On Friday October 23rd, the President of the Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM), Bill Papastergiadis and the President of the Greek Orthodox Community of South Australia (GOCSA), Bill Gonis, along with other multicultural leaders from across Australia, participated in a virtual meeting with the Acting Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, Alan Tudge and Assistant Minister for Customs, Community Safety and Multicultural Affairs, Jason Wood.

Opening the round table discussion, Minister Tudge, referred to three policy changes in his portfolio which are directly relevant, to multicultural leaders and their communities.

Specifically, Mr Tudge mentioned that partner visas available have almost doubled for this financial year. He also touched on changes in the English language classes for migrants and the migration program, which will be “completely diminished this year and next” before it ramps back up to close to normal in year three or four.

“I know, is tough for some of your community members who either may not be able to travel to see their loved ones or their loved ones may not be able to come here. We acknowledge that, we’re working on that, there’s further developments almost every day,” Minister Tudge said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, thanked all the community leaders for their leadership.

“I’m incredibly proud of the way Australia’s multicultural communities have come together in a focused and practical way to help get our country through this pandemic,” Morrison said.

The Prime Minister said that Australia has done better than most countries and expressed his confidence that a vaccine will be fully produced and passed throughout Australia by October 2021.

“It is very important that the Prime Minister continues his meetings with representatives of various communities. He assured us that this meeting was one of a series of similar meetings he will have in the future,” said GCM President, Bill Papastergiadis.

The application for the redevelopment of Kogarah Bay’s historic Sunnyside mansion has been refused by the Land and Environment Court.

According to The Leader, Truland Development Pty Ltd was seeking approval for demolition of existing structures, conversion of the heritage building known as Sunnyside into a dwelling and communal facilities, and construction of a new seven-storey residential flat building with 50 apartments and two levels of basement parking at 186-188 and 190 Princes Highway and 2, 4 and 6 Lacey Street, Kogarah Bay.

The building is regarded by some as the oldest property in St George and Sutherland Shire.

In a submission to the court, Georges River Councillor Nick Katris, who is an architect, called on the application to be rejected due to it’s excess height and bulk, which would impact adjacent neighbours at the rear of the proposed development

Cr Katris also objected on the grounds of the impact on a heritage item, the insufficient setback of the proposed development from a heritage item and excessive height and non-compliance with the maxim height limit.

The Land and Environment Court’s Commissioner Dickson refused the development application finding the proposal would result in an unacceptable effect on the heritage item, its setting and its significance particularly having regard to the proximity of the new building to the heritage building.

The Leader writes that Commissioner Dickson accepted the agreed position of the heritage experts that the proposed development would result in the positive outcomes with the enhancement of the heritage significance of Sunnyside including works proposed to be undertaken in the Schedule of Conservation Works.

“However, on balance I find that the heritage impact to the item from the proposed development is of such detriment that it outweighs the positive benefits arising,” the Commissioner said.

Cr Katis hailed the court’s decision to refuse the appeal.

“This has been a long time coming but it’s a great success for the community,” Cr Katris said.

A Greek Australian property developer who allegedly hurled insults and abuse at two female police officers has had his criminal case thrown out of court.

George Angelo Karageorge, who runs Sydney-based ­developers Stasia, was at Double Bay’s Cosmopolitan Cafe in March 2018 when police were alerted by a member of public who feared a drunk man was about to get behind the wheel of a black Ferrari.

According to the Wentworth Courier, police officers gave evidence in Waverley Local Court they pulled the high-performance vehicle over and the driver, Karageorge, immediately confessed to drink-driving saying, words to the effect of, “you got me”.

Police alleged the property developer completed a roadside breath test, which returned a reading nearly six times over the legal limit.

The court also heard allegations Karageorge offered cocaine and flashed cash at the police officers. Karageorge was never charged for his alleged offensive behaviour but accepted he was being abusive, rude and difficult.

When taken to the police station for a breath analysis, police alleged Karageorge refused to provide a sample and he was ultimately charged with refusing to submit a breath analysis.

In a District Court appeal against his Local Court conviction, Karageorge’s barrister Phillip Boulten SC denied the police officers’ version of events, raising suggestions of misconduct, and said there was doubt a roadside breath test ever took place.

By law, police must complete a breath test before requesting a more accurate breath analysis.

Mr Boulten pointed to timestamps of police radio communications which indicated a call for a caged police vehicle to pick up Karageorge following a “positive test” took place about 28 seconds before, as shown on police breathalyser timestamp, the breath test allegedly took place.

Judge James Bennett described the Ferrari driver’s behaviour as “boorish” but found it was not proved beyond reasonable doubt that a roadside breath test took place.

The appeal was upheld and Karageorge’s conviction was dismissed.

Sourced By: Wentworth Courier

Russia is accused of using a secret “microwave weapon” to attack two CIA agents in Australia under a worldwide campaign that has allegedly caused brain injuries to diplomats and spies.

The so-called Havana Syndrome has been reported for years after American diplomats stationed in Cuba suddenly started hearing strange chirping and grating noises that always occurred while they were at home or in hotels.

What happened next was terrifying, with victims suffering headaches, memory and hearing loss, and difficulty sleeping for years. Some have become wheelchair-bound while others have been forced to wear weighted vests to correct their balance.

But it’s the first time that the mysterious attacks have been reported on Australian soil.

According to a report in GQ magazine, The Mystery of the Immaculate Concussion, the two men were in Australia to hold talks with ASIO and other intelligence agencies under the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance with the US, the UK, Canada, and New Zealand.

“While in their hotel rooms in Australia, both of the Americans felt it: the strange sound, the pressure in their heads, the ringing in their ears. According to these sources, they became nauseous and dizzy,” journalist, Julia Ioffe, wrote.

In the same report, retired CIA officer Marc Polymeropoulos, who helped run clandestine operations in Russia and Europe, also claims to have been attacked in December 2017 in Russia.

He reportedly suffered severe vertigo in his hotel room in Moscow and developed debilitating migraine headaches that forced him to retire from the CIA.

Polymeropoulos said it was difficult for him to speak out about the attack but said that since speaking to GQ, he had been inundated by messages of support from former CIA colleagues.

Polymeropoulos spoke out because he believed the dozens of US officials left ill by the attacks have been abandoned by the Trump administration, which has expelled Cuban diplomats over the issue but never pointed the finger at Russia.

“This was a very difficult decision to speak out [sic]; I only wish for the United States Government to do the right thing and provide proper medical care for patriots who have suffered what is no doubt a combat injury,” Polymeropoulos said.

In response, US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, insisted all officials who had reported being harmed were receiving care.