His Eminence Archbishop Makarios has joined Federal MP’s and many members of the Greek community in sending a letter to La Trobe University, requesting that the Greek Studies Program remains in study circulation.

In his letter, the Archbishop urges the University Administration to reconsider the proposal they have put forward, stating his conviction for the viability of the Greek Studies Program and assuring that the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia will provide all possible support in this direction.

His Eminence says the Archdiocese is willing to mobilise the community so as to enter into a partnership with the university with a view to keep the Greek language program viable.

READ MORE: Federal MPs express disappointment over La Trobe’s proposal to cut Greek Studies
READ MORE: Urgent meeting held to discuss future of Modern Greek Studies at La Trobe University

“La Trobe University’s Greek Studies Program, the last of its kind in Victoria, is the fruit of these efforts,” he said.

La Trobe University is currently the only university in Victoria that offers a comprehensive program in Modern Greek Studies from complete Beginners to PhD.

His Eminence expressed his understanding of the management’s concerns about the financial viability of the program, but hastened to remind that the Greek community in Melbourne, and Victoria in general, is one of the largest Greek-speaking communities in the Greek diaspora worldwide.

His Eminence points out that the care for the preservation and continuation of the Greek language, faith and culture is a duty of the Greek Orthodox Church of Australia.

“The Greek-Australian community and especially its members living in your area have played an extremely positive role in all aspects of the development of Victorian society,” he said, adding that the Greek language and culture are important not only to the Greek-Australian community, but for Australian society as a whole.

See the Archbishop’s letter to John Brumby AO, Chancellor of La Trobe University, below:

* You can sign the petition here to save Modern Greek Studies at La Trobe University. An information session will be held by ‘Greek Studies at La Trobe University‘ this Wednesday, November 18 at 6.30pm.

More people now have the opportunity to become Australian citizens, with citizenship testing and appointments now available in all states and territories following COVID-19 shutdowns.

In-person citizenship tests and appointments resumed in Melbourne this week, after COVID-19 restrictions in Victoria eased.

Testing has progressively resumed in other states and territories as COVID-19 restrictions have allowed.

READ MORE: New Australian citizenship test to focus more on ‘Australian values’ rather than sporting history
READ MORE: Want Greek citizenship? You’ll now have to pass a written exam first

More than 30,000 tests have been administered since testing resumed in July 2020. There are currently 117,000 people waiting for an appointment nationally, of which almost 40 per cent are in Victoria – with Melbourne being the second largest testing centre, after the combined Sydney sites.

While citizenship processing continued during COVID-19, the pandemic has contributed to an increase in the number of people waiting for their citizenship applications to progress. The Government is providing additional resources and is increasing its opening hours at key locations to ensure that as many applications can be finalised as quickly as possible, while still maintaining the integrity of the citizenship program.

Despite the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, since 31 March 2020, more than 90,000 people from every state and territory have become Australian citizens in online ceremonies.

As at 31 October 2020, a further 14,000 people had become citizens through in-person ceremonies since they resumed in June 2020.

In-person ceremonies have resumed in a number of states and territories as restrictions have eased, and local councils are encouraged to resume in-person ceremonies in a COVID-safe manner.

Everyone who sits the citizenship test from now on will sit the updated test, which has a greater focus on Australian values, including the rule of law, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of association and equality of opportunity for all people in Australia.

South Australia will be ordered into a major lockdown for six days in what the Government is describing as a “circuit breaker”.

People will be restricted from going outside of their homes — only one person per household will be able to leave the home each day, but only for specific purposes.

From midnight tonight, for the next six days, all schools, takeaway food, and the construction industry will close and exercise will be banned outside the house.

Masks will be required in all areas outside of the home.

Universities, pubs, cafes, elective surgeryand all outdoor sport will be closed. Weddings and funerals will be banned.

Urgent operations and cancer treatment will be allowed to go ahead. Critical infrastructure such as water, electricity and telecommunications will remain open, as will supermarkets.

Medical, including mental health support, will be open, as will public transport.

SA Premier Steven Marshall said the measures are a necessary “circuit breaker” to allow for a contact tracing blitz on cases linked to the Parafield cluster.

“We continue to face our biggest test to date,” he said.

“We can, and we must, rise to this challenge.”

There have been two new cases of coronavirus cases in SA, both linked to the Parafield cluster.

Chief Public Health Officer Professor Nicola Spurrier said the particular strain of the virus is breeding “very, very rapidly” with a short incubation period of about 24 hours, and with infected people showing only minimal symptoms.

Professor Spurrier said authorities have acted to shut down the community now, because waiting any longer would see South Australians incur similar lockdowns to Victoria.

Other restrictions over the next six days will include temporarily banning fly-in-fly-out work, regional travel and the rental of holiday homes.

Aged care and disability residential facilities will be in lockdown.

Sourced By: ABC News

Older Australians and those employed by small businesses are being left behind by the recovery out of the coronavirus recession as the withdrawal of federal government support filters through the economy.

The recovery is being driven by employment of teenagers, which is now almost 14 per cent above its pre-virus level, growing by 3.2 per cent in the last weeks of October alone.

The worst hit age group is now those over the age of 70 with numbers down by 12.2 per cent, while among those in their 60s the drop has been 6.5 per cent. The next worst age group are those in their 20s, down by 4.5 per cent.

The Morrison government has come under fire for its JobMaker hiring credit program, which pays employers up to $200 a week for each extra staff member aged under 30 they take on. The subsidy is $100 for those workers aged between 30 and 35 with no support for those over 35.

Westpac senior economist Justin Smirk said there had been a 5.5 per cent surge in the number of teenagers on payrolls over the past month compared to a 0.1 per cent drop in those aged between 30 and 36.

“If you remember back to May, both over 70s and under 20s payrolls were the hardest hit by the lockdowns whereas now, the under 20s have surged back while over 70s continue to languish,” he said.

Senior economist with global job website Indeed, Callam Pickering, said it appeared older Australians were struggling to get back into the jobs market.

“Job losses for both men and women remain concentrated among older Australians,” he said.

Unfortunately, many older Australians may be forced into retirement by a lack of opportunity. Payrolls for men and women aged 60 to 69 are still down 6.5 per cent and 9.2 per cent, respectively, and are showing few signs of improvement.”

Sourced By: SMH

Maria Vamvakinou and Andrew Gilles are among other Labor MP’s who expressed disappointment over the Greek Studies program at LaTrobe University ending after 38 years.

The Australian Labor Party released a statement denouncing the the univiersity’s actions, claiming it is a “direct result” of cuts by the Morrison Government to properly support universities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Facing financial pressure, La Trobe University has flagged cutting dozens of liberal arts and language subjects including Greek Studies, Hindi and Indonesian. The University has already cut jobs and they expect to cut more jobs,” the statement says.

“The Morrison Government’s failure means that institutions like La Trobe are being forced to gut their courses, cut jobs and leave students with fewer choices.”

La Trobe University is currently the only university in Victoria that offers a comprehensive program in Modern Greek Studies from complete Beginners to PhD. Students at the University have organised a petition to help save the Modern Greek Studies course from being discontinued.

“By cutting funding to the Greek language program the Morrison Government is sending a message that they don’t value the Greek language.”

“Our multicultural nation is made stronger when second and third generation Australians have the full opportunity to remain strongly connected to their language and culture.”

“Australia has one of the largest Greek diaspora communities in the world and any understanding of modern Australia must include an understanding of all the cultures that have shaped it. If this program is discontinued, students, no matter their background, will be denied that opportunity and as a society we will be poorer for it.”

“We call on La Trobe University to reconsider this decision and to continue its Greeks Studies program.”

Australian Ambassador to the US Arthur Sinodinos has revealed how Australia will seek to work more closely with the new Biden administration as the country begins its road to economic recovery.

Speaking on The Australian’s Strategic Forum Sinodinos says he believes Joe Biden will maintain the Trump administration’s tough approach to China but would do so more in concert with regional allies like Australia.

“We’ve encouraged a Trump administration and we will encourage a Biden administration to work closely with us and others because I think for us it is important that China is brought into the rules based order in a way which is consistent with that order working to the benefit of everybody,’ Mr Sinodinos told The Australian.

“We want a strong and prosperous China but it has to work within that context. And that works best when we and other countries work together to convince them that the calculus of benefit for them is to be part of that rules based order.”

With President-elect Joe Biden serving in US Congress for 47 years, also acting as Barack Obama’s vice-president, Sinodinos expects Biden to have a more “consistent” foreign policy approach.

“I think what may be a holdover from the Obama era may be the way the Obama put the focus on the inter-agency processes,” Sinodinos added.

“But I suspect that is a default position that the president-elect would fall back on, those processes he was familiar with in that time.

“The opportunity for us, of course, is that where those processes exist, we have more notice of what may be going on, more of a capacity to influence.:

Mr Sinodinos said he believed a Biden presidency would see a continuation, rather than any major change, in the close alliance relationship between Australia and the US. He said he hoped Mr Biden would visit Australia next year to mark the 70th anniversary of the ANZUS Alliance and underline the importance of the relationship for both countries.

“This is a relationship which, in my view, under this (Trump) administration has gone from strength to strength, and we are optimistic we can go further under a Biden administration,” he said.

Sophie Cotsis MP, Member for Canterbury, welcomes the start of a major upgrade to Rudd Park in Belfield after a very lengthy community campaign including petitions, representations, lobbying from Belmore Eagles and the Canterbury Football Association. 

Key works include:

– Construction of a new synthetic field which will be fully accessible for those with disabilities

– Irrigation and drainage upgrades

– Installation of new lights

“Rudd Park plays an important role in our community. Local sporting groups train or play matches in the park and residents use it as a recreational open space as part of their active lifestyles” said Ms Cotsis. 

READ MORE: Sophie Cotsis MP hosts ‘Multicultural Mental Health Roundtable’ in Canterbury
READ MORE: Sophie Cotsis demands improved cyber security and digital access

“Creation of synthetic fields and increasing accessibility for people with disability will allow for greater utilisation of the park for all locals.

“I have been side by side with our community and sporting groups, calling for this upgrade. I would like to acknowledge Belmore Eagles, Canterbury Football Association and locals for their campaign.”

Mayor Khal Asfour said “The new ground will support all-weather use with a high-quality playing surface.

“We know the field is used for soccer and so we have timed the project to be completed just in time for the start of the soccer season. The new synthetic field will be flood-proof and so that means more games for our community and less rained out days.

“There will still be room to maintain parklands for the community.”

Tony Burke, Member for Watson said “I am really pleased to see work commencing at Rudd Park. “This fantastic upgrade will enable thousands of local children from local sporting clubs to play their football matches on a perfect surface in all conditions.

“These upgrades are critical in ensuring that children have the facilities available to pursue a healthy and active lifestyle through sport.”