The Daily Telegraph has revealed it’s ‘Power 100’ rankings for 2022 and among the list are two Australians of Greek heritage – Nick Politis and Peter V’landys.
They have joined a number of other powerful people in Sydney, including NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet at number one position and Prime Minister Scott Morrison at number two.
4. Peter V’landys:
Peter V’landys has two of the biggest jobs in sport as the CEO of Racing NSW and Chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission.
The child of Greek migrants, V’landys actually has a background in business and commerce, but was drawn to rugby league because he never forgot how he felt as a young boy playing for Wests Illawarra.
“My parents, being migrants, they didn’t think rugby league was a career. So I went to uni and got into business, took a different path,” V’landys told the Illawarra Mercury in 2020.
“But I never forgot what rugby league did for me. When the opportunity to pay it back came, I took it up. That’s why I’m doing what I’m doing. It’s purely to repay the game.”
Now, V’landys has become one of the most powerful men in Australian sport.
In recent years, his profile has also been pushed further into the public spotlight as he fought to keep rugby league viable during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nick Politis is a migrant from the Greek island of Kythera who has helped save rugby league in Australia and turned a single car dealership into a $2 billion fortune.
Politis was born to George and Argyro Politis on Kythera in 1941, only months after the Germans took over the island during WWII.
At the end of the war, Politis and his family arrived in Australia when he was eight. From an early age, a strong work ethic was instilled in him.
Now, Politis is one of Australia’s least-known billionaires.
He’s 80, of modest height and does yoga four times a week. He also happens to be one of the most powerful men in rugby league as the Chairman of the Sydney Roosters, and is the most influential person in the Australian car industry.
COVID-19 hospital visitation rules are being relaxed in New South Wales today but for the Koutsogiannis family, these changes have come too late.
Speaking to ABC News, Tina Koutsogiannis shared how she was denied an exemption to see her father conscious for the last time at Concord Hospital, after he was admitted due to complications from COVID-19.
84-year-old, Sozo Koutsogiannis, and his wife, Shirley, contracted COVID-19 after New Year’s Eve.
Sozo began suffering “a little bit of heavy breathing” and a “cough,” and was admitted to hospital on January 21. Tina said that days later, doctors at the hospital called to tell her Sozo had pneumonia and infections.
Sozos was an avid reader of The Greek Herald. Photo by Kaily Koutsogiannis.
She “begged” hospital staff to let her see him multiple times, but was refused. The family was only allowed video calls.
On February 3, Tina was told her dad would need to be ventilated. An exemption to see him conscious one last time was again denied, but they did speak via video call.
“And then his last words to us were, he looked at us, his words were, ‘I love you too much’,” she told the national broadcaster.
After a last request to see him, Tina said she, her mother and sister were given an exemption to sit by his side for an hour as he lay unconscious the day before his death on February 5.
These stories of heartbreak have forced the NSW Government to revise its hospital visitor guidelines today. These guidelines will now allow visits if it is “beneficial for the patient’s emotional or physical well-being.”
ACT prosecutors are calling for an increased sentence for convicted Canberra murderer, Jayscen Newby, who stabbed Frankie Prineas to death in 2020,ABC News reports.
Newby was sentenced to 20 years in jail and a 10-year non-parole period after stabbing Prineas to death while he was on a Tinder date with a woman Newby had known.
At the time of Newby’s trial last year, ACT Chief Justice Helen Murrell described the murder scene, at a home in Charnwood in Canberra’s north, as a “bloodbath.”
After the judgement was handed down, Prineas’ family said Newby’s jail term was not long enough and they were in “total dismay.”
“We knew we weren’t going to get justice; we knew it wasn’t going to be great, but we didn’t expect it to be so bad,” Prineas’ dad, Victor, said last year.
Frankie’s father Victor Prineas, aunt Angela and brother Peter. Photo: ABC News/Mark Moore.
‘Mutilated an innocent person’:
Today, the ACT Court of Appeal heard that the case against Newby was overwhelming, with an eye witness and DNA evidence.
ACT Director of Public Prosecutions, Shane Drumgold, told the court that Newby was given too large a discount on his sentence for his plea of guilty and cooperation in the court process.
According to ABC News, Drumgold told the court Newby had not shown remorse and his sentence should reflect the seriousness of the crime he committed.
Jayscen Anthony Newby. Picture: Instagram.
“He mutilated an innocent person to terrify his domestic partner,” he said. “It was an assertion of dominance.”
Newby’s lawyer, David Campbell, told the court even if it accepted the sentence was inadequate, any changes would only amount to “tinkering.”
Greece has again rejected Turkey’s latest demand to demilitarise its islands, saying they “go beyond simple logic.”
Earlier on Thursday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu reiterated his country’s call on Greece to demilitarise islands in the east Aegean, warning that if Athens does not change its stance then the debate questioning their sovereignty will begin.
“We sent two letters to the UN. We sent them because Greece is violating the demilitarisation regime of the islands. These islands were ceded to Greece by the Treaties of Lausanne of 1923 and Paris of 1947 on the condition of their demilitarisation. But Greece has been violating this regime since the 1960s,” Cavusoglu told the TRT television network.
“In the letter we wrote, we mentioned that Greece violates the terms of the treaties, these islands were given under conditions, and if Greece does not change its position, then the sovereignty of these islands is debatable.”
Greece absorbed the islands of Limnos, Samothrace, Lesvos, Samos, Chios and Ikaria from the Ottoman Empire in the Balkan Wars of 1912-13. It was officially awarded sovereignty over them in the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923.
Another treaty drawn up in London in 1914 had made Greek possession of the islands conditional on their demilitarisation.
Turkey says that since the Lausanne Treaty makes reference to the 1914 treaty, it implies the same conditionality. Greece rejects that interpretation.
.@GreeceMFA Spokesperson A.Papaioannou’s response to a journalist’s question regarding recent claims by Turkish officials on the status of the Aegean islands
In fact, Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman, Alexandros Papaioannou, said on Thursday that they reject “in their entirety” the “latest accusations of Turkish officials about the status of the Aegean islands.”
“These accusations not only do not comply with basic principles of international law, but they also go beyond simple logic. The Greek position on this issue has been expressed repeatedly and publicly,” Papaioannou said.
Athens has sent a letter on this issue by Greece’s Permanent Representative to the UN to the Secretary General.
By Georgia Pandelios, Accredited Practising Dietitian and Owner at Nutrition Prescription.
As times have changed since COVID-19 became a consistent part of our lives, many people are asking what they can do with their lifestyle to boost their immune systems to avoid infection. This is particularly a key concern in pregnancy, for infants and the elderly, and for immunocompromised individuals regardless of co-existing medical conditions.
The real fact of the matter is that healthy eating cannot directly ward off germs, colds and viruses. However, by prioritising good nutrition for optimal health, you are giving your body and your immune system the building blocks and resources it needs to get through a viral infection.
One of the greatest myths about diet in overcoming viruses is increasing vitamin C intake. The reality is that if you are having the recommended 2 fruits and 5 vegetables per day, you are generally getting enough vitamin C – any extra of this water soluble vitamin is ending up in the toilet because the body cannot store it like our other fat soluble vitamins.
It’s recommended you eat 2 fruits and 5 vegetables per day.
Another perk about having enough fruits, vegetables and grains, means you are helping to keep your gut bacteria in a healthy balance. Over the recent years, more and more attention has been turned to gut health research with promising results showing a positive influence on our immune systems.
I consider vitamin D to be the underdog in our nutrition toolbox. Observational studies have suggested that supplementing with vitamin D may reduce the likelihood of developing respiratory infections but unfortunately, more data is needed before this becomes a recommendation. Considering that ‘pre-COVID-working from home’ statistics showed that 1 in 4 adults are deficient in vitamin D and likely that this figure has increased, it would be worth checking you are sufficient, especially if you are spending a lot more time indoors.
Georgia says vitamin D is “the underdog in our nutrition toolbox.”
One thing that can affect the ability for your immune system to fight off infection is not eating enough calories, protein and iron. These are key building blocks to maintaining healthy bodily functions. By making sure you are getting enough, you are equipping your body with the necessary resources it needs to withstand illness and recover.
The takeaway message here is to eat enough fruits, vegetables, protein foods and energy, and speak to your GP about a vitamin D check.
Nutrition Prescription, founded by leading maternal and foetal health fertility dietitian and nutritionist, Georgia Pandelios, aims to offer nutrition consultations specially designed for the whole family – from infants to adults and elderly, through to highly specialised fertility-pregnancy, paediatric and food reaction services. They can assist with all your nutrition needs, including complex and chronic conditions – in English, Greek or Portuguese.
Disclaimer: The information in this article is generalised and is not intended to replace medical or dietetic advice, nor directly manage any medical conditions. For personalised advice, please speak with your doctor or contact us via info@nutritionprescription.com.au to make an appointment with one of our Dietitians.
Property technology company PointData, which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to automatically assess development potential of all the residential land sites in capital cities, intends to raise $11 million by June to accelerate their expansion plans.
PointData uses patented technology, that has up to 24 unique data points on each property, to provide real-time valuations which change in line with broader market shifts and with what is most sought after amongst real estate buyers.
Despite prospective interest rate increases, Chief Executive Officer, George Giannakodakis, remains positive that this should only further demand for the provider’s services due to growing need for buyers to maximise their return potential.
“If anything, it makes people want to use it more,” Mr Giannakodakis told The Australian Financial Review in response to the likelihood of rate rises as the Reserve Bank foresees inflation.
The company, based in Adelaide, says that it is returning to high-net-worth investors and family offices first as they begin the fundraising for this next leg. In the past four years, PointData has raised $5.4 million in seed and Series A funding.
PointData set up a Western Australian arm in December and is now making plans to expand to the Eastern seaboard with Victoria first on the list of eastern state markets.
The company is estimated to have full coverage of all capital cities in Australia within 12-18 months and has just appointed two Sydney-based directors. PointData is also chaired by Con Tragakis, a former KPMG SA chairman of partners.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) extended its support to Greece in 2021 with a €5 billion investment for businesses which have been affected by COVID-19 and to shift the nation to clean energy.
Through the European Guarantee Fund, EIB offered €2.7 billion in guarantees to help companies affected by COVID-19 and lockdowns secure loans through Greece’s four largest lenders Alpha Bank, Eurobank, National Bank and Piraeus Bank.
Piraeus Bank.
Through these guarantees, more than €6 billion in tourism, green energy and digital economy will be mobilised, as stated by Finance Minister Christos Staikouras.
According to an EIB statement, the EU finance body has signed an agreement with the Greek finance ministry “to help manage up to €5 billion as part of Greece’s implementation of the national recovery and resilience plan, known as ‘Greece 2.0’.”
In #Athens, we signed an agreement with @Citi to release €350 million to Greek export and import #SMEs and midcaps through the innovative Trade Finance Facilitation initiative.#Greece🇬🇷 is the only country in Europe to benefit from such an initiative 👉https://t.co/Fh6irxZbVxpic.twitter.com/0OfEnvo1nS
These funds are due to be received from the European Union’s pandemic recovery fund in the coming years.
Athens is due to receive €19.4 billion in grants and €12.7 billion in cheap loans from the fund, an equivalent of about 16 percent of its gross domestic product.
The Greek government plans to use the funds to make the nation’s economy greener and push its digital presence.
National Head of Research at Oliver Hume, George Bougias, has shared his predictions for the Australian property market in an interview with Capstone Property.
Mr Bougias said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the property market has been significantly impacted by record low interest rates, working from home and government support, especially the HomeBuilder incentive.
“We also saw many people transacting property through online platforms, such as our own proprietary platform, which was quite new for the sector,” Mr Bougias added.
On the topic of technology, the property economist stressed how it “removes many unknowns, makes it easier overall and enables many buyers to secure a property without the need to travel.”
“This shift to purchasing property online, in some cases sight unseen, is here to stay,” Mr Bougias said.
“People can choose a block of land and transact everything online. This is a big opportunity for buyers to transact quickly and seamlessly – you can, effectively, secure property in a few clicks of the mouse.
In the beginning, the historic Communities of the Hellenes (Greeks and Cypriots) were founded and operated, one in each State capital city of Australia. Concurrently the pre-war islander colonies of Kytherians, Kastellorizians and Ithacans were also established.
Back then, the pre-war Hellenism of Australia did not exceed 15,000-17,000 souls. Then came the post-war migration and settlement of 270,000 Hellenes. They arrived and settled without systemic order, without a designed program, without infrastructure.
The Greeks of the pre-war period, and their community institutions, displayed little interest towards their welfare. Most treated them with prejudice, perhaps even with hostility. They did not welcome them as their compatriots. They assessed them as socially inferior.
Most of the Greeks of the pre-war period, after all, were not economic migrants and did not belong to any government-control immigration program. Most were curious merchants, certain deprived businessmen, restaurateurs, café owners; Many of them were literate, some were adventurers, others were gold diggers, others were people who had already made their own history in Egypt and in eastern European countries.
The Greeks of the pre-war period had structured their organization on a class basis. They had the middle bourgeoisie, the stakeholders, the restaurateurs, and merchants, the educated who also wrote in the English-language newspapers.
The Greek immigrants of the post-war period were agrarians and proletarians, unskilled and untrained labourers. People of hard work, thrift in spending, trying to amass some savings to accomplish their dream. To raise and house their family, to educate their children. There was no middle class, there were few literate people, even fewer stakeholders, and patrons.
The vast majority of them were unskilled labourers. They were lacking people to guide them, to formulate a program, a strategy for their future. They were devoted Orthodox faithful, they worshipped their homeland, especially their village, and were keenly interested in the Greek education for their children, what they had been deprived of. That’s it. They built humble temples, erected economic buildings according to their financial ability. They also constructed or acquired some halls, after renting them for their social events. They too were poor buildings, in which they attributed great names, “Parthenon”, “Olympus”, etc.
After the first twenty years, when they overcame the stone years of survival, after 1975, and for the next twenty-thirty years, recklessly, without a program, without understanding of the future, they began to be dominated by parochial chauvinism. They began creating their associations, fraternities, organizations, ramparts, and fortresses for their specific villages; thus, satisfying their social needs and egos.
They were rightly overwhelmed by the desire and passion to guard the local customs, to promote the local customs, to meet each other, to socialize and create an opportunity to marry their children. And together with the genesis of their clubs, and with the hard work and the human face of volunteerism, they bought houses, shops, buildings, and halls to accommodate their communal organizations. They were captivated by the idea of privately owned, by the illusion of the property ownership.
THE BRICKOMANIA
It is true that this epidemic crisis of brickomania that dominated the community life of the Greeks (1975-2005), also substantially united them. The effort to pay off the debt, forced them to collaborate, to keep their clubs and of course to have the opportunity to argue, quarrel and project divisive practices.
The primary purpose of each president was not simply the harmony between the members, but the acquisition of housing. And success was not considered to be the service of the members, neither the provision of culture, or the provision of entertainment to the members, but to what extent the income of the association increased in the “bouko” of the bank (passbook of deposits).
And then all those who ruled and all those who acter as recipients and members of these services were only young, at their forties, in their fifties. They still had stamina to quarrel, resilience to fight, compelling with their mode of behavior, prospective young members to abstain from being members and successors.
AGEING
After 2010, when fifty years passed since the first mass migration and those who were born in the thirties were by now eighty-year-old, severe ageing and decline began. Almost 93% of Greek immigrants were born from 1920-1949. In 2021 their average age was 83-84 years old. In 2032, the average year span will rise to 93 years old (how many of the 270,000 immigrants will be fortunate to live until their 93rd birthday?).
Ageing has brought the forced emergence of nursing homes (I call them leprosy islands, a lucrative operation of a burial vestibule), along with the devastations of the community organizations, their inability of the aged members to meet, and in several cases having the ambulances stationed outside the meeting offices.
Ageing also prevented the functions of the General Assemblies. There were no quorum in most cases and thus not deliberations, as less than 50-60 tired, and dug from life, ageing members of the generation of the 1930s, and 1940s attended.
Postponement of meetings everywhere, cancellation of meetings, inability to take decisions. The decline appeared with the face of levelling our clubs. Many of them have two and three years to convene. The mass weddings of the 1960s and 1970s were replaced now by mass funerals and memorial services. Wedding and christening shops were replaced by funeral parlors. The sale of houses and blocks of land was replaced with sales of tombs in luxurious cemeteries, and indeed as the advertisement emphasized three years ago, “blessed plots by the hand of our Archbishop…”.
THE DESERTED BUILDINGS
If we exclude the building complexes of our Greek and Cypriot Communities, the buildings of our Orthodox Archdiocese, including the churches, if we exclude our day schools with their facilities, the nursing homes, the social welfare organizations of Hellenism and several large associations that have strong self-municative and autonomous financial budgets, such as the Greek Clubs, the buildings of our associations and fraternities are in the process of sublimation, of leveling.
Only buildings of organizations that provide services and create relationships of dependence of the operator with the receiving members, that is, those who accept the services, will be able to be kept in the coming years. Only these buildings of the institutions of dependency with the base of members, and those Greek and Cypriot institutions subsidized by the state coffers, will survive. Only buildings that receive annual grants from the Government for the work carried out will be able to stand the test of time.
What about most buildings and properties belonging to the community associations and fraternities: The geometrical ageing of Hellenism has brought the abandonment of buildings, their desolation. Bats and spiders, grassy doors, windows that have been stuck by time in their crates, floors that have now sunk from uselessness, buildings that enter water and air.
Most of these buildings remain in ruins, because their restoration, or their renovation so that they can finally at least be rented and bring about income for their beneficiaries, requires spending tens and perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some dare and move on, respecting their institutions. They renovate and rent them. Others, most of them, live with the state of inaction. Some leave buildings in decline because they have in mind some selfish appetites. Some rent them to then benefit the few remaining members.
These buildings belong to the Diaspora, because these buildings were bought and paid with the obolus of the Omogenia. It is the property of the Greeks of Australia. The destiny of these properties must be the subject of deep thought, of wise reflection. Their temporary owners should try to put the common interest above their own personal benefit and their egos and transfer these properties to those foundations and organizations that will continue in the future.
The institutions that have continuity and mission in the years to come are the historical Greek Orthodox Communities in the capitals of the States. The Communities are mother feeder of the historical structure and well-being of Hellenism.
The historical Communities must accept the donation of the buildings and as a consideration and in return to create new services of offer to the Hellenes and their children. They should create numerous pre-school centers, bilingual centers in many suburbs, also bilingual kindergartens and child-minding centers, sports academies, schools of theatre and choir for young people, a cultural centre with demands – theatres, cinema, Members’ Clubs with prestige and status, not gambling and card-playing centers.
Naturally, such a decision is difficult, because we Greeks by nature are competitive, narcissists, mainly suspicious and uncompromising. That is why we created democracy, so that we can all be in charge…
*Professor Anastasios M. Tamis taught at Universities in Australia and abroad, was the creator and founding director of the Dardalis Archives of the Hellenic Diaspora and is currently the President of the Australian Institute of Macedonian Studies (AIMS).
