The Greek government tabled on Tuesday a draft bill in Parliament offering tax incentives to attract foreign taxpayers in Greece. The incentives include generous tax cuts and tax exemptions for homes and vehicles.
Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said that the government begun this process with the law 4646/2019, introducing the Non-Dom institution to attract foreign taxpayers who make significant investments in Greece, taking advantage of the alternative taxation status of their global income.
The Minister added that the government introduced the law 4714/2020, expanding the status of alternate taxation to foreign pensioners transferring their tax base to Greece.
He noted that the latest draft legislation introduces tax incentives to attract foreign workers and self-employed, along with Greeks who left the country during the economic crisis, to transfer their tax base in Greece.
The incentives offer exemption from income tax and the special solidarity contribution for 50 percent of the income raised in Greece for a period of seven years and exemption of the annual tax objective spending criteria for homes and vehicles.
The head of the Greek delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Marietta Giannakou, has been elected vice president of the consultative inter-parliamentary organisation for the North Atlantic Alliance, making her the first Greek MP to be appointed to the position.
Andreas Loverdos, a Greek MP, was also elected vice-chairman of the subcommittee on the Alliance’s Future Security and Defense Capabilities.
Following Ms Giannakou’s election, the newly elected VP said she is confident the assembly will achieve its three goals set out by Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
“I believe that we will work according to our expectation for the Alliance, for NATO 2030, based on the three goals set by the Secretary General, Mr. Stoltenberg.
“That is, a militarily strong Alliance, the strengthening of its political character and its global role.
“I believe that these criteria will guide us in our work in the future and in the framework of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, men and women will work to meet these three goals.”
Earlier, the Secretary General addressed members of the Parliamentary Assembly, speaking in detail about the goals of the Alliance for 2030.
Referring to NATO’s role in the Eastern Mediterranean, he spoke of “creating a mechanism to prevent conflict and decompression, which can prevent dangerous accidents in the region and create the opportunity for political discussions and diplomatic solutions.”
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg
“We must not forget that what unites us is stronger than what divides us, that we are ultimately NATO allies, committed to their main mission, to protect and defend each other,” he said.
This year’s Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly adopted a series of Resolutions on the following topics:
A transatlantic strategy for China.
Continuation of the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.
Financial resilience and pandemic.
Defense innovation.
Maintaining investment in the defense sector after the Covid-19 pandemic.
State Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis appeared in news headlines on Tuesday morning after making a controversial claim that an increase in supply of ICU beds would lead to more hospital deaths from COVID-19.
Speaking to state broadcaster ERT, Gerapetritis’ claims were made after it was found that 50 percent of Covid-19 patients in ICU do not survive.
“If we had 5,000 ICUs, this would mean in the normal course of events that we would have a much higher number of dead,” Gerapatritis said.
These seemingly outrageous claims have been compared with those of US President Donald Trump, who said earlier this year that the reason the US has the most cases is because they do the most testing.
Gerapatritis speaks following the death of a COVID-19 infectious man who was in need of an ICU, as there was no bed available in Trikala, and later died of cardiac arrest.
“Obviously we would like to have two, three and five thousand ICUs. But keep in mind that ICUs are not the solution, we must first take care of ourselves so that we do not have to resort to these Units,” Gerapatritis said.
“Assuming we had 5,000 ICUs this would mean we would have a much higher number of deaths. Because mortality in ICUs is halved.
“The aim is not to increase those who enter but to reduce the phenomenon by observing the measures and having as much social distance as possible.”
Everyone is friendly in the SA Parliament building.
From the security guards to the receptionist, to Irene Pnevmatikos’ assistant who welcomed me and lead me to her office.
The Member of the Legislative Council offers to make me a Greek coffee while we discuss the current situation with the pandemic in Europe.
There is something unique in speaking your language with a Member of Parliament.
Especially one like Pnevmatikos, the daughter of migrants, who came to Australia without knowing a word of English and whose career unfolded in a rather unusual way.
I ask her what were some of the additional challenges she faced this year due to the pandemic and she replies boldly.
“There were no additional challenges that I faced, because at the end of the day I had a job, I had security of income and I could maintain my lifestyle,” Pnevmatikos says.
“On a political level it meant that you needed to find new ways of communicating with people and interacting with them and that’s been a learning process for all of us. It’s not the same as direct contact with people. That is an important aspect of our job.”
‘Political life is more than the parliamentary system’:
Despite the adversities and the change of circumstances due to the pandemic, Ms Pnevmatikos remains focused on supporting workers and disadvantaged groups and continues to work towards improving the representation of women from non-English speaking backgrounds in the community, workplace and the South Australian government.
“I’ve always been involved in politics. Being a member of parliament is just one aspect of political life. Political life is more than the parliamentary system,”she says.
“Being in parliament means that you become more visible, there are opportunities for you to be able to promote particular issues and concerns and there are also opportunities to hear more broadly from the community in our society and this state. So, you become a conduit -on one level- for others.”
Reaching milestones in an unconventional way:
When asked about the milestones in her career, Pnevmatikos talks with excitement about her service as a delegate of the Federal Government to the United Nations in New York and Beijing for the Fourth World Conference for Women.
With equal excitement, she talks about the unconventional path she followed to become who she is today.
“My father passed away when I was in my last year of high school. So I dropped out of school to help my mother and support our family. I got married a few years later and I think I was one of the first women here to go back to school and study after being married. That was a milestone. There was a lot of antagonism in my community about that,” says Pnevmatikos, talking proudly about her two daughters.
“There is no set path for anyone. Man or woman. And I think the more we are able to promote that the healthier our community will be.”
Since her election in 2018, Pnevmatikos has chaired the Wage Theft Committee, co-sponsored the Free Menstrual Hygiene Products Pilot Program Bill and has been a strong advocate for abortion law reform and the decriminalisation of sex work.
‘Voices are heard but not listened to’:
One would expect that in a democratic country like Australia, every person’s voice and those of community groups would be heard. Sadly, this is not always the case.
“Voices are heard but they are not listened to. There are many who don’t have an opportunity to express their concerns for lots of reasons. Because they don’t know how the process works and how they can get across their issues. This is a multifactorial problem,” Pnevmatikos says.
“But there are enough people out there who can help and support those voices and it’s important that we get to hear them, because often they are the people who are most affected by decisions that we make, by laws that we pass.
“They are the most vulnerable and if we are not listening to them, then who are we listening to at the end of the day?”
‘Politics is life’:
I ask her what she would advise young people from diverse backgrounds who would like to enter politics.
“They should,” she says.
“Politics is life. We make political decisions, all of us, every single day of our lives and we need to be involved in our society if we feel strongly about something. Otherwise decisions are made for us and we don’t have a say, in what goes on and that’s part of a democratic process.
“If we believe in a democratic process, then we have to encourage involvement and participation,” Ms Pnevmatikos concludes.
It was supposed to be the holiday of a lifetime. Bouncing around the Greek Islands and cruising along the Italian coastline in the ultimate European summer adventure.
But for Australian primary school teacher, Elise Osmand, the joy of overseas travel was brought to a sudden halt when one morning, she woke up without most of her eye sight.
The 28-year-old put her vision loss down to a combination of jet lag and a big night out on the town. She was otherwise seemingly healthy and had no other symptoms.
“My vision felt like I had foundation in my eye,” Ms Osmand explained to news.com.au.
“I wasn’t in pain … and I could see from the bottom of my right eye. But the top half was blurred to a dark brown, so I couldn’t see properly.”
Being diagnosed in Greece on holiday, Osmand said her “whole world came crumbling down.” Photo: Supplied, Instagram via news.com.au.
Ms Osmand and her travel buddies were in a rush to get to the airport so instead of seeking immediate medical attention, she decided to continue her travels to Athens and see how she felt in 24 hours.
“When I woke up the next day… my sight was completely gone in my right eye,” she says, explaining that she still had 20/20 vision in her left.
It was at this stage that Ms Osmand decided to source an English-speaking doctor close to her accommodation in Athens. He initially told her she had a brain tumour.
“Then the next thing he said was…’you don’t have a brain tumour… but it could be cancer.’ That’s when things freaked me out,” Ms Osmand explains.
In the end, he gave the young Australian a diagnosis that has changed her life forever. Ms Osmand was told she had Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
Osmand says her lifestyle has changed significantly since her diagnosis. Photo: Supplied, Instagram via news.com.au.
“The only thing I knew about that was a wheelchair,” she says.
“At first I got upset about it… it was a really confronting moment. It felt like my world had come crumbling down… a death sentence.”
MS is a disease in which the immune system eats away at the protective covering of nerves, resulting in disrupted communication between the brain and the body.
Currently, 10 Australians are diagnosed with MS every week with the majority of those diagnosed being young women around a similar age to Ms Osmand.
Ms Osmand was diagnosed in 2019. Her vision returned four months later but she says she quickly began to experience other symptoms related to the diagnosis, including hypersensitivity to touch and severe fatigue.
“I have always been very active and would do a lot of exercise. Now, while it’s still really good for me to do, it can trigger symptoms and drain me to a point I can’t recover from. So I have to stay hydrated and cool,” she tells the Australian media outlet.
Ms Osmand said the fatigue factor has been the hardest symptom to live with, especially as it often leads to cancelling plans at the last minute.
But she still hopes that her early diagnosis and effective treatment plan will reduce the likelihood of more complicated symptoms down the track.
“Some days are crippling and I can’t get out of bed the entire day,” Ms Osmand says.
“There’s no guarantee I won’t have issues with other areas, but I may not get to the wheelchair stage. Getting on treatment is the most important thing you can do and early detection. You can’t fix damage but you can at least prevent further ones.”
Greek Australian cricket all-rounder, Marcus Stoinis, has unselfishly helped young prodigy, Cameron Green, in his meteoric rise to international level, but could this week become a victim of his own generosity.
Stoinis is all that stands between Green making his international debut for Australia at the SCG on Friday, with selectors facing the first of several difficult calls this summer on incumbency versus the future.
Green doesn’t have an especially strong 50-over domestic record, but the One Day International series (ODI) against India could be the perfect chance to test the all-rounder’s credentials at the highest level – and get some valuable overs under his belt – before the Test summer.
Marcus Stoinis has helped young gun Cameron Green flourish at state level. Picture: AAP.
However, Stoinis is coming off a strong Indian Premier League (IPL) and is the more noted white ballplayer, having also performed solidly in all six of Australia’s most recent T20 and ODI matches in England in September.
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Green’s stunning emergence is it has come out of Western Australia, where Stoinis and Mitchell Marsh are both current all-round international stars themselves and still in the prime of their careers.
If Greg Chappell is right in his prediction about Green being a generational superstar, then Stoinis may never realise his dream to play Test cricket.
But if Stoinis is worried about being overtaken by the 21-year-old kid he has helped guide over the past few years, it hasn’t shown.
“I have no doubt that Mitch and Stoin will be having one eye on Greeny,” WA bowling coach, Matt Mason, told The Daily Telegraph recently.
“But I also know as well that they’ve been massively a big part of his development. Particularly Stoin.
Green has soaked up the learnings from Stoinis (left). Picture: AAP.
“Stoin has spent a huge amount of time with him in the winter, which was great to see. I think they all recognise that as long as they’re doing their thing and they’re performing, they don’t need to worry either.
“Greeny has got the runs on the board and the performances, but actually, they’ve been more of a help to him than you can possibly imagine – especially in the modern world where you would think given the competition for places it’s every man for himself.
On this day in 1826, the Battle of Arachova ended with Greece claiming victory. The battle was fought between an Ottoman Empire force under the command of Mustafa Bey and Greek rebels under Georgios Karaiskakis. The win for Greece was revolutionary and transformed the fate of Arachova.
Lead up to the battle:
In the midst of the Greek War of Independence, countless battles continued to occur between the Republic of Greece and the Ottoman Empire.
In 1823, during the campaign of Yusuf Perkoftsalis Pasha in Eastern Central Greece, the Turkish army forced the numerically fewer Greeks to leave the small mainland town of Arachova, where the land remained in the control of the Turkic people.
In 1826, Greek General George Karaiskakis along with an army of men, made their way to Arachova with plans to rekindle the revolutionary spirit of its original inhabitants. After receiving intelligence of the Ottoman army’s maneuvers, Karaiskakis prepared a surprise attack in the vicinity of the village of Arachova.
Georgios Karaiskakis is well-known as a hero of the Greek War of Independence.
On 17 November, Karaiskakis and his troops arrived in Distomo where they encamped in the lead up to the battle. On the same day, Mustafa Bey, the Ottoman commander, dispersed Greek pickets at Atalanti, later camping at the Agia Ierousalim monastery outside Davleia.
Karaiskakis ordered his officers to occupy the church of Agios Georgios in Arachova and the surrounding houses. Small bands were also stationed between Arachova and Distomo in order to signal the outbreak of hostilities, at which point the main force would come to their aid.
Although the Greek force had a much smaller army of 950 men going up against the Turk’s 2000, they were still determined and adamant to succeed.
The battle:
On November 18, the battle officially began and enemy units wasted no time to attack the Greeks. Despite their initial successes, they failed to overthrow the Greek positions. By the end of the first day, the Greeks were in a more advantageous position having tightened the siege around the enemy, who had to face the adverse weather conditions.
The Battle of Arachova officially began on November 18.
As the days went on, the strength of the Greek army was revealed as they maintained their dominant position. With the battle not looking up for the Turks, they asked for a negotiated deal, however they rejected the offer Greece presented.
Mustafa Bey ordered his men to prepare to attempt an exit through the Greek positions on the night of the 23rd and 24th of November, as it was their only way out. In preparations for this escape, Mustafa was injured due to a Greek bullet and was unable to continue on.
Come November 24, the Turks decided to go ahead with their escape plan,heading towards the peaks of Parnassos. The Greeks noticed them and rushed at them with clubs and knives, as the falling snow rendered their weapons useless.
The strong snowstorm restricted the Greek army from chasing after the Turkish men past the slopes of Mount Parnassos. The fled of the Turks declared this battle a victory for the Hellenic Republic of Greece.
Aftermath:
The day after the victory, Karaiskakis set up on a hill, visible from the Oracle of Delphi and lifted a trophy with the inscription “of the Greeks against the barbaric Ottomans, erected in 1826, November 24 in Arachova.” The victory was later announced to the government via a letter, which was signed by all the chiefs and officers who took part in the battle.
Of the 950 Greek men who took part in the battle, the Hellenic army had minimal losses, with only 4 dead and 9 slightly injured.
This victory of Arachova was of immense importance, retrieving the land back to its true inhabitants and further rekindling the revolution in Roumeli.
Just a fortnight into Mathias Cormann’s global campaign to head an international economic body, the former finance minister has clocked up more than 20,000 kilometres on a taxpayer-funded Royal Australian Air Force plane.
Mr Cormann is no longer on the taxpayer purse for his income but he’s being given Government jet-propelled support to become the next Secretary-General of the European-dominated Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The RAAF Dassault 7X then flew to Ankara, Turkey, where Mr Cormann began his lobbying in earnest.
Turkey is one of the OECD’s 37 member countries.
Mathias Cormann held a barbecue during a stop in Berlin as he campaigned for the top job at the OECD. Photo: Twitter.
From Ankara, Mr Cormann flew five hours north to Copenhagen, Denmark, one of the 19 founding members of the OECD in 1960.
The French, German, Flemish and English speaker had dubbed the OECD one of the most consequential governing bodies in the world, particularly as the world seeks to recover from the deadly coronavirus pandemic.
“These are big challenges and I have accepted this nomination because I believe I canmake a real difference,” he said when his candidacy was announced.
The OECD Secretary-General’s job comes with a Euro 232,626 tax-free salary, or the equivalent of $376,900.
Mathias Cormann is using a RAAF Dassault 7X to assist his campaign.. Photo: Australian Defence Force.
On November 12, it was off to Berlin, where Mr Cormann could lobby in a familiar tongue, with Australia’s Ambassador to Germany snapping a photograph of Mr Cormann manning a barbecue during his stopover.
“A bit of downtime over the weekend amid [Mathias Cormann’s] busy visit to Berlin,” Ambassador Philip Green tweeted.
“Time for a BBQ, including Thuringia sausages. Mr Cormann at the tongs, straddling Australian and German culture.”
The ex-WA senator grew up in a German-speaking region of Belgium.
Three days later, he was off to Bern, Switzerland, for another three days of campaigning. His diplomatic speed-dating then took him to Ljubljana in Slovenia and then Luxembourg, via Bern.
On November 21, Mr Cormann arrived in Brussels where he once worked as an assistant to Mathieu Grosch, a Belgian Member of the European Parliament. Brussels is 130km from Eupen where Mr Cormann was born.
Mr Cormann flew from Brussels to Madrid, Spain, taking his two-week travel tally to 21,360km. His plane remains there today.
Defence records show flying the RAAF plane costs more than $4,000 per hour of flying.
The ABC has contacted the Department of Defence for comment.
In a written statement to La Trobe University, not-for-profit aged care provider, Fronditha Care, has expressed its disappointment at the university’s proposal to terminate the Modern Greek Studies Program.
The consultation period between the university and the community ends tomorrow on November 25. Tomorrow is also the last day to sign a petition set up by university students to save the program. So far, over 5,100 people have already signed.
It comes as no surprise then that the CEO of Fronditha Care, Michael Malakonas, and President, Professor Eugenia Pedagogos, have sent this letter to La Trobe, making the important point that “the decision to abolish the Modern Greek Studies program will have a negative impact on the aged care sector.”
“Significant verbal and written competence in the Greek language is central to our capacity to provide care to the elderly members of our community,” the letter states.
“The termination of this program has the potential to negatively impact the elders we care for, the language and cultural competence of our workforce, aged care in the CALD space and the social fabric of Victoria.”
The letter goes on to say that the continuation of the Modern Greek Studies program is crucial as it “facilitates the ability for elderly Australians of Greek background to live with dignity.”
“If our workforce lacked the ability to produce and use bilingual (Greek and English) communications, it could be detrimental to the quality of care the elderly members of our community receive,” Fronditha Care writes.
Full Statement from Fronditha Care:
This letter comes in the face of a meeting last Friday between representatives of the Greek community and La Trobe University’s Acting Vice-Chancellor, Professor Susan Dodds, the Head of the School of Humanities Professor, Simon Evans, and two other leading academics.
They met to discuss viable solutions for the continuation of the program but Bill Papastergiadis, President of the Greek Community of Melbourne, told The Greek Herald on Monday that La Trobe expects “the number of students to triple for the program to be sustainable.”
The Greek community, including teachers and students, are fighting to save the Greek Studies Program at La Trobe University.
In a statement to The Greek Herald on Monday afternoon, La Trobe University mentioned the meeting and said it would carefully consider “staff consultations” and “representations made from members of the community” before making any decision on the future of the program.
Full Statement from La Trobe University:
“La Trobe was pleased to meet with members of the Greek community in Victoria last Friday to discuss the change proposal and hear their concerns. It is clear there is a strong desire from members of the community for La Trobe’s Greek Studies program to continue.
We discussed the significant financial impacts to the University as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, our subsequent Strategic Plan, and the fact that student demand for the program would need to increase substantially before the program could be financially viable. La Trobe will carefully consider the outcomes of staff consultation, as well as representations made from members of the community, regarding the future of the program before making any decision.“
It’s National Asbestos Awareness Week 2020 and people across Australia, including Greek Australians, are being reminded to be asbestos aware before they start any work around their home.
Especially if their home is built or renovated before 1990 as there’s a good chance it has some asbestos, according to the Asbestos Diseases Society of South Australia.
Asbestos is a known carcinogen and inhaling asbestos fibres can cause a number of life-threatening diseases including pleural disease, asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer.
Asbestos-related diseases cause approximately 4,000 deaths a year.
Despite this, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Australians have increased their love of DIY and are using the extra time to do home improvements and maintenance.
Shows such as Channel 9’s The Block, which featured Greek and Cypriot contestants this year, have also inspired people to make remarkable changes to their homes in short time frames.
But what they may not know is that this work could be putting their health or someone else’s health at risk. Asbestos materials are still commonly found in bathrooms, laundries, and kitchens as well as behind tiles and under flooring.
As the saying for National Asbestos Awareness Week 2020 goes: Asbestos lurks in more places than you’d think.
“We are encouraging Australians to make sure an asbestos check forms part of their DIY checklist before they start their home improvements,” the President of the Asbestos Diseases Society of SA, Mr Peter Photakis, says.
“Research shows that 1 in 5 DIYers have encountered asbestos, but only half sought any kind of professional help to deal with it. Additionally, a third admitted to disposing of the asbestos improperly – including in their own household bin or in a neighbour’s bin.
“Just like plumbing and electrical work, asbestos removal – or jobs around the home that might uncover asbestos – is a job best left to the experts.
“This Asbestos Awareness Week we are calling on Australians to know the health risk, be aware of where asbestos might be found before starting work, and call a professional for help.”
