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Collective effort from governments, business and citizens needed to get our city’s mojo back

The Greek Herald
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Collective effort from governments, business and citizens needed to get our city’s mojo back

By Paul Nicolaou

The past two years have been a roller coaster ride, but after a couple of false starts, 2022 will be the year Sydney regains its mojo. But it will need a collective effort by us all with government committing to do its bit to get the economy moving again.

Sydney’s CBD in particular is suffering severely from a lack of foot traffic, greatly reducing spending and sending businesses closer to the wall. Staffing shortages have exacerbated business’ ability to bounce back this time from what has become a self-imposed lockdown.

Experts predict Omicron is about to peak and while we must safeguard our health, we also need to shake off the Covid malaise and get on with living our lives again.

For over two years we have been plagued with uncertainty from health concerns, shifting restrictions, lockdowns, and closed borders with no clear end in sight.

Although it can be tempting to be distracted by the disruption of recent weeks as we transition to living with the virus, the fog of uncertainty is starting to lift.

With vaccination rates among the highest in the world and Omicron appearing significantly less dangerous, the fundamentals for the future of our great global city are strong.

Restrictions have been eased and with a few exceptions for health reasons, the NSW Government has broadly stuck with its reopening roadmap. This sends an important message to the community that yo-yoing restrictions are hopefully a thing of the past, which will make it easier for people to plan their lives professionally and personally.

While the impact of Omicron has caused possibly the worst Covid-induced economic impact, it will only delay the recovery rather than derail it. It is exacerbating supply chain & staffing issues and putting upward pressure on inflation. As we have seen with this variant, cases have increased well beyond levels seen in previous occurrences and continues to have a material economic impact as people isolate in a ‘shadow lockdown’ and are shopping, dining and entertaining from home.

Despite this, economists are expecting that the overall economic impact of Omicron to be modest and it will delay rather than disrupt Sydney’s economic recovery. In fact, Deloitte Access Economics latest Business Outlook report predicts above national average economic growth for NSW this year.

Recent changes to close contact rules and Covid case management will go some way to ease staffing pressures and after two years of working from home, more needs to be done to encourage people back to the office when it is safe, so that employees and company productivity can again enjoy the benefits from teamwork and in-person collaboration. Public space reactivation through entertainment and workplace social events in the CBD will drive traffic in the short-term, but a broader strategy is required.

While we as consumers and workers can help turn around the economy, we need all tiers of government to do what they achieved well in previous lockdowns and provide financial assistance, policy changes and programs that assist reactivation and recovery.

My five suggestions for federal and state governments to aid business recovery:

1) Increase the amount pensioners can earn without it affecting their pension entitlement. This would encourage many retired workers to return to the workforce part time, bringing their experience and skills to sectors that need workers now, especially in hospitality, retail, transport and logistics.

2) Provide a tax offset to incentivise workers with a fulltime job to take on part time work, like doing some shifts in hospitality venues, without being taxed so heavily that it is not worth their while. This would be a temporary measure to get us through current staff shortages and help people make ends meet as inflation bites into budgets.

3) Provide free Rapid Antigen Tests for small and medium sized businesses to help them keep workers safe and get them back to work as soon as is safe to do so, without burdening businesses with added cost they can’t afford.

4) Reduce red tape and regulations around sectors like hospitality, retail, transport and construction, with temporary measures that were introduced in past lockdowns to enable business to function better.

5) Extend until the end of 2022 the successful Dine & Discover program with more vouchers and better advertising and communication on how and where to use the vouchers. The Dine vouchers enjoyed strong uptake, but people need to be made better aware of the many places they can

Discover and enjoy a fun, culturally rich experience.

Sydney can bounce back stronger than last time and as the Omicron peak subsides, the city will be in an excellent position to look forward to a brighter future with cautious confidence.

But we need to all work together with governments to ensure Sydney gets its mojo back and takes its place as the best city in our region to live, work, invest and do business in.

*Paul Nicolaou is Executive Director of Business Sydney (formerly the Sydney Business Chamber)

Greek, Cypriot and Pontian communities call on Australian PM to recognise genocide

The Greek Herald
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Greek, Cypriot and Pontian communities call on Australian PM to recognise genocide

The Presidents of the Greek Community of Melbourne and Victoria, Bill Papastergiadis, and the Cyprus Community of Melbourne and Victoria, Theo Theophanous, with the support of the Pontian Federations of Australia, have written to the Prime Minister calling on the Government to formally recognise the genocides committed by the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1923 of Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks and other Christian minorities.

The action by the two Presidents follows a motion that was passed unanimously by the House of Representatives on November 29, 2021 calling on the Government to formally recognise these genocides.

READ MORE: House of Representatives calls on Australian Govt to recognise Greek, Armenian, Assyrian genocides.

The motion in the Federal Parliament was supported by both sides of Parliament. It was moved by Government member Trent Zimmerman and seconded by Labor’s Joel Fitzgibbon. Other government speakers were John Alexander and Julian Leeser and from the opposition, Josh Burns and Steve Georganas.

(L-R) Bill Papastergiadis, Simela Stamatopoulos, Theo Theophanous, Peter Stefanidis.

As of 2021, there are 31 countries around the world that have recognised these genocides including the US, France, Italy, Brazil, Sweden, the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and the Vatican City.

“It’s time for Australia to also step up,” a joint statement from the associations said.

“The Turkish Government has steadfastly refused to acknowledge its legacy of past wrongs. We believe that it is in the interests of Turkey itself for it to confront its past and issue a formal apology. This is precisely what Germany did following the genocide and holocaust they perpetrated on Jewish people in the second world war. It has been an important moral admission by Germany.

READ MORE: Irene Pnevmatikos MP moves motion for recognition of Genocide Remembrance Day.

“We do not believe that this should not be a partisan political issue in the lead up to the coming elections. All we have asked of the Prime Minister, and in fact we also ask of the Leader of the Opposition, is that they respect the unanimous motion passed by the parliament and act upon it.”

Bill Papastergiadis, President of Greek Community of Melbourne and Victoria

Hon Theo Theophanous, President of Cyprus Community of Melbourne and Victoria

Peter Stefanidis, President of the Federation of Pontian Associations Australia

Simela Stamatopoulos, President of the Australian Federation of Pontian Associations

Eight International Summer University to be held in Kastellorizo

The Greek Herald
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Eight International Summer University to be held in Kastellorizo

The University of Ioannina – School of Education, Department of Early Childhood Education, and the Department’s Social Issues, Mass Media, and Education Studies Laboratory, in cooperation with:

-the Modern Greek Studies Program of the Department of Media, Communications, Creative Arts, Language and Literature, Faculty of Arts, Macquarie University, and
-the Macquarie Greek Studies Foundation, in Sydney, Australia,
with the participation of:
-The Circle of Hellenic Academics in Boston, and
-the Boston University Philhellenes in Boston,

Organizes the 8th International Summer University “Greek Language, Culture, and Media”. The project is scheduled to take place in Kastellorizo on July 10 – 15, 2022, at the Hall for Cultural Events of the island.

The program enjoys the auspices and the support of the General for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as the auspices of the Municipality of Megisti.

The organization is planned, with the careful consideration of all the current sanitary measures against the pandemic, which it monitors and follows strictly.

This year, the 8th International Summer University holds the special title:

Outermost places, language and culture

Sample topics:
-Language, symbols and signs in outermost Greece.
-Barren line and language identities.
-Dialects and popular culture.
-Cultural sources in isolated island regions.
-Outermost Greece and the Greek diaspora.
-“«Με τον καημό σου, θ’ ανοίξουμε πανιά». The sung language of Kastellorizo.
-Press and outermost places. Depictions, descriptions, analyses.
-Radio and TV stations in barren lines. Tribute.
-Artificial intelligence serving the barren line.
-Computational Linguistics, projects for residents in the outermost places.
-Language and Education. Interdisciplinary approaches.

ERT, ERT 2, ERT3, ERT WORLD, Proto Program 105.8, and the Voice of Greece, together with the Channel of the Parliament, have supported the project as media sponsors from the very beginning. CNN GREECE, the newspaper The Greek Herald/Ελληνικός Κήρυκας in Sydney, the newspaper Neos Kosmos in Melbourne, and the radio station 2mm Radio 1665, Sydney, Darwin, Wollongong also serve as media sponsors. The project is also supported by a series of other institutions, which will announced soon.

Aimilios Cheilakis and Athena Maximou will star in this year’s TV spot.

After seven years of renowned success for the organization, the “tradition” of cultivating extroversion and synergies with prominent international institutions of education, culture, and media continues. It is reminded that, in the past, the International Summer University “Greek Language, Culture, and Media” has been also supported by the Center for Hellenic Studies in Greece, Harvard University; the Hellenic Delegation of the European Parliament; the Union of European Journalists (Greek department); the Orthodox Academy in Crete; the Club de la Presse Européenne, Paris; the Centre Culturel Hellénique in Paris; the Instituto De Letras in Rio De Janeiro University; and more.

The program is addressed to undergraduate and postgraduate students, PhD candidates, educators, while a limited number of professionals with relevant interests is also accepted, in the framework of lifelong learning. It offers certificates of participation recognition and educational material to the participants. Moreover, it includes cultural activities, always following the health protocols.

Nikoletta Tsitsanoudis – Mallidis, Associate Professor of Linguistics and Greek Language and Director of the Social Issues, Mass Media, and Education Studies Laboratory at the Department of Early Childhood Education, University of Ioannina and CHS – GR Associate, Harvard University, is the Scientific Director of the program.

*Information and submission of CVs/applications to register: Nikoletta Tsitsanoudis – Mallidis, nitsi@uoi.gr and in the website https://summerschool.ac.uoi.gr

READ MORE: International Summer University: What is it and why global collaborations matter?

Maria Sakkari storms into the Australian Open fourth round

The Greek Herald
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Maria Sakkari storms into the Australian Open fourth round

Fifth seed Sakkari has made it through to the fourth round of the Australian Open for the second time after brushing aside Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 6-1 in one hour and 24 minutes.

Kudermetova may have registered more winners (15-12), but unfortunately for her, she almost tripled Sakkari in the unforced errors department (32-12).

The Greek broke the Russian five times all up and enjoyed sizeable advantages in percentage of first-serve points won (77-63) and second-serve points won (61-32).

Sakkari will meet American 21st seed Jessica Pegula in the fourth round.

Greece to step up pressure for Parthenon Marbles amid signs of changing views in UK

The Greek Herald
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Greece to step up pressure for Parthenon Marbles amid signs of changing views in UK

Greece has vowed to intensify its campaign for the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles amid “optimistic” signs that British public opinion has shifted markedly in favour of returning the marbles to Athens.

According to The Guardian, this decision comes after Britain’s Times newspaper had an about turn recently and argued for the treasures to be returned to Greece.

READ MORE: Greek PM reiterates call for return of Parthenon Marbles as British public opinion shows support.

Visitors flock to the British Museum to see the Parthenon Marbles.

Referring to the recent return of a fragment of the Parthenon to Athens from Italy, The Times said the deal underscored what had become a “compelling case” for the sculptures’ restitution.

The argument that Athens lacked an appropriate place to exhibit the carvings no longer held when “a magnificent museum next to the Acropolis” had been built to house the cultural heritage, the article asserted.

READ MORE: New British Museum director hints at lending the Parthenon Marbles to Greece.

This statement surprised many as the British magazine had maintained for more than 50 years that the marbles should remain in London.

The Parthenon Marbles are currently in the British Museum.

In response to this unexpected, but welcomed, support from a sector of the British establishment, the Greek government said it would step up pressure for the fifth-century BC antiquities to be enjoyed in their entirety.

READ MORE: Delphi Bank launches petition for return of the Parthenon marbles.

“The sculptures are the most important link between the modern Greeks and their ancestors,” Tasos Chatzivasileiou, an MP who is the Greek Prime Minister’s top foreign policy adviser, told The Guardian.

“Our strategy will be to turn up the heat, to keep this issue in the public sphere and to raise it at every opportunity.”

Source: The Guardian.

Australians of Greek heritage named among SA’s rising stars for 2022

The Greek Herald
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Australians of Greek heritage named among SA’s rising stars for 2022

The Adelaide Advertiser has released its list of young up-and-coming talent for 2022 and there are at least three Australians of Greek heritage named.

Here’s who to keep your eye out for this year:

Emma Georgiadis:

Emma Georgiadis, or Emma G as she’s known by fans of her podcast Empowerhouse, is a rising star in South Australia.

When she’s not winning gold in the Bullseye category at the 2021 Australian Podcast Awards, she’s also visiting schools to run Enlighten Education workshops for young women.

Emma Georgiadis.

The workshops help girls aged 11 to 18 decode the mixed messages they receive about what to eat, how to act, how to look, how to please and how to be liked. 

On top of all that, she also has a demanding day job at Triple M as an announcer and anchor.

READ MORE: Greek Australians named as finalists in the Westfield Local Heroes 2021.

Danny and Michael Philippou:

Danny and Michael Philippou are the crazy YouTube pranksters better known as RackaRacka. In 2019, they famously filled a car with water and drove it through a bottle shop, earning them a date in an SA court.

READ MORE: Youtube celebrity RackaRacka faces court over stunt in Adelaide.

Danny and Michael Philippou.

But the Adelaide twins are changing their tune this year with the launch of their first feature film, a horror flick called Talk to Me.

In production since mid-2020, the movie will finally start shooting in Adelaide next month with funding from Screen Australia and SAFC, and backing from Causeway Films (The Badabook).

READ MORE: YouTube stars Danny and Michael Philippou set to create debut feature film.

The LA-based brothers are hoping their social media success can be replicated in Hollywood, with about 15 other projects already in the works.

Source: The Advertiser.

George Ellis set to impress as Australia Day Ambassador for the Cabonne Shire

The Greek Herald
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George Ellis set to impress as Australia Day Ambassador for the Cabonne Shire

Australian conductor and award-winning composer, George Ellis, will be bringing beautiful music to rural New South Wales on Australia Day as an Ambassador for the Cabonne Shire.

Mr Ellis’ role as Ambassador will see him attend the Eugowra Community Bowls and Recreation Club and take part in Australia Day activities at 2pm.

READ MORE: Conductor George Ellis on the ‘musical energy’ he gets from his Greek heritage.

Presentations will be made to the Eugowra Citizen of the Year, the Junior Citizen of the Year and the Group of the Year.

There will also be Certificates of Appreciation from the Community to deserving citizens and the naming of Event of the Year.

Mr Ellis told The Forbes Advocate he’s looking forward to the event.

“Serving as an Australia Day Ambassador in beautiful rural NSW these last three years [have been] my favourite Australia Day experiences,” Mr Ellis said.

George Ellis.

READ MORE: George Ellis on orchestrating the music for the NRL Grand Final entertainment.

“I have met some incredibly inspirational and selfless people who love to help others.”

Everyone is welcome to attend the Australia Day activity at the club and people are encouraged to take a plate of food to share for afternoon tea.

READ MORE: The Hymn to Liberty: George Ellis dazzles Greeks in Sydney performance.

Source: The Forbes Advocate.

Greek Orthodox church in Kogarah receives $40,000 grant to render outside facade

Andriana Simos
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Greek Orthodox church in Kogarah receives $40,000 grant to render outside facade

Kogarah’s Greek Orthodox church, ‘The Resurrection of our Lord, our Lady of Myrtles, St Elessa,’ will remediate and render its outside facade after receiving a $40,000 grant from the New South Wales government.

The funding was obtained as part of the government’s Community Building Partnership Grants for 2020. It was made possible with the help of NSW Labor Leader and Member for Kogarah, Chris Minns MP, as well as the Member for Kogarah, Steve Kamper MP.

NSW Labor Leader, Chris Minns (centre) speaking with Bishop Christodoulos (left) and Nicholas Varvaris (right) outside Kogarah Parish on Thursday. Photo: Facebook.

Both Mr Minns and Mr Kamper attended the Kogarah church on Thursday to meet with His Grace Bishop Christodoulos, Father Athanasios Giatsios, Deacon Mario Baghos, and the President of the Kogarah Parish Committee Nicholas Varvaris, to discuss the Parish’s renovation plans.

Bishop Christodoulos told The Greek Herald the community was pleased to receive the grant and thanked the Ministers “for coming to the assistance of the Parish Committee in getting the funding.”

“The grant will ensure this wonderful Cathedral is kept in state-of-the-art condition for all to enjoy. This is great news for church attendees, Greek Australians and the entire St George Community,” Bishop Christodoulos said.

READ MORE: Greek Orthodox church in Kogarah receives $20,000 grant to upgrade entrance doors.

Museums Victoria seeks photos of local Greek community for international exhibition

The Greek Herald
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Museums Victoria seeks photos of local Greek community for international exhibition

Museums Victoria are hosting an exciting new international exhibition in early 2022 and they want the local Greek community to be a part of it.

The exhibition is set to explore Ancient Greek journeys and cultural connections, and Victorian Greeks are being encouraged to send in treasured photographs of their life in Australia.

According to the organisation, they are looking for photographs which “record modern journeys and celebrate Greek Australian families and communities in Melbourne and Victoria, from the early years right through to today.”

That could include a snapshot of a family business or BBQ, a wedding or graduation ceremony, and even a sporting of community event.

Museums Victoria are also happy to take photographs from your arrival in Australia, whether that was in the 1920s, 1950s or even yesterday.

If you would like to send your photographs in, you can fill in the application here.

Fairfield’s Greek Amphitheatre Granted Heritage Protection

The Greek Herald
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Fairfield’s Greek Amphitheatre Granted Heritage Protection

By Jim Claven*

In a big win for Melbourne’s Greek community, this week saw Victoria’s Heritage Council grant heritage protection to Melbourne’s iconic Amphitheatre complex at Fairfield on the banks of the Yarra. The decision comes after an immense community campaign led by Melbourne’s Stork Theatre, which founded the theatre with the then Northcote City Council. 

Heritage Council Victoria issued its decision on 18 January, determining “that the Fairfield Park Amphitheatre Complex is of State-level cultural heritage significance and is to be included in the Victorian Heritage Register”.

Significantly, the decision covers the whole complex – the Amphitheatre, Kiosk and Pavilion – a key aspect of the Stork Theatre’s campaign and was made against the recommendation of Heritage Victoria, part of the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, as well as a previous VCAT decision.

This is great news not only for the Stork Theatre but also to all interested in the theatre’s role as a supporter of Hellenic culture and the wider arts community. In granting protection, the Heritage Council cited the theatre’s importance as a reflection of Victoria’s migration story, specifically the role of the local Greek community in supporting its creation.

With the then Northcote City Council overseeing its development, the Amphitheatre was conceived on the model of Greece’s world famous Epidavros Amphitheatre, reimagining recycled bluestone from the streets of Northcote. The whole project was support by the then Federal Labor Government and its local MP the Hon Brian Howe. Since its creation the Amphitheatre has been the site of original Epidivros Festival, many Stork Theatre productions and witnessed many productions of Hellenic artistic works – from theatrical productions to the recent readings from Homer’s Iliad. 

The Heritage Council Victoria decision specifically recognizes the Amphitheatres significance as “an expression of the consolidation of Greek migrant identity in Australia”, as an expression of Australia’s multiculturalism and in “its bi-cultural importance to Greek-Australians in Victoria’s cultural development” through its “symbolism, design, programming, community engagement and cultural influences”. The Amphitheatre Complex demonstrates the underpinning of migrant acceptance by the broader Australian community, and a self confidence in established migrant communities in the expression of their own identity and cultural heritage in Victoria.

The public campaign has been widely supported by members of Melbourne’s Greek community – from politicians, through community organizations to the thousands of individuals who joined in the campaign petition. This has included local MP Kat Theophanous and colleague Lee Tarlamis MP, local school students, NUGAS representatives and the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria amongst many others. 

In welcoming the decision, Local MP Kat Theophanous said that she was overjoyed at the decision. “I have been working in support of the campaign for many months. Not only is the Amphitheatre an important and iconic arts facility, but it represents an important aspect of Melbourne’s multicultural history, a cultural asset that has been supported since its inception by the local Greek community.”

Ms Theophanous hoped to that the local council would now work to support the growth and long term future of the Amphitheatre. In welcoming the decision, she was joined by Lee Tarlamis MP who has also taken part in the campaign in support of the Amphitheatre and congratulated Helen Madden and the Stork Theatre campaign team for their efforts.

Greek Community President Bill Papastergiadis welcomed the decision on behalf of the wider Greek community and committed to working with the Stork Theatre to enhance the use of the theatre.

“The Greek community has a long tradition of supporting community arts projects, including those who came together to support the development and use of this theatre. I look forward to working with others in the community to continue this commitment into the future. I strongly believe that we need to seize the opportunity presented by the Amphitheatre’s heritage protection to expand its use as a centre for the appreciation of the Hellenic culture to our common heritage”, he said.

Bill Papastergiadis said that he had been proud to support the campaign and would be holding urgent discussions with Stork Theatre and relevant Greek community organizations to advance this commitment in coming weeks. He was also keen to engage with the State and Federal Government’s as to how they might support the future of the complex.

“I look forward to full program of cultural events being held at the Amphitheatre, encompassing the Stork Theatre’s events, its incorporation into our annual Antipodes Festival, Greek community cultural events and local schools and tertiary institutions. I can see the Amphitheatre as a hub for theatre, readings and celebrations – all recognizing the vitality of our Hellenic culture in Australia”, Bill said.

In welcoming the decision, the Stork Theatre’s Helen Madden looked forward to a new and bright future for the Amphitheatre. Helen said that with the decision she felt that something truly magical has happened on the banks of the Yarra – Greek culture has been recognised by the Heritage Council Victoria in its manifestation in the Fairfield Amphitheatre Complex.

“The decision is a great relief to all who know and love the Amphitheatre. “As we said in our submission to Heritage Council Victoria, the Ampitheatre is the only professionally equipped amphitheatre and outdoor performing arts venue in Victoria with unique acoustic qualities. The challenge now is to secure its future as a vibrant community facility and importantly as a permanent home for a theatre company. I look forward to working with the Greek community and its representatives to realize this vision”, she said.

*Jim Claven is a trained historian, freelance writer and published author. He reviewed the Stork Theatre’s recent production of Homer and has been an active supporter of the Fairfield Amphitheatre campaign. 

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