new rules are marginalising construction workers and they have joined the fight against the state government.
Mrs Gattis said she even went to the lengths of donating to a fundraiser aimed at launching a class action against the government.
“This is consuming our lives,” Mrs Gattis told The Daily Telegraph. “My Husband Harry and I have 30 or 40 people calling every day looking for advice as to how to get back to work.
“I feel like southwest Sydney is under the dome and we are being discriminated against.”
Mrs Gattis said the government had “forced the construction industry to its knees in Sydney’s southwest.”
The husband and wife team run a joinery company in Minto and said they were frightened dozens of contracts would be terminated because they couldn’t get the factory to complete work.
Workers from 8 LGAs will need to provide evidence they have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.
“We cannot keep living like this, we are being treated like dogs in a cage,” she told the newspaper. “I would go without food for a week in order to fight this.
“If this goes on for another month, I will not have a business left after the pandemic, we will go under.”
Sydney Barrister, Mahmoud Mando, said he has fielded hundreds of calls from construction workers desperate to fight “unconstitutional laws and discrimination” by the NSW Government.
Mr Mando said the mandatory vaccination requirements were “not only unconstitutional, but also suggest discrimination against residents of certain parts of Sydney.”
“People are upset, indignant and traumatised over the discriminatory policy from the State Government,” Mr Mando told TheDaily Telegraph.
The Venus de Milo, or Aphrodite of Milos, is a sculpture created by the artist Alexandros of Antioch sometime between 150 and 125 BC that depicts the Greek goddess of love. It stands at 204 cm tall and is currently being displayed at the Louvre museum of Paris in France.
The statue, which was initially credited to another sculptor of the time, Praxiteles, is made entirely out of Parian marble. Written below are ten of the most important facts that you should know about it:
1. It was thought that the Venus de Milo was discovered by a man named Giorgos Kentrotas at the ancient city ruins of Milos island, which is part of the Cyclades. However, as was later pointed out by Australian researcher Edward Duyker, it was actually Giorgos’ father, Theodoros, who made the discovery.
2. The Venus de Milo helped fill in a gap at the Louvre museum that was opened due to the loss of many important historical artefacts such as the Venus de Medici. It’s what helped establish its position as a great work of art.
The Venus de Milo, one of the greatest pieces of Greek art from across the ages. Source: shutterstock
3. The greatest characteristic of this statue are its two missing arms, which were broken during its initial discovery.
4. The Venus de Milo was discovered on April 8 1820, one year before the Greek revolution against the Ottoman Empire.
5. During the events of the second World War and with the fall of France to the Germans looming on the horizon, the Venus de Milo was one of the few pieces of art that were safely evacuated from the Louvre towards the French provinces in order to ensure that it would remain in the hands of the French.
6. The statue has served as inspiration for many artists around the world and throughout the ages. Most notable among them was Salvador Dali, who created a statue around half the size of the original using plaster and filing the knobs of the surrounding drawers with pom-poms. He named his design “Venus de Milo aux tiroirs” (“Venus of Milos with drawers”.)
The Venus de Milo.
7. The Venus de Milo has gone on to inspire many other works of art across the ages. In 1988, the American actress Uma Thurman played a version of the statue in the movie dubbed “The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen.”
8. The name Venus de Milo is derived from the Latin name of the goddess of love and fertility Aphrodite, which is Venus. “De Milo” means simply “from Milos.”
9. The man behind the statue, Alexandros of Antioch, was also said to be a great composer and singer of his time.
10. Although it is common belief that the statue is indeed a depiction of Aphrodite, there are some that disagree, pointing out that it is actually Amphitrite, the goddess of the seas, that the sculptor meant to portray.
The isle of Crete, despite its many attempts to free itself from under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, including during the Greek Revolution of 1821, was still under occupation in 1866. The strong desire of the local Christians to rejoin with the motherland was what sparked the flame of this resurgence. It may have been short-lived but it did manage to turn the eyes of almost the entire civilized Europe towards the island’s plight.
Written below are five of the most important facts you need to know about the Cretan revolt of 1866:
The Monastery of Arkadi as it looks today. Image: Supplied
It all began after a number of petitions towards the then-Sultan Abdulaziz by the citizens of Crete were ignored. This triggered them to taking up arms against their suppressors and forcing them towards the outskirts of the island.
The Cretans set up their headquarters at the Monastery of Arkadi, which was set to become the location of their final stand as their conquerors began to gain ground and push them back.
According to reports, over 700 women and children had taken refuge at the monastery.
Just before the Ottoman army could break in, the abbot of Arkadi blew up all the gunpowder that was being stored in the vaults, thus putting an end to the lives of not just the rebels, but the innocents who were seeking asylum from the conflict as well.
The Ottoman army that arrived at the island to put a stop to the insurrection numbered 15,000 while they also had with them over 30 cannons. On the other side, the Cretans were but a few thousand.
New figures from the Department of Health have revealed the scale of the COVID-19 outbreak inside NSW’s aged care homes, with cases in at least 17 facilities.
Among the 17 aged care homes listed are two in suburbs which are densely Greek populated:
St George Aged Care Centre, Bexley – 7 active resident cases and 2 active staff cases.
Bupa Clemton Park – 1 active resident case and 1 active staff case.
Other facilities such as Wyoming Nursing Home (24 active resident cases, nine active staff cases and two resident deaths) and RFBI Hawkins Masonic Village (13 active resident cases, 3 active staff cases, and one resident death) have also been hit hard by the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Wyoming Nursing Home in Sydney’s inner west has the most number of current active cases.
According to The Daily Telegraph, many of the sites have not been officially listed as exposure sites on the NSW Health website.
In a statement to the newspaper, NSW Health said it does not disclose details about venues of concern unless there is a public health reason.
“When a confirmed COVID-19 case attends a venue while possibly infectious, NSW Health carries out a risk assessment on that venue to determine whether other people may have been exposed, and whether there is a public health risk,” a spokeswoman said.
Other council areas with active cases of Covid in aged care homes include Bayside, Blacktown, Cumberland, Georges River, Hawkesbury, Hornsby, Lake Macquarie, Penrith and Sutherland Shire.
A 62-year-old man of Greek background has been charged with murder after a fatal stabbing in Sydney’s inner west last week.
Police have alleged the 62-year-old walked up to an acquaintance on a street in Marrickville and killed him by stabbing him multiple times in the torso.
Following a police operation in nearby Dulwich Hill, the man was arrested. He was taken to hospital under police guard.
As reported by The Greek Herald on Tuesday, the murder victim was a 55-year-old man named Sofoklis, who was battling cancer and has left behind an 8-year-old daughter and his elderly mother, Niki.
Police outside a residence on Denison Road, Dulwich Hill, where a man was located after a stabbing in nearby Marrickville.
Victorian Police are searching a creek on the outskirts of Melbourne for the body of missing Adelaide Hells Angel associate, Kerry Giakoumis, The Advertiserreports.
Detectives have revealed extensive searches of the Jackson Creek in Diggers Rest, northwest of the Melbourne CBD, have been conducted this week after information was received during the inquiry.
So far the body of Mr Giakoumis, 29, has not been recovered but the searches are expected to continue.
Mr Giakoumis was last seen attending the Hells Angels Nomads headquarters in Thomastown on the morning of June 10 last year.
This is just five days after Mr Giakoumis travelled to Victoria from Adelaide with what police believe to be two other Hells Angels associates.
According to The Advertiser, intensive investigations into Mr Giakoumis’ disappearance indicate he may have been lured to Melbourne, but detectives have so far been unable to establish a motive for murder.
Victorian Police Detective Superintendent, Paul O’Halloran, said a task force comprising specialist detectives skilled in missing persons and homicide cases, as well as outlaw motorcycle gang investigations, had been formed to investigate the murder.
An image of a man Victorian detectives are seeking to identify in connection with the suspected murder of Adelaide man Kerry Giakoumis. Picture: Vic Police.
“Police have believed for some time that he has met with foul play and all the information we have received, particularly over the past few months, just confirms that,’’ he told The Advertiser.
“There will be people out there who have information about what happened to Kerry and who is responsible, and again I am appealing for those people to come forward and speak to police. I would also stress that this can be done anonymously.”
Detectives also released an image of a man who was with Mr Giakoumis on the night he was murdered they are attempting to identify as part of the investigation.
Anyone with any information on Mr Giakoumis’ presumed murder is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
In what many people are calling a leading initiative by Sydney’s Greek community, the gymnasium of All Saints Grammar in Belmore opened to the public on Wednesday, August 18, as a pop-up vaccination clinic.
The clinic is running for three days until Friday, August 20 from 10am to 4pm and offers Pfizer vaccines to people aged 16 to 59 from 12 Local Government Areas (LGA) of concern across Greater Sydney. This includes Bayside, Blacktown, Burwood, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Georges River, Liverpool, Parramatta, Strathfield, and some suburbs of Penrith.
Video by Andriana Simos / The Greek Herald.
On the first day of the pop-up clinic, hundreds of people, both from the Greek and wider community, turned out to get their vaccination. Everyone was socially distanced outside in a line before they checked-in via a QR code, had their temperature checked and entered the gymnasium for their vaccination.
Some people who had not booked their vaccine appointment via an online form before they arrived were given assistance by a team of volunteers from NSW Health and former students from All Saints Grammar. Others who had English as a second language were also guided through official procedures by interpreters onsite.
Interpreters were on site to help out. All photos: Andriana Simos.
Hundreds lined up outside the gym.
“It’s great to be able to work with our community partners. I think the community trust the organisations that are part of the community and that helps with people that might be a bit vaccine hesitant,” Renee Moreton, who is the General Manager of Population Health for Sydney Local Health District, told The Greek Herald exclusively on the day.
“Once they see their local community organisation take part in the vaccine response, it brings more people forward from the community, which is really good.
“We’ve got 500 Pfizer vaccines available [per day] for the next three days and we anticipate that we will use all 1,500 over the three days.”
Renee Moreton, General Manager of Population Health for Sydney Local Health District. Photo: Andriana Simos.
‘Everybody has been super grateful’:
Looking inside the All Saints Grammar gymnasium, you can see exactly why NSW Health authorities are anticipating their designated supply of Pfizer vaccines will be used up by the end of the three day initiative.
The clinic is like a well-oiled machine.
People are given numbers before they sit patiently in a ‘waiting area’ to be called to one of the 10 vaccination stations set up around the gym. After receiving a Pfizer jab from a registered nurse, people are then guided to sit in an observation area for 15 minutes before they are allowed to leave with a ‘goodie bag’ which contained 20 masks and some antibacterial gel.
The waiting area. All photos by Andriana Simos.
The ‘goodie bag’ given to people after their vaccines.
Vaccinations being done.
The vaccination area.
Registered nurse, Chloe Gibson, told The Greek Herald the process was made even easier because of the Greek community’s help, as well as that of interpreters and cultural support workers.
“I feel like everybody is a little bit hesitant in times like this. It is a new process and it is a new vaccine, but everybody has been super grateful and super awesome to work with,” Ms Gibson said.
“It’s been really rewarding for us as nurses to be able to come into their community and their spaces and have them come and see us [to get vaccinated].”
Registered nurse, Chloe Gibson, administering the Pfizer vaccine to Ms Szatow. Photo: Andriana Simos.
‘Lovely of them to open their doors’:
Demi Kavaratzis was one of the many people lined up outside the gymnasium and said she decided to visit the pop-up clinic to receive her second dose of Pfizer.
“Be persistent to get the vaccine,” she said. “It’s the only way out.”
47-year-old, Tina Daniels, agreed and said her experience at the pop-up clinic was ‘unreal’ as she’s ‘looking forward to some freedom.’
Tina Daniels. All photos by Andriana Simos.
Demi Kavaratzis.
“It was very good. Everyone is just trying to do their best to keep everyone safe and the nurses were beautiful,” Ms Daniels told The Greek Herald as she sat in the clinic’s observation area after receiving her vaccine.
“I think it’s really good to have pop-up hubs like this. I wish there was more of them. This is a great organisation and it’s really lovely of them to open their doors up to us and allow us in to be vaccinated.”
NSW Minister for Multiculturalism, Natalie Ward, also thanked the Greek community for their role in the state’s vaccine roll-out and said she was “heartened to hear that there has been a strong turnout at the Belmore pop-up clinic.”
Minister Ward.
“My deep gratitude goes to each and every person in our Greek community who has rolled up their sleeve to get the jab. Your contribution in our fight against COVID is crucial,” Minister Ward told The Greek Herald.
“The best vaccination is the first one you can get. Vaccination is our pathway for the future and it’s absolutely critical everyone gets vaccinated as soon as they can.”
A major wildfire northwest of the Greek capital devoured large tracts of pine forest for a third day on Wednesday and threatened a large village as hundreds of firefighters, assisted by water-dropping planes and helicopters, battled the flames.
The blaze in the Vilia area broke out on Monday shortly after another wildfire started to the southwest of Athens. Several other villages and a nearby nursing home received evacuation orders.
On Wednesday, a shift in the winds drove the flames towards Vilia, 60 kilometers from Athens. Greek media said several outlying buildings were damaged, but no injuries were reported and no evacuation order was issued for the village.
An aircraft drops water over a a wildfire in Vilia area some 60 kilometers northwest of Athens. Photo: AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis.
Clouds of smoke obscured the sun, which cast an otherworldly, orange light over the capital.
Local mayor, Christos Stathis, told Open TV that the fire was within a few dozen yards from Vilia, and appealed for firefighting aircraft to be deployed to the spot.
Hundreds of wildfires have burned across Greece this month, fueled by parched forests and shrubland from the country’s most severe heat wave in decades.
The blazes have stretched the country’s firefighting capabilities to the limit, leading the government to appeal for international help, including through a European Union emergency response system. About two dozen European and Middle Eastern countries responded, sending planes, helicopters, vehicles and hundreds of firefighters.
Greece’s fire department said 430 firefighters, including 143 from Poland, were deployed at the Vilia fire on Wednesday, along with 130 vehicles, 19 helicopters and 10 planes. The army, volunteer firefighters and local authorities also provided assistance.
By midday on Wednesday, an estimated 7,500 hectares (18.500 acres) of forest had been destroyed in the area.
A firefighter extinguishes a fire during a wildfire in Vilia. Photo: AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis.
The causes of the fires have not been officially established, although more than a dozen people have been arrested on suspicion of arson.
State ERT TV reported that a 14-year-old boy was arrested Wednesday in central Greece on suspicion of setting at least 13 fires in recent days — including one that raged out of control destroying homes and forest land. Quoting local officials, ERT said the suspect was caught on CCTV cycling away from spots where fires had started. The boy’s parents were arrested for neglect, ERT said.
Aspects of the treatment of aged care residents and details of a year-long investigation into St Basil’s Fawkner were laid bare for the first time in the Coroners Court on Wednesday, The Age has reported.
This comes as the court prepares to hold a month-long inquest into the deaths from September.
During Wednesday’s hearing, the names of 50 St Basil’s Homes for the Aged residents who died during the outbreak in July and August last year – 45 from COVID-19 – were read out.
“As devastating as these numbers are, they don’t tell the whole story,” Peter Rozen, counsel assisting the coroner, said.
“Evidence collected by the court … suggests certain features of the home, its management and the way the outbreak was addressed by external agencies that combined for the tragic outcome that materialised.”
According to The Age, Mr Rozen said St Basil’s manager Vicky Kos and St Basil’s chairman Kon Kontis had declined to take part in investigations and would need to be compelled to give evidence at the inquest.
In early July last year, an employee at St Basil’s Fawkner tested positive for the virus before it spread throughout the facility to a further 93 staff and to 94 residents.
On Wednesday, State Coroner John Cain heard that the staff member returned to work for a further two shifts while awaiting her results following confusion over isolation protocol and company policies.
According to the federal government’s aged care infection control policy, Mr Rozen said, if any outbreaks occurred homes must notify the federal Health Department, which would then implement a case manager and standby replacement staff.
But according to The Age, Mr Rozen said investigators had found that when Ms Kos learnt a staff member had become infected, she allegedly failed to notify the department, instead calling the coronavirus hotline.
On July 20, 2020, records showed that when doctors were notified of the idea of standing down the entire St Basil’s Fawkner workforce and bringing in replacement staff, they warned of a potential “disaster.”
The following day, after staff were sent home following a direction from the state’s Chief Health Officer, health authorities said the facility descended into total disarray, with residents left malnourished and dehydrated and others left lying on the floor, The Age reports.
“Many died during the ensuing week from COVID-19,” Mr Rozen said.
He said the basic needs “of the many highly dependent residents were neglected to a point that a number presented at hospital dehydrated, malnourished, suffering from serious pressure sores and in very poor general health, in addition to being COVID-19 positive.”
The coroner said he planned to examine what policies and procedures were in place during the outbreak, what was followed, the qualifications of staff and how residents were treated in the 10 days after staff were removed.
Greek Australian lifesaver, Peter Anthony Meletopoulo, has been awarded a Commendation for Brave Conduct (CBC) by the Governor General after he selflessly put his life in jeopardy to rescue a man from rough surf at Cronulla Beach in Sydney.
In October 2019, Peter and his fellow surf lifesaving instructor, Glenn Cairncross, were doing a water training activity session with a group of trainees at Cronulla Beach when they noticed a swimmer experiencing difficulties about 100 metres away.
Using his paddle board, Peter made his way to the distressed swimmer and assisted him to a sandbank where the man advised he could stand and make his way to shore. What happened next surprised everyone who was watching on.
“Glenn started pointing exactly back to where I’d just come from but with even more urgency. I was surprised by that and I can’t say that I was really looking forward to it because… it was really quite dangerous,” Peter tells The Greek Herald exclusively.
“I headed back there and this time I found the same person that I’d just literally rescued only minutes before. For some reason, he’d re-entered the water and he’d dived straight back in to where the rip was or he’d lost his footing and this time he was really struggling.”
Peter (left) with his fellow lifesaver, Glenn.
Peter quickly got off his board and held onto the man as they began to dive under the rough waves which were crashing against them. Despite this, the strong rip continued to push the pair closer to the wall of the ocean rock pool and Peter says he instantly became “hyper aware of the situation.”
“It was like a washing machine with these waves just breaking on top of us and the water was milky white and all foamed up. I just knew that we weren’t going to be able to get out of there, that we were headed for the rocks one way or the other,” Peter explains.
“So at this stage, I decided to turn our backs to the waves and just face the danger which was in front of us and that was the rocks and the rock pool.”
As a large set of waves approached, Peter decided to use the momentum of the waves to get the pair over the rock pool wall. Although the first attempt was unsuccessful, as the second wave hit, the distressed swimmer was deposited unharmed into the relative safety of the rock pool and was able to exit the pool unaided.
Peter was trapped between his paddle board and a pole and sustained broken ribs and a back injury.
“My team had started to run towards me by that stage… and I just saw them as I was beginning to see stars and I was literally losing consciousness,” he says.
Peter (far right) received a National Rescue of the Month Award from Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison.
Despite spending four days in the Acute Trauma Ward at St George Hospital, Peter stresses that he feels “no judgement” towards the man for his actions and has actually reunited with him after their ordeal.
“I think there was an error of judgment… and it didn’t pay off for him,” Peter says humbly.
“He followed up with me and I then got his name through the club and the Vice President of the club asked me whether I’d like to make contact with him and I said, ‘yes I would.’ So I phoned him and a few days later, I got out of hospital and I met him at Cronulla, only 50 or 100 metres away from where the whole rescue took place.
“I had a coffee with him and a chat and a really nice exchange with him and you know, he told me at the time he felt very bad about what happened and especially that I’d been injured. He was very grateful for being rescued.”
For Peter, it was just another day at the office and he says being awarded a CBC for his actions really was ‘surprising.’
“It’s a real honour. It’s surprising, humbling. We’re just doing what we think we should do and what we’re trained to do… If the situation was repeated, we would do exactly the same thing again,” Peter concludes, before thanking his fellow trainer Glenn and encouraging others to look into becoming surf lifesavers.
