Despite being an undischarged bankrupt, Brisbane entrepreneur David Catsoulis has big hopes for his newest venture — a multi-billion-dollar gold mining project in the depths of the Papua New Guinea jungle.
Speaking to The Weekend Australian, Catsoulis says the new venture is about his family legacy, giving back to the local community, and according to capital raising documents, making a fortune for investors.
Catsoulis is a founder and the chief geologist of PGL Gold and, as a bankrupt, he is not and cannot be a director or shareholder. PGL reportedly plans to mine initially alluvial gold from prospects in PNG’s remote northwest, near the town of Maprik.
Catsoulis said the Maprik project was “progressing very well’’, and he expected mining leases would be granted in the “next couple of weeks’’. An email seen by The Weekend Australian corroborates this.
“The project’s had a great amount of due diligence done on the resource. The resource stacks up incredibly well,” Catsoulis said.
Photo: The Weekend Australian
“We’re in the process of resourcing the development of the future mine.’’
Catsoulis said the numbers presented to investors are “conservative’’, with the company claiming the gold resources could be three times what was set out in September 2019.
“There have been seven viable sites that have been estimated to host 5000kg each (881,500 ounces) each of high grade alluvial gold,’’ the IM says.
At today’s prices, that’s more than $2.1bn worth of gold.
Catsoulis says while the dollar figures were large, he thought of it as a “legacy project for my family and my mother in particular’’.
“I can’t say I was really looking for this project when we found it.
“I was on a family legacy project for my mother, to actually go and retrace the routes of my father’s wartime history in the region … and she wanted to go back and effectively see where my father was.
“He spoke quite stoically about the region and the efforts of the local people during that time and I was really looking for a way in which, logistically we could get her up there … and talk to some local people to see if we could get out to the war memorials and so forth.
“Probably the first night I was there I think I had probably 30 people coming to my door in the hotel wanting to sell me gold.
“I just gave them 50 kina and said, ‘no, not interested’.
“I had one guy come in and he said I’ve got a very large amount of gold I’d like you to buy’ … and I looked at it and thought, ‘that’s just incredible’.
“The amount, the size, the grains of gold were all fingernail size and above and I thought ‘where has it come from?’
“I’d never seen it before in my professional career. One thing led to another and about a week later we were on site at a place called Maprik panning gold like I’d never seen before.
“That small starting base ended up being the starting place for my current endeavour for this project.
“What we found in the end was my father’s wartime history actually started in Maprik where he was deployed as part of the 28,000-strong Australian forces that then moved on down into Wewak and that was the end of the Second World War.’’
In his recently published book, ‘Wild Colonial Greeks’, Sydney writer and historian Peter Prineas attempts to explore the true origins of Greek history in Australia.
The book takes readers on a journey through colonial Australian history as the author looks to uncover the first Greek arrival to Australia.
One candidate, who is referenced multiple times throughout the book, is a Greek from Corfu named George Manuel, who was living in Australia in 1823. This was six years before the arrival of the seven pirate-convicts currently considered to be Australia’s first Greeks.
The book also shows how Greeks were viewed by the mainstream press and chronicles at the time, bringing to life the goldfields doctor Spiridion Candiottis, who clashed resoundingly with newspapermen in Victoria and Queensland.
See below for a small extract from the book, Wild Colonial Greeks:
It seems to have been generally accepted that apart from the seven pirates, the only other person of Greek origin to come to Australia as a convict, was a man named Joseph Simmons or Simmonds. He is recorded in convict archives as a seaman aged 40, a single man, an illiterate, and in religion a Protestant, who gave his ‘native place’ as Greece. Gilchrist, however, describes him as an Ionian Islander and, ‘in fact a Greek Jew who landed in Sydney from the convict ship Isabella IV in March 1832’, after having been ‘convicted at the Dorsett Assizes and sentenced to transportation for life for stealing a handkerchief’.
It is surprising that another convict with the decidedly Greek name of Timoleon Vlasto has been overlooked by historians. It is even more surprising when one considers the infamy that Vlasto acquired in 1849 for stealing ancient Greek coins worth a small fortune from the British Museum in London. His trial was widely reported in the British press and ended with a sentence of transportation for a term of seven years to Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania), where he arrived near the end of May 1851. Timoleon Vlasto’s crime and his Greek identity – albeit that of a diaspora Greek – was also reported in Australian newspapers.
Fruit Growers Victoria is urging people to get a fruit harvesting job this summer as they fear crops may go to waste due to a significant lack of workers for the upcoming season.
Farmers have been unable to fill their vacant positions as the pandemic has meant most international working holiday visa holders have returned home. It is hoped that Victorians looking for work will consider fruit harvesting this season, and the Government is encouraging people to apply with a new incentive fund.
Most of the available work is in the Shepparton and Goulburn Valley areas and those who relocate to take up the short-term agricultural positions (minimum six weeks) can apply for Government Relocation Assistance. The assistance package is up to $6,000 for Australian job seekers and up to $2,000 for international job seekers.
“Our usual workers that are essential in ensuring our seasonal fruit crops are available in supermarkets and markets are gone,” said Michael Crisera, Growers Services Manager at Fruit Growers Victoria.
“The Victorian fruit industry is at risk and the repercussions of not having enough workers will not only impact the farmers themselves but the consumer. The consequences will be significant wastage, lack of income for the growers and rising prices for customers.
“No experience is needed to work on the Harvest Trail and there are different jobs across the season such as fruit picking, packing, thinning and pruning. It is a great opportunity to experience regional Victoria, try new things, learns some new skills and meet new people.”
Fruit grown in Victoria that requires harvesting this season includes nectarines, peaches, plums, pears and apples.
Cleaners at Israel’s Nitzana National Park were shocked this week after discovering a tombstone with had ancient Greek writing, with origins dating to the late sixth or early seventh century.
David Palmach, director of the Nitzana Educational Village, discovered the inscription, which archaeologist Leah Di Segni of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem was able to translate.
According to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), the flat, round stone was used as a tombstone in one of the cemeteries surrounding the ancient settlement. The inscription reads: “Blessed Maria, who lived an immaculate life.”
A worker found the stone in Nitzana National Park. (Hoshvilim via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 4.0)
IAA archaeologist Tali Erickson-Gini said that during the fifth and sixth centuries CE, Nitzana served as a center for the villages and settlements in the vicinity.
“Among other things, it had a military fortress as well as churches, a monastery and a roadside inn that served Christian pilgrims traveling to Santa Katarina, which believers regarded as the site of Mount Sinai,” Tali said.
In the 1930s, archaeologists discovered a trove of sixth- and seventh-century Greek and Arabic papyrus documents at the site, which is also known as “Nessana.” The documents include military, church and family records, as well as information about the caravan industry.
Female students and employees globally, are under-represented in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) related fields and are paid less than their men counterparts.
But “if nothing changes, nothing changes,” as the song goes.
Myladie Stoumbou, was born in Arta, a city in north western Greece. In the 1980s, when most of her female peers were dreaming of becoming teachers, she studied Computer Engineering and Informatics.
Today, a Regional Director with Microsoft she leads a multinational, diverse team across 24 countries in Central Eastern Europe and Central Asia and she’s also a wife, mother, an avid traveller, a women’s leadership advocate and a TEDx Speaker.
The Greek Herald sat down with Myladie and discussed digital inclusion, equality and the need for more female role models in STEM professions.
Q: In one of your recent TEDx talks you said that “women built the tech industry and then they were pushed out”. What did you mean with this?
Women were initially at the forefront of the tech industry, back when technologist jobs were considered menial, akin to typists. The group of programmers selected to work on the U.S. military’s first computer in 1946 was more than 50 percent women.
Until the 90s, the female programmers were known for their meticulous work ethic and attention to detail. Sadly, from the 90s and onwards, the number of women undertaking computer science majors began to decline steadily.
As the tech industry grew more lucrative, engineering jobs became of higher-status and better paid. With the sector rapidly expanding, companies were hiring quickly, but were unsure of what qualities to look for in employees, since coding was such a novel skill.
At that time tests were developed to assess personality profiles that would best fit a programmer’s job. These tests tend to eliminate extroverts and people with strong social skills. It was the time where the “geek” stereotype was born.
And so, a vicious circle started: the hiring process favoured men, so men became overrepresented in technology companies, feeding popular perceptions of engineering as a masculine domain.
Q: Female students and employees are under-represented in STEM-related fields and they are paid less than their men colleagues. Why is this in your opinion?
The stereotype of technology as being “for boys only” is prevalent amongst teachers, who are much less likely to suggest a technology career to girls. A lot of female students feel discouraged to work in a male dominated environment.
But there are more reasons for that:
Our schools, universities and industries are failing to show young people – and especially girls – the realities of technology jobs and careers in today’s world. Technology careers are now highly creative, particularly around understanding people’s behaviour, and working out how to develop digital user experiences.
The lack of school programs offering professional guidance and advice based on current business needs
The lack of role models, particularly local ones. A role model makes a career in tech more real and offers confidence that women can “make it”
The structure of the family life, particularly Greek families feel very strong about the position of women and their responsibilities to raise children and support the family.
The drop out phenomenon. Women who work in the digital sector tend to exit at a greater rate than men. This is particularly clear with females at the range between 30 to 44 years old, the prime working age, but also the age range when most Europeans have their first child.
Microsoft announces plans for first datacenter region in Greece as part of “GR for GRowth” digital transformation initiative https://t.co/uvEjZdPfTY
Q: Recently, Microsoft announced a big investment in Greece. What would you advise a young girl who aspires to work for one of the technology giants?
Microsoft announced recently its “GR for GRowth” initiative, a significant technology commitment to support the people, government and businesses of all sizes in Greece with technology and resources to create new opportunities for growth. As part of the plan, Microsoft intends to train approximately 100,000 people in Greece, in digital technologies, by 2025.
The technology industry is evolving rapidly, so I would encourage young women who want to pursue a career in one of the tech giants to first focus on deeply developing their skills and capabilities. To make sure they stand out, deliver outstanding results, they are open to continuously learn new things, they develop new skills, they innovate, they grow.
Q: You are a wife, a mother, an avid traveller and a women’s leadership advocate. You wear many hats. How do you juggle all these roles?
The life of a modern woman, whether she is working or single, a mother or a wife, is multi-faceted. It requires a lot of hard work, considering the fact that managing homes and children is a full-time job without any paid holidays, overtime compensation or day-offs to show for.
As my children are all grown up, I have decided to give back by sharing my experiences in order to support young women in their first career steps. In this journey, I get a lot of support from my husband and my children.
Q: You are a mentor for the Greek NGO ‘Women on Top’, that supports young women in their first career steps. Why is it important for more women in leadership roles to stand up and help the future generations of women achieve their goals?
Studies have shown that role models are an incredibly effective way to encourage women to make different choices. Their effect is based on the concept ‘Seeing is believing’, and interestingly this works at multiple levels.
Typically, people get inspired to do something when they see others like them do it. When women see other women in roles, they find it easier to imagine themselves in those roles and are more likely to put themselves forward.
Men also see that women can do it! Regardless of how many scientific studies are cited, it’s hard for men to imagine women would be good CEO’s if they don’t see many of them.
When I was at university, a male friend of mine used to say, ‘If women were really that good at electrotechnical engineering, then why do I not see them in it?’
It’s that simple.
Q: What is one of your favourite quotes?
It’s one by Maya Angelou: My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humour and some style.
The Shadow Minister for Better Public Services, Sophie Cotsis has called for the NSW Government to immediately introduce a simple reimbursement system through Service NSW for anyone charged a fee in relation to COVID testing.
While the NSW Government announced that all COVID tests are free, receipts provided by members of the public have shown that people are being asked to pay a ‘referral fee’ for COVID tests.
“Despite the claims of the Berejiklian Government that COVID tests are free people have been charged an unnecessary referral fee and that should be immediately reimbursed,” Ms Cotsis said.
“Anyone charged a fee related to a COVID test should be able to present their receipt at a Service NSW centre and be fully reimbursed.”
Testing is taking place at the Crossroads Hotel in Casula.(ABC News: Jesse Dorsett)
Unknown for how long or how many people have been charged referral fees, Sophie Cotsis has called for testing providers to provide records of those charges to Service NSW within 21 days so that all reimbursements can be processed.
Organisations that do not provide their records should be removed from the list of testing centres.
“People who have been forced to pay an unnecessary referral fee aren’t interested in the ‘naming and shaming’ being threatened by the Health Minister. They want their money back,” Ms Cotsis said.
“If you have paid a fee you deserve a speedy, straightforward system of reimbursement to make up for the inconvenience you have already experienced.
“The NSW Government must also take steps to make sure that unnecessary charging or price gouging does not continue with the roll-out of the vaccine or the ongoing requirement to wear face masks.
“At all times there must be confidence that when the NSW Government directs or encourages people to take a test or wear a mask that all possible steps have been taken to stop organisations trying to make money off the situation.”
Take a moment to see the world through another person’s eyes.
The Australian National Maritime Museum, through the Migration Heritage Fund, is partnering with Empathy Museum (UK) to bring the award-winning exhibition ‘A Mile in My Shoes’ to Sydney as part of the Sydney Festival 2021 from 6-31 January.
This free exhibition brings a new meaning to the phrase, “try walking a mile through my life”. Visitors of the exhibition enter and try on a pair of shoes that belong to someone else and to listen to their story. It might be a tale of loss and sadness, hope and love, of odds overcome.
Originally created by artist Clare Patey and produced by Artsadmin, A Mile in My Shoes has been experienced in London, Sao Paulo, New York, Riga, Denver, Perth and Melbourne, among others.
This new iteration, created with the Australian National Maritime Museum, celebrates the voices of migrants and refugees who have made this country their home – people who have changed the face of the nation and have been changed by it.
Kim Tao, curator for the Australian National Maritime Museum said, “The exhibition features 35 engaging stories that will take visitors on an emotive, empathetic and physical journey.”
Shoes featured at the ‘Mile in my shoes’ exhibition. Photos: Supplied
“The only thing that visitors will know about their storyteller is their name and that they share a shoe size with them. We hope that this experience will challenge assumptions and show that everyone has a story to tell.”
Among the museum’s storytellers are a Catholic refugee who fled communist Vietnam on a seven-metre-long fishing boat crowded with 99 passengers, who were faced with the horrifying sight of people’s shoes floating in the water from previous failed escapes; a Scottish child migrant who was sent to a blacklisted Victorian children’s home in the 1960s; and a first-generation Australian whose great-grandfather told his granddaughter as the Germans prepared to invade Poland at the start of World War II: “Never judge a man unless you have walked a mile in his shoes”.
The museum is a national leader in collecting, researching and exhibiting stories about migration to Australia. The Welcome Wall, stretched along the northern promenade, is home to over 30,000 names of migrants on 81 bronze panels, including over 1200 Greeks.
Kevin Sumption, Director and CEO of the museum said, “There has never been a better time for us, as Australians, to focus on what connects us rather than divides us – our common humanity.”
“We want to shine the light on the experiences of a wide range of Australians from diverse backgrounds, to build understanding and contribute to an inclusive and harmonious society.”
Shoes featured at the ‘Mile in my shoes’ exhibition. Photos: Supplied
“Australians are very curious about the world. When we ask someone where they are from, it is to understand them, rather than separate ourselves from them. By listening to another’s stories, we can better understand where they have come from and what has shaped them. We can share their journey, and empathise with them.”
The exhibition is free and will be available at the Australian National Maritime Museum from Wed 6 – Mon 31 Jan 2021.
Seafood Industry Australia (SIA) have hailed the Australian public for supporting domestic seafood produce following import tariffs imposed by China.
Releasing December’s sales data, SIA recorded a 30 percent growth compared with the same trading period in 2019. In a press statement, SIA CEO Veronica Papacosta said that the bump in sales during Christmas holidays was made possible through the support of the Australians to the industry.
“It’s no secret 2020 was a hard year for the Australian seafood industry,” SIA CEO Veronica Papacosta said.
Woolworths confirmed the $20 western rock lobster promotion had ended. Photo: Getty Images
“We needed a bumper Christmas period to help us claw our way back. We called on the community to support us and switch one meal on the Christmas table to Australian seafood, and we are beyond thrilled to report they did just that.”
Lobster became a popular produce option for families in the Christmas period, with supermarkets offering $20 western rock lobster promotions. According to The Daily Telegraph, Woolworths’ rock lobster sales were 20 times higher in 2020 Christmas trading compared with 2019 figures for the same period.
“It’s encouraging to see so many Aussies supporting their local seafood producers and we hope this continues,” Papacosta said.
“Australian prawns, rock oysters, crabs, and [lobsters] were the most popular this season, with Australian rock lobsters finding a very welcome home as a table centerpiece.”
Photo: Seafood Industry Australia
Papacosta continued to add that while the SIA experienced great domestic growth during the Christmas period, Chinese tariffs are continuing to harm the industry.
The SIA is calling on the Australian public to dedicate “one meal a week” to buying locally sourced seafood.
“If just 1 per cent of the population committed to changing one meal a week to locally sourced Australian seafood like prawns, salmon or snapper, that would be more than 250,000 meals per week of Australian seafood on tables around the country,” Ms Papacosta said.
“This could mean the difference between a fisher making or missing a mortgage payment and a boat heading out of harbour or spending another week docked.”
While missing her chance at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2020, due to its cancellation, Greek singer Stefania will finally take the stage in May 2021 with her new single, ‘Last Dance’.
Announced by ERT, ‘Last Dance’ will be Greece’s entry for Eurovision 2021, written by Eurovision veteran Dimitris Kontopoulos. The staging will be created by famed choreographer Fokas Evangelinos.
The song is said to replicate an 80s pop style, yet will bring in modern acoustics similar to recent songs released by Dua Lipa.
Stefania’s song was internally selected by ERT’s song selection committee in collaboration with Stefania’s creative team. However, Eurovision fun reports that the song is not yet completed and Stefania will be travelling to Greece in the coming days to work on the final product.
Having heard Stefania’s #Eurovision 2021 song “Last Dance”, I can confirm the “Supergirl” singer of 2020 has morphed into Superwoman for 2021. The song has a more mature sound and is bang on trend with its 80s pop vibe💥 👏 pic.twitter.com/hrDmq1JPc3
Eurovision Fun described the song as being “faithful to the musical current of the time (80s pop), but with a modern orchestration, highlighting in the best way the voice skills of Stefania.”
The song’s message is that “the future must be bright since it cannot and will not be the last dance.”
Stefania Liberakakis was born in December of 2002 in Utrecht in the Netherlands, yet has been known for years simply as “Stefania.” The 17-year-old Greek-Dutch singer and actress formerly represented the Netherlands in the Junior Eurovision song contest in 2016, as part of the girl group “Kisses”.
Greek leaders on Thursday condemned the tragic violence displayed by US protestors as they marched onto Capitol Hill to disrupt a Congress meeting.
The rioters had breached the doors of the historic building on the day where US election results were to be certified by Congress. Four people died on the Capitol grounds and 52 people were arrested by the evening.
Greek leaders denounced the display of violence by US citizens, with Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou marking it as a “dark moment in American history”.
Extremely troubled by the violence and horrible events taking place in Washington D.C. American democracy is resilient, deeply rooted and will overcome this crisis.
“Respect for the rules is the essence of democracy. Yesterday’s violence is a dark moment in American history and those who instigated it bear great responsibility,” she said in a tweet.
“The duty of all should be the smooth transition to Joe Biden’s presidency. Leaders are the first to set an example,” she added.
Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he was “extremely troubled” by the violence taking place in Washington D.C.
President-elect Joe Biden speaks at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del., Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
“American democracy is resilient, deeply rooted and will overcome this crisis,” he said in a tweet.
SYRIZA’s Alexis Tsipras referred to “extreme right-wing violence that proves how important it is to protect democracy.”
The US Congress on Thursday also formally validated Joe Biden’s presidential election victory, with Vice-President Mike Pence declaring the final vote totals.
“This shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of the persons elected president and vice-president of the United States,” Mike Pence said.
