Nola Karapanagiotidis has become the first Greek Australian woman to be appointed as a judge of the County Court of Victoria.
Her Honour Judge Nola Karapanagiotidis is one of six new appointments to the court which start today.
“I’m excited to welcome six new, distinguished and deserving people as judges of the County Court, who bring with them a range of experience and expertise,” Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes says.
“Having such a variety of skills on the bench is an important part of our work to make justice more fair and accessible to Victorians.”
Nola Karapanagiotidis has been a barrister for close to two decades, practicing across the Magistrates’, County and Supreme Courts and appearing in the Federal and High Courts and coronial inquests.
She previously worked at Victoria Legal Aid and as a solicitor advocate and has held a range of community-based and volunteer legal positions.
I don’t think I’ve ever had a prouder day. My sister Nola Karapanagiotidis has just been appointed a County Court judge!! The 2nd in my family to even go to High School, 28 yrs of volunteering for community legal centres & one of the first Greek Australian women to be appointed❤️ pic.twitter.com/J6hYbedl1i
Founder of the Asylum Seekers Reserve Centre (ASRC) and brother Kon Karapanagiotidis is sentimental over the announcement.
“My late father, Leo, dreamed of being a lawyer & my mum, Sia, [a] maths teacher. Dad had to leave school at age 9 & my mum at age 12,” Mr. Karapanagiotidis writes on his Facebook page.
“They came as migrants, no English, worked on farms and in factories until their bodies could take no more.”
“Today my sister, Nola, was appointed a County Court judge.”
“Somehow you found within you the strength to raise Nola and I so that we could dream that we could touch the sky and be anything,” Mr. Karapanagiotidis further pens in a missive to his late parents.
The other candidates appointed are Stewart Bayles, Kellie Blair, Daniel Holding, and Angela Ellis.
Details of any welcome ceremonies will be made available on vicbar.com.au when they are known.
Melburnians will spend another week in lockdown, Premier Daniel Andrews has confirmed at Victoria’s press conference on Wednesday.
Victoria has recorded 20 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases out of 41,571 test results processed on Tuesday.
Of the new cases, 15 are linked to current outbreaks and 14 have been in quarantine throughout their infectious periods.
The current lockdown was due to end at 8:00pm on Thursday but will now be extended until at least August 19.
Mr. Andrews said the discovery of five more mystery cases was one of the reasons the extension was required.
The Premier also announced the cross-border bubble with New South Wales would be further tightened, with permits required for all cross-border residents from Friday night.
“From 1:00pm tomorrow, but not enforced until 6:00pm Friday, people will need to, if they want to use that bubble they will need to get a permit,” he said.
New South Wales recorded 344 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases and two more deaths in the 24 hours to 8:00pm yesterday.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned that the surge in cases seen over the last two days was likely to continue.
A man in his 90s and a man in his 30s have died after contracting COVID-19.
Ms. Berejiklian said the man in his 30s had other underlying health conditions and the man in his 90s was not vaccinated.
She says there has been an increase in cases in the neighbouring LGAs of Bayside, Burwood and Inner West.
Fourteen new cases were confirmed in the Hunter region overnight.
Two more cases have been reported in Dubbo.
The Premier confirmed that Dubbo will go into lockdown from 1:00pm today.
There are currently 374 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 62 people in intensive care, 29 of whom require ventilation.
Of those in intensive care, three are in their 20s, seven are in their 30s, six in their 40s, 14 in their 50s, 13 in their 60s, 16 in their 70s, and three in their 80s.
Melbourne massage therapist Michael Sergides has been sentenced to five years and nine months in jail after being found guilty of rape and sexual assault by the Victorian County Court.
Michael Sergides is two months into a sentence he received for sexually violating a female client on the massage table.
“You took advantage of her vulnerability in an entitled way that has caused deep and enduring trauma to her,” Judge Martine Marich told Sergides, 75, as he watched on a video link from prison.
“These are the types of incidents that cause concern in women that they are not safe from opportunistic sexual violation.”
The woman visited Sergides’ home on June 26, 2018, for a back and shoulder massage after her friend found his advertisement on sales website Gumtree.
The woman, aged in her 20s, said she felt frozen, worthless and empty during the massage and called her friend and her mother once she left. The woman then went straight to the police.
In an impact statement, the woman said the crimes left her lost, isolated and housebound, without anything that brought her joy. She self-harmed, her relationships with loved ones suffered and her mental health declined to diagnoses of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“He took my only reason to get up each day and my only reason to live,” she says, but that she “…decided he wouldn’t win any more … what he took from me that night I have now taken back. I have reclaimed my life,” she said.
Judge Marich accepted the victim’s evidence in finding Sergides guilty, and found there were inconsistencies between what Sergides told the woman’s friend in a phone call and his denials to police. She found he had no case to answer on two other charges.
Judge Marich acknowledged Sergides was a man of good prior behaviour and retained family support, had health problems and good rehabilitative prospects. He has already served two months.
Sergides must serve three and a half years before he is eligible for parole and is permanently banned by Victoria’s Health Complaints Commissioner from running general health services.
Industrial conglomerate Mytilineos has sent helicopters to Greece to aid the battle against the country’s raging wildfires.
Flying and supporting staff consisting of more than 20 pilots, engineers, and translators are on-board the BELL 214 BI helicopters and are en route from Australia to Greece.
“From the first moment that the magnitude of the disaster became apparent, MYTILINEOS decided immediately to help in the most appropriate way. In collaboration with the Government and the General Secretariat for Civil Protection, the Company aimed to offer firefighting helicopters, which were most needed by the Fire Department,” a press release from Mytilineos reads.
“These helicopters, after being approved at operational level by the General Secretariat for Civil Protection, are handed over to the State of Greece, in order to contribute to the extinguish of the active fire fronts in the country.”
“[Four] helicopters are on their way to our country and will remain for 60 days from the date of their arrival, in order to avoid the risk of resurgence or new wildfires, while the cost of the helicopters (€ 3.3 million) is fully undertaken by Mytilineos.”
“Experts will adjudicate whether the wildfires that engulfed the country were the result of long-term deficiencies and state problems, or an additional proof of the catastrophic effects of climate change. Mytilineos is the first Greek company and one of the first industries in Europe and worldwide, that set clear targets to minimise its carbon footprint, while its entire strategy is governed by the principles of sustainable development.”
“Our commitments are being matched by deeds and every time our homeland calls us, we try to be useful, in a crucial and effective way. We also pledge to assist in any effort of rebuilding the burned areas and of reforestation of the woods.”
“Mytilineos has proven over time that it is always present during difficult times of our country. This disaster has shocked us all. We knew that there was a need for aerial firefighting, however, there is a terrible shortage worldwide. We did what was humanly possible and found the most advanced Erickson firefighting helicopters and brought them from Australia to Greece. Along with a crew of 20 people – pilots, engineers and even translators,” Vivian Bouzali, General Manager of Communications and strategic marketing, tells The Greek Herald.
“These helicopters, with a cost of 3.3 million euros, fully covered by Mytilineos will remain in our country for two months. Until the last spark that threatens our homeland goes out. Mytilineos will also contribute both to the reconstruction of the burned areas and to the reforestation of our natural wealth.”
“…We hope that all Greek and international companies to invest in sustainable development. It is up to all of us to contribute to the future of our planet – to the future of our children,” Ms Bouzali concludes.
A political scuffle has begun in Athens as frontline personnel work around the clock to battle wildfires for the eighth day running on Tuesday.
The main political opposition party SYRIZA in Athens has blamed the government for using climate change as an excuse to cover up deficiencies in its handling of the crisis.
“Climate change is, without doubt, an especially dangerous reality. However, it cannot be used as an excuse by the government because it ignored our warnings and those of scientists,” SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras told reporters.
Deputy Civil Protection Minister Nikos Hardalias jumped to the government’s defence, telling reporters the state apparatus did all it could in the face of the worst heatwave in 30 years.
“Do not shoot the fighters in the hour of battle. Every home lost for us is a stab in the heart,” Hardalias said.
“The losses we suffered involved fighters, not civilians.”
Deputy Civil Protection Minister Nikos Hardalias (right) jumped to the defence of the Government following Opposition leader Alexis Tsipras’ (left) comments (Left: Michael Kappeler—dpa/Corbis) (Right: via xronos.gr)
The government announced relief measures – including compensation and tax exemptions – for those who have lost homes and property, but that wasn’t enough to quell the concerns of residents in villages of high risk.
“Police came and told us to evacuate the village of Avgaria but we cannot, this is our property. We cannot let our homes burn,” said Ioannis Aggelopoulos, 55, who owns a car body shop at Istiaia in the epicenter of Evia’s wildfires.
“We have been sleeping in shifts.”
586 wildfires broke out in eight days.
Other fronts in the Peloponnese have also reignited, and authorities ordered the evacuation of 20 more villages in the region of Arkadia.
Almost 1,000 firefighters, nine aircraft and 200 vehicles have been sent to Greece from other European countries to help.
One volunteer firefighter has died and three others have been hospitalised.
Residents used hoses to put out fires burning near their homes and helped firefighters and volunteers.
“They’re the ones who saved the village today,” one elderly resident said, pointing to a team of Slovak firefighters tackling flames in a forested area.
“It’s a huge fire, it’s not easy to get it under control,” said the crew’s team leader, Peter Kovalik.
“We are doing our best.”
The Athens National Observatory estimates that about 65,000 hectares have been burned in total as of Sunday.
Dozens of villages and thousands of people have been evacuated.
Pharmacist, Chris Vasili, arrives for work every day at Michael Vasili Chemist in Lakemba and instantly dons full Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in the form of a face shield, medical gown and gloves. He and his staff then start to serve regular customers from behind a Perspex screen.
Whilst this new normal is startling, these measures have been implemented as the chemist shop is situated in the Canterbury-Bankstown Local Government Area (LGA) – the current epicentre of the COVID-19 outbreak which is spreading across western and south-western Sydney.
For Chris, it’s about putting the safety and wellbeing of his regular customers above the shop’s bottom line.
“It’s been a little bit of loss in business for over-the-counter, front-of-the-shop things, but our main focus is the hundreds of scripts we have on file, many who are Greek actually,” Chris tells The Greek Herald exclusively.
Michael Vasili Chemist in Lakemba.
“We have to put them first and obviously put the safety of the aged care facilities that we supply first. It was just one of those things that we had to take the loss, but it’s nothing in comparison to being shut down for 14 days by the health care department.”
With customers front of mind, the pharmacist has also continued to offer local medicine delivery. This service is something customers have really welcomed and utilised during the current strict lockdown.
“We’ve increased our local delivery tenfold. Before it was maybe like one or two [scripts] a day… now we’re probably at least 15 or 20 a day of local customers of ours who don’t want to go out, maybe their kids can’t travel to this area to get their medication, so we’ve been delivering that to them,” Chris explains.
Pharmacist, Chris Vasili.
The success of this delivery service leads The Greek Herald to ask Chris whether the chemist is also planning on taking appointments for the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines anytime soon.
Chris says although he has undertaken his COVID-19 vaccination training and the shop has been approved as a vaccination site, they have decided “to hold off on supplying it merely because we aren’t even letting customers in at the moment.” This, he adds, hasn’t stopped customers from asking about the vaccines and staff are able to provide them with accurate advice.
“Not only are they asking whether we do it, they’re also asking ‘is it safe.’ I might get this question like five times a day…” Chris says.
‘We want this to be over’:
It’s not surprising that Chris is regularly asked about the safety of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines.
According to Peter Doukas, who is the Chair of the Ethnic Communities Council of NSW (ECCNSW), the peak body of all culturally and linguistically diverse communities in NSW, there’s currently a lot of vaccine hesitancy in south-west and western Sydney due to vaccination messaging.
“There is a lot of negative media about vaccines and the multicultural communities we’ve dealt with – and the Greek community is not innocent of this – is that we get our media from the home country and from other Greek communities around the world, as well as Australia, and it’s not consistent,” Mr Doukas tells The Greek Herald.
“That affects people’s thoughts about vaccinations which then starts a cycle and we’ve seen this with many communities.”
Peter Doukas is the Chair of the Ethnic Communities Council of NSW.
Mr Doukas adds that on top of vaccine hesitancy, the NSW Government will also face several other challenges around developing a mental health plan and enforcing public health orders during the current lockdown.
“Communities have reacted relatively well so far but again, it’s been a difficult transition back into lockdown this year. Last year we had more good will and a lot more energy but now everyone has COVID fatigue and we want this to be over,” Mr Doukas says.
“What concerns me now, is obviously the healthcare related issues… It’s now a question of partly enforcement of health orders and secondly, it’s a question of how you deal with exemptions.
“Especially when you are dealing with areas and communities that often struggle to adapt to the public health orders because they have large families or family members who are essential workers and they bring the virus back home.”
‘I’m always cautious’:
Kypros Agathocleous is another one of these essential workers from the Liverpool Local Government Area (LGA).
As a courier driver, his job sees him move around for work but as he lives in one of the eight LGA’s subjected to an Authorised Workers Order, he must have a COVID-19 test every three days.
Kypros Agathocleous is a courier driver from Liverpool.
“When they mentioned the Liverpool LGA was going into lockdown, my first thought was that I wouldn’t be able to go to work. There was a grey area with what they announced and it wasn’t clear,” Kypros tells The Greek Herald exclusively.
“I contacted the company that I work for and they informed me that I could continue working but had to get negative COVID tests.”
Since then, Kypros says he has been busier than ever as there has been a surge in home deliveries of small appliances and gift hampers.
“I’m doing contactless deliveries and pick ups, scanning QR codes and always wearing a mask. Customers can’t sign for the deliveries. Deliveries were authorised to leave with proof of delivery. With most of the deliveries I had to take a photo for proof of delivery,” he says.
It’s extra work but Kypros says he still feels lucky he is able to continue working while others are working from home or not working at all. For him, it’s all about looking after and continuing to provide for his wife and daughter.
“I’m always cautious with distance between people, always sanitise and wash my hands as it’s always at the back of your head, what if,” he concludes.
The issue of the non-existence of a Double Tax Agreement (DTA) between Greece and Australia continues to concern the community while questions arose from expatriates in relation to the actions carried out by the Greek authorities in this direction.
“The moves are coordinated and there have been positive developments,” said the Head of the Office for Economic and Commercial Affairs of Greece in Australia, Trade Commissioner, Katia Gkikiza, making it clear that both countries recognize the importance of the agreement as a means of strengthening business cooperation between them and stimulating bilateral economic and trade relations.
Trade Commissioner of Greece in Australia, Katia Gkikiza
“Greece has actively focused on efforts to reduce any remaining tax barriers within the country having introduced a series of measures such as tax reductions for individuals and businesses, tax incentives for investment, further digitization of tax services and modernization of the legal framework for corporate governance”, she stressed.
Ms Gkikiza also explained that in addition to efforts to improve the tax framework for businesses at national and international level, Greece and the Office of Economic and Commercial Affairs have been actively promoting a cross-border trade with Australia and informing local businesses about trade and investment opportunities in Greece.
Part of Greece’s promotion strategy in Australia is a joint action with the EU Delegation to Australia on the EU – Australia Free Trade Agreement which is currently being negotiated.
Positive signs of an agreement in the near future
“There are currently 10 EU member states without a Double Taxation Agreement with Australia (including Greece). Since the launch of negotiations for the Free Trade Agreement between the EU and Australia, in June 2018, Greece has been working closely with the EU and the other nine member states in order to ensure that the issue of the Double Taxation Agreements is also addressed,” said Ms Gkikiza, clarifying that such agreements can be time-consuming.
— Australia in Belgium 🇦🇺🇪🇺🇧🇪🇱🇺 (@AusEmBrussels) August 4, 2021
“The Australian Federal Budget of October 2020 included an announcement to modernise and expand Australia’s tax treaty network with other countries,” Ms Gkikiza said, and clarified that Australia should negotiate separately with each of the EU member countries that do not have a double taxation agreement.
It is worth noting that in October 2020, the aforementioned ten EU member states co-signed a letter to the Australian Federal Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg asking him to prioritize the resolution of the issue of double taxation.
“Since then, we can confirm that there have been further positive developments. There has been an exchange of official correspondence between the two countries at the highest level, including letters between the two Prime Ministers, in December 2020, expressing mutual strong commitment to conclude a Double Taxation Agreement as soon as possible, and hopefully before the end of financial year 2021/2022,”said Ms Gkikiza.
Concluding, the Trade Commissioner assured the businesses and companies wishing to invest in Greece that “they can go on with their projects knowing that the Greek Government is fully committed to the conclusion of the Double Taxation Agreement.”
With the Tokyo Summer Olympics over for this year and the Paralympics set to begin in two weeks, The Greek Herald has decided to fill the gap in our television viewing with our top six Greek moments from this year’s Games.
1. The Opening and Closing Ceremony’s:
The was a strong Greek presence at both the Opening and Closing Ceremony’s of the Tokyo Olympics this year.
Greek flag bearers, Eleftherios Petrounias and Anna Korakaki, kicked off the Opening Ceremony as they proudly walked out first with the Greek flag, followed closely by the rest of the athletes.
Petrounias came out in a traditional black suit, while Korakaki and the other female athletes wore an elegant blue and white dress.
Greek flag raised at the Olympic closing ceremony.
On his return to Ioannina in Greece, Stefanos was given a hero’s welcome as he did a victory lap around the city’s main square aboard an army Jeep, with a police motorcycle escort.
Ntouskos was also crowned with an olive wreath by Epirus Regional Governor, Alexandros Kachrimanis, and congratulated for this performance in the Tokyo Games by Ioannina Mayor, Moisis Elisaf.
3. Greece’s men’s water polo team win first-ever Olympic silver medal:
After a nail-biting men’s water polo final, Greece claimed its first ever Olympic silver medal after losing to Serbia 10-13.
Alexandros Papanastasiou of Greece reacts after scoring. Photo: Reuters / Gonzalo Fuentes.
With five minutes to spare, Serbia scored two more goals and ultimately defended their Rio 2016 Olympic title in men’s water polo.
In the lead up to the gold medal match, Greece had won six of its seven games at Tokyo 2020, with the only exception a 6-6 draw against Italy in the preliminary round.
5. Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari team up to play Aussies, Ashleigh Barty and John Peers:
Greek Australians watched on the tennis quarterfinal as they cheered on both Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas from Team Greece and Ashleigh Barty and John Peers from Team Australia.
Ultimately Sakkari and Tsitsipas were defeated by the Aussie duo, 6-4, 4-6, [10-6], but it was still a fun and nail-biting game to watch.
The Australian Olympic Committee had 472 athletes competing at the Tokyo Games this year and among them were five Greek Australians: Dylan Pierias (football), Alexandra Aristoteli (rhythmic gymnastics), Taylah Tsitsikronis (softball), Anthony Hrysanthos and Lea Yanitsas (both water polo).
All of these athletes made us proud as they played for Australia in their respective sports. Water polo players, Anthony and Lea, helped their teams to a number of victories as goalies.
Western Sydney Wanderers FC have confirmed the loan signing of Dimitri Petratos for the upcoming A-League season.
Growing up in Blacktown, Petratos is set to play for the Wanderers for the first time in his career following a season spent at Saudi Arabian side Al-Wehda where he featured in 28 matches and scored 10 goals.
Raised in the heart of Western Sydney, Petratos played his junior football at grassroots club, Blacktown Demons, before kicking off his senior football at Penrith Nepean FC.
Petratos broke onto the A-League scene in 2010 and went on to make over 200 appearances in the competition with 42 goals to his name at clubs Sydney FC, Brisbane Roar and Newcastle Jets.
The 28-year-old has frequented the Socceroos squad and last played in 2019 in a friendly against the Korea Republic, as well as going to Russia in the 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Petratos said he was proud to represent his hometown club for the first time in his career.
“It’s exciting (to sign for the Wanderers) because I get to represent the place where I grew up in,” Petratos said.
“I’ve always wanted to play for the Wanderers but always something else popped up. So now it’s finally time for me to play for the team where I grew up. I’ll give my everything for the club.
“I’m not coming back to just be with my family and be in a comfort zone. I’m coming back to work hard. I want to win titles. I want to win the Grand Final. I want to come back and help the team achieve that stuff.
“I’ll definitely have the support from my family. I’ve played once at Wanderland and they’ve built an amazing stadium and it was an exciting time when I played there.
Dimitri Petratos has frequented the Socceroos squad.
“So I’m looking forward to that being my home ground and I can’t wait to get out there.”
Petratos’ return to Western Sydney in the coming weeks is a homecoming that will see him not only reunite with his family in the region, but also some friends he’s made along the way of his career.
“I am long-time friends with Bernie (Ibini). It’s good to catch up and play with him again. We were friends in high school,” Petratos said.
“Steven Ugarkovic I played with for three years at Newcastle. We have a very good connection on the field.
“Terry Antonis, we are childhood family friends and we have known each other since we were five.
“I’ve known Ramy (Najjarine) since he was 10 year’s old as he used to play with my brothers and he came to some of the Academy’s my father had back in the day. It will be good to catch up with him and help him out, he’s a young player with a lot of talent.”
Western Sydney Wanderers CEO, John Tsatsimas, welcomed Dimitri and his family to the club.
“I’m not coming back to just be with my family and be in a comfort zone. I’m coming back to work hard. I want to win titles. I want to win the Grand Final. I want to come back and help the team achieve that stuff." #WSWpic.twitter.com/Y4Ldzzy0CS
“We welcome another Western Sydney boy back to the club for the 2021/22 season and we are excited to see what Dimi can bring to the club with his wealth of experience and leadership qualities,” Tsatsimas said.
“We wish him and his family a safe trip back to Australia and look forward to seeing him in the coming weeks.”
Head coach Carl Robinson said Dimi’s qualities will shine through at the Wanderers.
“First and foremost, Dimi is a fantastic person and someone any team is lucky to have in their dressing room and on the pitch,” Robinson said.
“Dimi has a great work ethic and understands what it takes to play in the A-League. He’s a naturally gifted footballer and will bring something special to our group of players which I am sure our fans and members will appreciate.
“We have a great deal of work to do, and we have a group that has grit and determination to get the job done on and off the pitch for this club.”
Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, Alex Hawke MP, has provided an update to representatives from multicultural communities on Monday afternoon about the Federal Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the vaccination roll-out and a potential travel bubble with Greece.
Minister Hawke was joined by Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Professor Michael Kidd, and the Head of the Implementation and Primary Care Response and Chair of the Department’s CALD Communities COVID-19 Health Advisory Group, Dr Lucas de Toca.
Travel bubble with Greece:
During the video conference, Minister Hawke was asked by The Greek Herald about Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s recent discussion with the Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and whether a potential travel bubble between Greece and Australia was on the cards.
The Minister for Immigration stressed that while he understands the need for “a ray of hope” during this pandemic, a travel bubble with Greece will only be considered once Australia reaches a vaccination target of 80 percent.
(L-R) Dr Lucas de Toca, Professor Michael Kidd, Alex Hawke MP. Photo: The Greek Herald.
“In a sense, all countries are being considered for travel when we get to the right phase in the national roll out map that the Prime Minister has put together,” Minister Hawke said.
“I think it’s important to be frank about where we are at. For Phase C to happen, we need to get to the 80 percent vaccination target… and then we can transition to countries for travel.”
Minister Hawke added that the different vaccinations which are available to people around the world also needs to be considered before international travel is possible.
“Systems are being developed to recognise and deal with different vaccines, deal with travel. In the Australian Government, we’re investing heavily in border management and digital recognition of vaccinations so we can be ready to travel,” he said.
Rise in people getting vaccinated:
On the topic of vaccination, Professor Kidd said although vaccination rates differ between different multicultural groups and early concerns about blood clots from the AstraZeneca vaccine did lead to some hesitancy, the Federal Government has still seen a recent rise in people getting vaccinated.
“We have seen a real reversal of the hesitancy that we were seeing a few months ago. The number of people who are prepared to get a vaccine right now has gone up considerably,” the Deputy Chief Medical Officer said.
“Some of that is related to more points of access for the vaccine with local General Practices, GP’s and their staff who speak the language of their patient populations, and pharmacies as well have been very important.”
There has been a rise in people getting vaccinated.
Professor Kidd then went on to give two important messages to multicultural communities about: (1) the need to get people aged 60 and over “vaccinated right now,” and (2) the need for aged care workers to have at least their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine before September 27 otherwise they won’t be able to keep working in the health sector.
Before the conclusion of the video conference, Minister was asked one final question regarding his thoughts on criticisms around the roll out of small business payments in New South Wales at the moment.
Minister Hawke acknowledged that it is “very unfair” some retail sectors are thriving during the COVID-19 pandemic while small businesses aren’t, and stressed that the NSW Government need to speed up the handing out of support payments.
“From a Federal Government’s point of view, we are paying 50 percent of the bill for the business support and that’s important, but the state is administering the payments at the moment and that will need to be brought forward,” Minister Hawke said.
“I know they’re doing their absolute best right now to get those payments processed, to get them done faster and to ensure that businesses get their money.”
This positive news comes as NSW recorded 356 new local COVID-19 infections today, the highest since the pandemic began, sparking fears of a lockdown extension and the closure of more small businesses.
