New lifespan data analysed by Torrens University has laid bare a huge divide between the metropolitan and regional areas of New South Wales.

The data, which ranged between 2014 and 2018, showed how residents growing up in the state’s Central Darling region will die on average aged just 63 years.

According to The Daily Telegraph, this is the lowest life expectancy of all 129 of the state’s LGAs and a stark contrast to Sydney’s north, where locals on average live longer than 85 years.

The Central Darling, which includes Wilcannia, White Cliffs, Menindee and Ivanhoe, was followed closely by Brewarrina in the state’s northwest, where the average lifespan stood at 67 years.

Seven of the 10 areas with the lowest lifespan — all of which were under 76 years — were in regional NSW, The Daily Telegraph reports.

The other low scorers were Blacktown and Campbelltown in Sydney’s west and southwest.

On the flip side, Sydney’s leafy peninsula of Hunters Hill on the lower north shore had the highest lifespan, with locals living for an average of 89 years, followed by Ku-ring-gai and Mosman at 87 years.

Access to health services:

10-year-old, Paris Metaxas, lives in Hunters Hill and her mum, Nicole, tells The Daily Telegraph she feels “blessed” that her children can grow up in an area where they will statistically live to almost 90 years.

Mrs Metaxas said the area had a strong sense of community and health and wellbeing services were available in “abundance.”

“There are a lot of bulk billings GPs, medical centres, dental care, all available in abundance. A lot of people here like to exercise, and we have a lot of tracks and natural trails, gyms and classes,” Mrs Metaxas told the media outlet.

Mrs Metaxas went on to say a strong focus on nature conservation also helped improve the overall wellbeing of residents.

“It’s a conservation area. We have lots of trees and greenery. Food wise, people have really good access to good healthy food, and restaurants and cafes are more common than fast food,” she stressed.

Taking a look at socio-economics:

Social demographer, Amanda Davies, told The Daily Telegraph she was not surprised to see the contrasting statistics between suburbs such as Hunters Hill and regional NSW.

She attributed the disparity to factors including lower socio-economic status, poorer access to facilities and higher Indigenous populations.

“When we look at life expectancy, we look at socio-economics. Those with better access to healthcare and services live longer and lower or poorer access to healthcare lowers life expectancy,” Ms Davies said.

“We know there is a significant divide between urban and rural healthcare, particularly preventive healthcare.”

Shadow Minister for Regional NSW, Mick Veitch, told Australian media that the “terrible statistics” match the evidence currently being unearthed in the parliamentary inquiry into rural health.

“There is much to be done. We really need to resource our health services and ensure timely access to health professionals is available to all,” Mr Veitch said.

Source: The Daily Telegraph.

Queensland has recorded four locally acquired cases of COVID-19, but all the cases are linked to the Greek Orthodox Community Centre cluster.

Three new cases were found in hotel quarantine, bringing the total number of active cases in the state to 47.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the fact the new positive cases had been linked to known clusters was “really, really good news.”

READ MORE: Greek Orthodox Community of St George in Brisbane’s exposure sites.

Authorities are dealing with multiple clusters and the south-east and parts of north Queensland were sent into a lockdown last week.

The lockdown has since lifted, but restrictions remain and masks remain mandatory until July 16.

Chief Health Officer, Jeannette Young, said the case announced late on Sunday, a woman who is a close contact of a case at the Greek community centre, tested positive and so did her child.

She said contact tracers have also found where three cases, which authorities were having difficulty linking, had all attended – Zeus Street Greek Kitchen at Westfield Chermside.

“We’re just working out all of the specifics but we think that is probably the site of transmission,” she said.

The Premier added it was very important that people continue “doing the right thing,” including wearing masks, checking in to public places and getting tested even for the mildest symptoms.

Greek Orthodox priests in South Brisbane mandated to isolate at home:

In a Facebook post on July 3, Father Dimitri Tsakas from the St George Greek Orthodox Church in South Brisbane confirmed that he, along with Father Stavros and many of his co-workers, were mandated by Queensland Health to home isolate and quarantine.

“Fr Stavros and I will isolate for the mandatory period, meaning we should be back on board Wednesday 14 July. In the meantime we cannot leave home for any purpose, including Pastoral callouts or Services,” Father Dimitri wrote in the post.

“We accept the decision with gratitude in the interest of keeping everyone safe and healthy.”

The parish priest went on to say the administration building will be “deep cleaned in accordance with Health Department directives.”

The church will also be open to the public this Sunday, July 11 for services. Fr George Papoutsakis will conduct the service.

Source: ABC News.

Former federal Liberal MP and Greek Australian, Julia Banks, has alleged she was touched inappropriately by a senior male colleague and subjected to a culture “underpinned by sexism and misogyny” during her time in Parliament. 

In an extract from her new book, published in The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald on Saturday, Ms Banks alleged an unnamed Coalition minister slid his hand up her inner thigh during a function at Parliament House, around a year after she was elected Member for Chisholm in 2016. 

“For a minister to do this in the prime minister’s wing, which was full of Coalition MPs, he had to be astoundingly brazen,” she wrote. 

“I found it unbelievable. And I momentarily froze.”

On other occasions, including during her 2015 pre-selection, party members told her she was too old to be in politics at 52 and suggested she should be looking after her children.

Ms Banks resigned from the Liberal Party several months after Malcolm Turnbull was rolled as prime minister. She later contested the seat of Flinders as an independent but was unsuccessful. 

Politicians react to Banks’ allegations:

Ms Banks’ startling portrait of the political culture comes just as the Parliament is undergoing a major workplace review, sparked by former staffer Brittany Higgins’ allegations that she was raped by a colleague on a couch in the ministerial wing.

Speaking on ABC’s Insider program on Sunday, Federal Finance Minister, Simon Birmingham, said any inappropriate behaviour should be reported and that was why the government was seeking to set up “improved reporting and investigatory arrangements right across the parliament to support staff, members of parliament or anybody else.”

But the minister indicated the new procedure was unlikely to cover incidents that allegedly occurred in previous parliaments, saying “it becomes a point as to where do you draw the line in those regards.” He suggested it would apply “from this parliament forward.”

“Certainly it will provide for now and into the future a model that actually enables people to have confidence that their complaints can be heard and investigated with independence and confidentiality if they wish,” Birmingham said.

This came as other Federal and State Liberal MP’s told The Sydney Morning Herald they have not witnessed the culture of sexism and misogyny within the party portrayed Ms Banks in her new book.

Victorian Federal MP, Katie Allen, who is in her first term, said she felt “very supported” by her Federal Liberal colleagues, but more support was needed for politicians and their staff to deal with the high-stakes environment of Parliament.

“Certainly my experience has been very different from Julia’s but that’s not to say it didn’t happen,” Dr Allen told the SMH. “But there is no doubt politics is contested and the outcomes can be brutal.”

Health Minister, Greg Hunt, who has served in Federal Parliament for two decades, said he hadn’t seen a culture of sexism within the government.

“That’s not one of the things I’ve witnessed,” Mr Hunt said on Saturday. “I can only speak to my own practices. For me, my practice since I have been there is that Canberra is a place for work.”

Prime Minister ‘not aware’ of sexual harassment allegations:

A spokesperson for Scott Morrison said the Prime Minister was “not aware of any allegations of sexual harassment Ms Banks faced” and “any such behaviour is completely inappropriate.”

In the book extract, Banks claims Morrison offered to send her to New York as a United Nationals delegate, or to negotiate with the opposition for a parliamentary pair so she could have leave, after she decided following the 2018 leadership spill to stand down at the next election.

Banks claims that Morrison’s tone in one phone call in 2018 was “bullying, short and swift and coldly calculating,” and she alleges Victorian Liberal party forces and the Prime Minister both wanted her “silenced.”

But Morrison’s spokesperson said the prime minister “absolutely rejects claims about the nature of those conversations.”

“The Prime Minister was disappointed in Ms Banks’ decision to quit the parliamentary party and had several conversations with her to understand what she was going through to see what support could be offered before she made her decision,” the spokesperson said.

“That included support for personal leave so she could take the time to recover from the upset many people suffered during that period. Several of Ms Banks’ colleagues had similar conversations.”

Source: The Guardian.

Speaking from personal experience, when going to another country the first thing most Greeks do is go on the internet to see where the nearest Greek restaurant is.

For those planning a trip to New Zealand, Greek locals spoke with Stuff.co.nz to reveal the best and most authentic Greek restaurants in the country.

Auckland

Most places serving Greek dishes will do it alongside other Mediterranean food – often Turkish or Italian. El Greco (Campbell’s Bay) and Niko’s Pizza (Takapuna) both have Greek dishes amidst their Italian offerings, and Lokanta does a mix of Turkish and Greek. Gerome in Parnell turns out modern Greek, and of course there’s Emily’s Greek Kitchen for souvlaki in Browns Bay on the weekends.

Wellington

Oikos Hellenic Cuisine​ is dearly loved by the community, as is takeaway joint Souvlaki at Acropolis​.

There are also food trucks that do the rounds – Louko Meli Loukoumades​ for Greek doughnut balls, and The Greek Food Truck​ for souvlaki, salads and spinach pie.

Christchurch

In Christchurch, it’s all about Costas Taverna Greek Restaurant and Ouzo Bar​. The Athens Yacht Club​ also comes recommended, and of course the well-loved Dimitris Greek Food​ has been bringing Cantabrians Greek joy since 1985.

Keeping traditions alive

Speaking to Stuff.co.nz, Stella Bares, who is a former president of the Greek Orthodox Community of Wellington and recipient of the Companion of the Queen’s Service Order for services to the Greek community, reveals her efforts in keeping Greek food traditions alive.

“We still celebrate Greek Easter like they do in Greece. Some people fast [no fish, meat, eggs and dairy] for 50 days for lent, and that fast is broken after midnight mass on Easter Sunday with a traditional soup called Mayeritsa​.

“The preparation for the big Easter meal can go for a week beforehand. It will always involve lamb – often a whole one on a spit – with plenty of other traditional dishes. At Christmas we still make Greek kourabiedes​ and melomakarona​ [traditional biscuits] like we would have back home.”

Bares does cooking demonstrations for the Hellenic New Zealand Congress​, and every year the Greek Orthodox Community of Wellington​ holds Paniyiri​, a Greek Food festival that is growing year-on-year. From a small gathering back in the 1970s, guest numbers regularly hit more than 12,000 now, crowds flocking for the souvlaki, pita bread, calamari, baklava, loukoumades and good-time Greek vibes.