The families of senior police officer, Joanne Shanahan (nee Panagiotou), and mother, Tania McNeill, who were both killed in an Adelaide car crash in April last year, have spoken out today about their grief.
Harrison Kitt, 21, was charged with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and one count of causing harm by dangerous driving, but was found not guilty by reason of mental incompetence in August.
He will serve a limiting term under mental health supervision instead of a prison sentence.
In response, the McNeill and Shanahan families have said in their victim statements they would forever struggle to come to terms with that fact.
Ms Shanahan’s daughter, Eleni, who was originally intended to travel with her mother that day, said Mr Kitt had created “many victims” with mental illnesses of their own.
“This was not a car accident, it was not an accident at all – it was a crash, and no one else is at fault except one single driver who managed to survive,” Eleni said, according to The Advertiser.
“No matter mental health, there was still a criminal act … I hope that Harrison can take responsibility for his actions.”
Ms Shanahan’s father, Nick Panagiotou, urged Mr Kitt not to seek their forgiveness saying it was “unfair to ask more of us” and “feels like a slap in the face.”
“As much as your family believe you were not to blame, we don’t agree – you were the one driving the car that killed my daughter,” he said.
Joanne’s funeral last year. Photo: Argyro Vourdoumpa.
Marcus Stoinis has opened up about his turbulent sporting career and how Australian cricket legend, Ricky Ponting, helped resurrect his international career.
In an interview with The Courier Mail, Stoinis speaks about how in January 2019 he was whisked up to Canberra to replace Matthew Renshaw in the Test squad against Sri Lanka.
Everything went downhill from there as “a baggy green… never arrived and he has rarely seen a red ball since.” Stoinis also suffered two side strains, made a second-ball duck in the semi-final loss to England and top-scored with 22.
But he says these setbacks helped him develop the ‘scar tissue’ he needed to grow.
“I’ve failed in situations,” Stoinis told the newspaper.
“I didn’t wonder if I’d played my last game (for Australia), but I was definitely wondering how long it was going to take to come back.”
It took 14 months to come back and all the while Stoinis’ good mate, Ricky Ponting, supported him behind the scenes and even purchased the young gun for $980,000 in the Indian Premier League auction.
“It sometimes helps to have that confirmation from such a legend of our game,” Stoinis said in the interview.
Marcus Stoinis shows off the T20 World Cup at the MCG.
Later, Stoinis was also in Australia’s World Cup squad and twice got the team out of jail in the United Arab Emirates — in the World Cup opener against South Africa and then in that epic semi-final against Pakistan.
“You use multiple things to spur you on,” he concluded.
“As athletes you need a bit of (a spur). Sometimes you remember the things that the journos say, you write them down and you add it to the fire in the belly just to keep you going.”
A derelict house in Erskineville, Sydney has sold at auction for $1.31 million, realestate.com.au reports.
The home on Bridge St, which is located in a strict heritage area, was understood to have been occupied by a hoarder who skimped on maintenance and it was uninhabitable.
There was initially little interest in the home as floors were rotting, supports were buckling and ceilings had collapsed in some rooms.
Agent Adrian Tsavalas.
But real estate agent, Adrian Tsavalas, said he was surprised when 16 buyers registered for the Saturday auction.
“Some of the bidders hadn’t even seen the house,” Mr Tsavalas said. “It was a knockdown, but you just couldn’t knock it down because of the conservation area.”
Mr Tsavalas believes the home requires about $500,000 in repairs but it is not yet known what the buyer will do with the property.
A coronial inquest has today heard that a woman’s last words to her family were “I got pains, I got pains” before she died as part of the St Basil’s Fawkner COVID-19 outbreak.
According to The Australian, Androula Aristudou broke down in tears when she explained to the Victorian coroners court the circumstances leading up to her mother’s death in July last year.
Ms Aristudou said the last time she spoke to her 98-year-old mother was via Facetime where she encouraged her mum to “tell the nurse where are your pains to help you.”
Later, Ms Aristudou told the court that her mother was transferred to hospital twice in the space of just one week.
Ms Aristudou’s mum was transferred to hospital twice.
The first time was on July 17 when staff at St Basil’s Fawkner told Ms Aristudou her mother had tested positive to COVID-19. Hospital staff later told Ms Aristudou her mother was “asymptomatic” and on July 19, she was returned to the aged care facility.
Ms Aristudou was told by staff at the facility her mother was “eating, drinking and walking with her frame in the hallway” but despite this improved condition, she was transferred to hospital again for “better care.”
After ringing the hospital directly to find out where he mother had been moved to, Ms Aristudou was told by a nurse over the phone that her mum “was very confused, very weak and that she couldn’t talk.”
Outside St Basil’s Fawkner.
Her mother died the next day on July 26.
In a statement, which was read out by Counsel assisting Peter Rozen QC to the court, Ms Aristudou said “not even animals should be treated like this.”
“The level of care that was received at St Basil’s was very poor and was very disturbing. Due to such an advanced country. I would never thought this would happen,” one part of the statement reads.
The five-week coronial inquest into the deaths of residents at St Basil‘s will hear from about 65 witnesses, including nurses, centre managers and family members of the loved ones who died.
The executive director of Business Sydney, Paul Nicolaou, has written to Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg calling on the government to let age pension recipients earn more.
According to The Daily Telegraph, Mr Nicolaou believes older workers can fill the hospitality vacancies left behind by a shortage of backpackers and international students in Australia due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But this is only possible if the Federal Government comes to the party.
In his letter, Mr Nicolaou wrote that “currently under Work Bonus, a pensioner can earn up to $300 of employment income a fortnight… without reducing their pension.”
“Increasing the limit would allow pensioners the opportunity to earn more money in this current climate and would help businesses who are struggling to find staff have access to a pool of potential workers,” he continued.
The idea has been backed by a number of hospitality industry leaders including the founder of Doltone House, Paul Signorelli.
Treasurer Frydenberg did not respond to requests for comment.
Milwaukee Bucks star, Giannis Antetokounmpo, has come a long way in his NBA career. After selling anything he can on the streets of Greece just so he can buy a pair of basketball shoes, he’s now the league’s reigning MVP and one of the best players in the world.
To celebrate his birthday today, The Greek Herald shares its top three facts about the ‘Greek Freak.’
1. Love for Greece:
Giannis Antetokounmpo and his brothers Thanasis, Kostas and Alexis grew up in poverty in their early days in Greece, where their parents had arrived from Nigeria as immigrants.
The NBA star and his family grew up in the Athenian suburb of Sepolia. He began playing basketball for the youth teams of Filathlitikos in Athens.
Giannis’ mother and brother Alex gained Greek citizenship in 2021.
In 2013, he was granted Greek citizenship which allowed him to travel to the United States and join the Bucks later that year. His mother and brother Alex gained citizenship in 2021.
In his 2016/17 season for the Milwaukee Bucks, Giannis became the first player in NBA history to finish a regular season in the top 20 in all five statistics of total points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks.
Giannis won back-to-back NBA Most Valuable Player Awards in 2019 and 2020, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James as the only players in NBA history to win two MVPs before turning 26.
Along with his MVP award, he was also named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2020, becoming only the third player after Michael Jordan (1988) and Hakeem Olajuwon (1994) to win both awards in the same season.
In 2021, Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to their first NBA championship since 1971 and was named Finals MVP. The same year, he was selected on the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
3. Disney Film:
The Disney+ service has started developing a new feature film about the life of Giannis.
The film will focus on Giannis’ early life and current career. There will be a focus on his early life as the son of Nigerian immigrants in Greece and juggling this conflict to become a leading NBA All-Star.
It is so far unclear if the film will also feature Alex and Kostas, the other two Antetokoumpo brothers.
Casting has begin for the film with the website saying they are looking for young actors to play two versions of Giannis. The first is a 13-15 year old who will play Giannis in his early teens. The second is a slightly older Giannis, depicting The Greek Freak’s rise to stardom.
The new Director of the British Museum, George Osborne, has spoken of the possibility of returning the Parthenon Marbles to Greece for a limited time in an interview published by The Times on Friday.
In the article titled, ‘It’s right to be proud of the British Museum,’ Mr Osborne discussed at length the current issues of “awakening” and the removal of monuments related to the slave trade in Britain.
“Certainly there are those who question our right to exist,” Mr Osborne wrote, adding “they did it in 1753 and they do it again in 2021.”
“Of course, there are those who demand the return of items that they think we have no right to keep. This is not new either. Lord Byron thought that the Elgin marbles should be returned to the Parthenon. Our answer is no.”
Instead, the former British finance minister suggested the museum could consider lending the Parthenon Sculptures to Greece with the corresponding guarantees for their safe preservation and their return.
“We are open to lending our items wherever they can take care of them and ensure their safe return – something we do every year, including in Greece,” he wrote.
This article comes just after the visit of Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in London last month where he spoke with his UK counterpart, Boris Johnson, about the repatriation of the Marbles. Mr Johnson said the issue was a matter for the British Museum.
Over the last five days, Pope Francis has visited Cyprus and Greece where he attempted to shine a spotlight on the current migrant crisis experienced by both countries.
Here’s your rundown of everything the pontiff has been up to on his tour.
Cyprus:
Pope Francis arrived in Cyprus on Thursday armed with a message of compassion for the thousands of people who have sought sanctuary on the east Mediterranean island, and a promise that by the end of the year 50 refugees will have been relocated to Italy.
“They are our brothers and sisters,” he said in a video message before the visit.
Pope Francis arrives at the airport in Larnaca, Cyprus. Photo: AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino.
Pope Francis stayed in the Vatican nunciature, or embassy, which is located in the U.N.-controlled buffer zone that divides Cyprus.
But he did hold a meeting with Cypriot President, Nicos Anastasiades at the presidential palace. During the meeting, the Pope urged Greek Cypriots and the breakaway Turkish Cypriots to resume talks on reunifying the Mediterranean island nation.
“Let us nurture hope by the power of gestures, rather than by gestures of power,” Francis told Anastasiades and other government leaders.
H παρουσία σας σήμερα στο πλευρό όλων των Κυπρίων, ενισχύει τις προσπάθειές μας για την επίλυση του Κυπριακού προβλήματος. Πέραν της αποφασιστικής στάσης που αναμένουμε από τη Διεθνή Κοινότητα, προσβλέπουμε στη προσωπική στήριξή σας ώστε να επιτευχθεί μία δίκαιη και βιώσιμη λύση. pic.twitter.com/7cilAXMnNE
Acknowledging the stall in talks and the continuing suffering of Christians unable to return to their homes in the majority Muslim north, Francis encouraged an initiative of the island’s Christian and Muslim faith leaders to promote reconciliation.
In a speech in response to the Pope, Mr Anastasiades denounced “Turkey’s continued intransigence,” its “unprecedented belligerence” and “bellicose rhetoric.” He vowed to nevertheless work to find a just settlement and reunification of all Cyprus’ communities.
Greece:
The next stop for Pope Francis during his five-day tour was Greece. He was received at the Presidential Mansion on Saturday and was greeted by President Katerina Sakellaropoulou.
The President welcomed Pope Francis in Athens, extolling his work and his “deep social sensitivity.” She also thanked him for expressing his support on the change of status of Hagia Sophia from a museum into a mosque by the Turkish government.
Pope Francis with Greece’s President.
In his address, the Pope warned warned about a “retreating of democracy” in Europe.
“Democracy was born here. Today, there is a retreating of democracy, not only in the Old Continent. Everyone’s participation is fundamental not only to achieving goals but because it reveals who we are,” the Pontiff said.
“Without Athens and without Greece, Europe and the world would not be what they are today.”
Following this welcoming ceremony, the Pontiff met with Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
During the meeting between Mitsotakis and Pope Francis, the two officials discussed issues of “mutual interest,” government sources said, without elaborating further. Mitsotakis thanked the Pontiff for his visit in a year of “high symbolic significance” as it is the bicentenary of the Greek Revolution.
Είχα την τιμή σήμερα να συναντήσω τον Προκαθήμενο της Ρωμαιοκαθολικής Εκκλησίας @Pontifex. Η επίσκεψή του στην Ελλάδα γίνεται σε μία χρονιά με υψηλή συμβολική σημασία λόγω της επετείου των 200 ετών από την έναρξη της Ελληνικής Επανάστασης. https://t.co/UIFU2kKKeBpic.twitter.com/X9m2Faos50
Later, the Pope met with the leader of Greece’s Orthodox Church, Archbishop Ieronymos. Pope Francis was heckled by an elderly Greek Orthodox priest as he arrived for the meeting.
“Pope, you are a heretic!” the priest shouted three times as Francis arrived at the residence of Archbishop Ieronymos in the Greek capital of Athens.
The protester fell to the ground as police led him away, and Francis appeared not to notice as he walked into the residence for his private meeting with the Orthodox leader.
Police hold a protesting Orthodox Priest during the visit of Pope Francis at the Archbishopric of Greece in Athens, Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021. Photo: AP Photo/Michael Varaklas.
The incident followed small protests against the pope on his previous stop, the island of Cyprus, which is also predominantly Christian Orthodox.
Lesvos:
Pope Francis returned on Sunday to the Greek island of Lesvos to offer comfort to migrants at a refugee camp and blast what he said was Europe’s indifference and self-interest “that condemns to death those on the fringes.”
“Please, let us stop this shipwreck of civilisation!” Pope Francis said at the Mavrovouni camp.
“Let us stop ignoring reality, stop constantly shifting responsibility, stop passing off the issue of migration to others, as if it mattered to no one and was only a pointless burden to be shouldered by somebody else!”
A maskless Pope took his time walking through the camp on Sunday, patting children and babies on the head and posing for selfies. He gave a “thumbs up” after he was serenaded by African women singing a song of welcome.
Pope Francis spoke at a refugee camp on the island of Lesvos. Photo: AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino.
It was his second trip to Lesvos in five years. He lamented that little had changed since 2016, when Lesvos was at the heart of a massive wave of migration to Europe and when Francis brought 12 Syrian Muslim refugees from the island back home with him aboard the papal plane.
That concrete gesture of solidarity had raised hopes among current residents of the Lesvos camp. But there were no papal airlifts on Sunday and Francis returns to the Vatican on Monday.
Patricia Karvelas be taking over from broadcasting veteran Fran Kelly as the host of Radio National’s breakfast show.
“Fran Kelly told me to listen carefully because the conversation can go in any direction based on what the person is telling you,” Karvelas tells the Sydney Morning Herald.
Listeners can expect a change in direction as Karvelas replaces Kelly, who has been at the Breakfast helm since 2005.
“I am not a very scripted person. I can be pretty fearless and I do not care about being popular in a political interview. I care about getting to the heart of the issues. I just want the answer and I think people respect that,” Karvelas says.
The Greek-Australian journalist, who has two daughters with her longtime partner, believes her multicultural experience will add a new layer to RN Breakfast.
“My background is different to people who have come before me, not just Fran, those before us and I think that’s a good thing to have a diversity of hosts with different backgrounds and experiences. I understand this country in a way that differs from others, so I hope I can bring a fresh perspective to this show,” she says.
“I want RN Breakfast to be appointment radio, the sort of radio that you have to shush your kids in the car because you need to hear the answer to the questions being asked. Fran does that now, but we execute it differently. We may have a different style but we are both committed to getting the answers, and that’s what people can expect.”
Karvelas, whose appointment was announced on Monday morning, said she also helped to bring a younger audience to RN Breakfast without alienating the show’s long-term listeners.“I do want to build an audience of people who are in my demographic; I’m not young, I’m not old, but I’m somewhere in the middle,” says Karvelas, who is in her early 40s.
Having spent the last seven years anchoring RN Drive, Karvelas says the opportunity to host RN Breakfast fulfilled a long-held ambition.
“I have been hungry for a bigger role; the afternoon news cycle is different to the morning; in the morning, you can set the day’s agenda, that’s what I’m ready to do,” Karvelas says.“Fran’s decision to move on from this role was perfect timing from where I am at, especially as we go into an election year.”
Liberal MP and psychologist Fiona Martin is calling for “critically significant structural reform” to Australia’s mental health system.
“When I say that, I mean every role within the mental health workforce needs to be reviewed and looked at to maximise the various services that are available to ensure that people who really need mental health services and expect to be able to get mental health services when they need it, have access to that,” Dr. Martin tells the Greek Herald.
The Member for Reid recently chaired a parliamentary mental health and suicide committee.
She tabled their final report, which makes 44 recommendations to improve the system, in Parliament last week.
“One of the most important things is that people can access mental health services when they need them. That is at the core of this report in its 44 recommendations,” she said.
“What we heard from people was that accessibility was the biggest concern across the nation; that people felt that they couldn’t access services that were needed.”
“I think that our mental health system was already fragmented and was already under stress before the pandemic but the pandemic really just put the next level of pressure on it and really had tipped it over.”
Fiona Martin MP (Photo: Supplied)
The pandemic has shown digital technology can be a legitimate tool to fix the system, allowing more people to access treatment online.
The final report highlights the need for well-designed digital systems to fill the gap.
“It’s not in place of treatment by a mental health professional, but it certainly helps in the early intervention and prevention of services,” she said.
Martin also recognises the need for culturally competent and trauma-informed workforces for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities.
“I know my yiayia and pappou came from Kastellorizo in Greece and when they came, my grandmother was traumatised by what she experienced (war) on the island during her time just before,” Martin said.
“So many people come to this country fleeing war, fleeing persecution, fleeing a whole lot of horrible, adverse situations in their countries.”
“It is important that we do provide culturally competent mental health services but also trauma-informed services as well.”
This week is Psychology Week. 'Working MInds' is the theme – psychology in the workplace. I was on the panel at the @AustPsych Working Minds Breakfast. We discussed 'Job Crafting'. Learn more here 👇https://t.co/Zteff02Jkypic.twitter.com/tRxYBqKVlj
This week is the Australian Psychological Society’s 19th Psychology Week, with the theme ‘Working Minds’ focusing on promoting workplace wellbeing.
“People want to have autonomy and choice in the workplace,” Dr. Martin said.
“A healthy, high sense of agency is really what underlines happiness.”
Martin says poor mental health in the workplace is driving the Great Resignation — a ‘worker revolt’ that has seen a spike in people rejecting their 9 to 5 jobs.
Martin says there are signs Australia could go the same way.
She says the pandemic has “affected people in the sense that they’ve reassessed what they want out of life” and whether the stress they experience at work “is really worth it”.
“People really had an opportunity to stop and also reflect on what they want in their life [and] how they want to live,” she says.
