THE GREEK AUSTRALIAN The oldest circulating Greek newspaper outside VEMA Greece MARCH 2009 Tel. (02) 9559 7022 Fax: (02) 9559 7033 E-mail: [email protected] OUR PRIMATE’S VIEW THE PARABLE OF THE PRODIGAL SON PAGES 4/22 - 5/23 STIMULUS St Andrew’s PAYMENTS Theological College SCRIPTUREenters 24th LESSONS year of teaching will support jobs PAGE 7/25 Stimulus package handouts will minimise unemployment one-off training and learning bonus and education entry as the economy slows, Treasurer Wayne Swan says. payment is paid to eligible students. Parents, carers and farmers started receiving bonus The one-off bonus of up to $900 for taxpayers earning payments of up to $950 from Wednesday 11 March, as part less than $100,000 will flow from April. of a $42 billion fiscal stimulus package. In December, pensioners and low-income families were “Now these bonuses are a key part of our efforts to on the receiving end of cash payments from the support jobs by strengthening demand in the economy so government’s initial $10.4 billion stimulus package. that companies can afford to keep on and employ workers The coalition opposes the government’s second stimulus because there is sufficient demand in the economy,” Mr package. Swan told parliament during question time. Mr Swan quoted a speech by former treasurer Peter Treasury forecasts released last month predicted the Costello, delivered in 2001 during the last global economic unemployment rate would climb to seven per cent by mid- slowdown, to undermine the opposition’s position. 2010 as 300,000 jobs were lost. “Back in 2001 the Member for Higgins had ... a lot to say Scripture Lessons The jobless rate was 4.8 per cent in January. about strengthening demand in the economy,” Mr Swan said. Single-income families and households receiving Family “He said: ‘Insufficiently vigorous policies may result in a in N.S.W. Tax Benefit A will get a one-off payment of $900. deeper and longer global downturn’.” For more than 40 years the Greek Eligible drought-affected farmers will receive $950 Orthodox Archdiocese has provided hardship payments from March 24, the same time a $950 AAP scripture lessons in many State Schools to provide an opportunity for Greek Orthodox children to be- 25 MARCH come familiar with their Christian heritage. FEAST OF PAGE 19/37 THE ANNUNCIATION OF OUR MOST HOLY LADY, THE THEOTOKOS Kalavryta AND EVER VIRGIN This Peloponnesian town and province have overcome historical adversity to become MARY a popular winter destination. PAGE 9/27 PAGE 17/35 The Greek Australian VEMA MARCH 2009 2/20 TO BHMA This Day Deadline extended to 31 March 2009 IInn HHiissttoorryy Social Security Agreement between Australia and Greece The Social Security Agreement be- the most effective way of dealing with tween Australia and Greece com- concerns. menced on 1 October 2008, and peo- “Centrelink officers, including Greek ple have been given an extended language speakers whenever possi- deadline till 31 March 2009 to respond ble, have been calling people who to their Centrelink letters. have yet to respond to their reminder Around 99% of the Greek community letters. in Australia have responded to Centre- “As the Member of Parliament in an link’s letters, but there are a very small electorate representing the largest number to be dealt with. number of people with a Greek back- “Centrelink is working with Greek ground in Australia, I welcome this community groups to develop appro- move and support the community dis- priate strategies to allay the fears of cussion process to assist people with the small percentage of people who their concerns,” Mr Georganas said. have not yet responded to Centrelink’s A number of steps have been taken letters,” Federal Member for Hind- to provide information, and to explain marsh, Mr Steve Georganas MP said. Centrelink’s requirements and proce- March 31, 1889 “Implementation of other social secu- dures. rity agreements has shown that this These include meetings with peak Mr Steve Georganas MP Eiffel Tower reaction is commonly experienced and community groups, community infor- that working with community groups to mation sessions around Australia, bilin- Australian Governments with the intro- opens develop specific targeted strategies is gual fact sheets and advertisements in duction of the new social security a- both English and Greek community greement. On March 31, 1889, the Eiffel Tow- newspapers and on community and Australia’s agreement with Greece er is dedicated in Paris in a ceremo- SBS radio. will provide improved access to age ny presided over by Gustave Eiffel, Report calls Around 50,000 residents of Australia pensions from both countries for peo- the tower's designer, and attended and Greece have improved access to ple who spent part of their adult lives by French Prime Minister Pierre the age pension from the Greek and working in Greece or living in Australia. Tirard, a handful of other dignitaries, for bigger ports and 200 construction workers. in Greece April 2, 2005 Many ports in the Aegean and Ionian Pope John seas are potentially dangerous for passenger ships as they are too nar- Paul II Dies row for dockings, according to a report On this day in 2005, John Paul II, made public recently by the Masters history's most well-traveled pope and Mates Union of the Greek Mer- and the first non-Italian to hold the chant Marine. position since the 16th century, dies In the report, experts note that many at his home in the Vatican. Six days port basins are too narrow to ade- later, two million people packed Vat- quately accommodate modern passen- ican City for his funeral, said to be ger ships. In addition, the piers of the biggest funeral in history. many island ports cannot accommo- date more than one passenger ship at April 7, 1994 a time and even smaller vessels, such as speedboats, often encounter prob- lems when trying to dock. Civil war erupts The report provides a detailed analy- sis of the shortcomings of each port. in Rwanda The central port of Patras, Greece’s main gateway to Western Europe, is On this day in 1994, Rwandan described as “too small for the vessels armed forces kill 10 Belgian peace- that depend upon it.” keeping officers in a successful ef- Experts note that an upgrade in infra- fort to discourage international inter- structure is vital to ensure security. As vention in the genocide that had be- for the popular holiday destination of gun only hours earlier. In approxi- Santorini, the union proposes the “relo- mately three months, the Hutu ex- cation of the island’s main port” to en- tremists who controlled Rwanda sure that cruise liners and passenger brutally murdered an estimated ships have ample space to dock, espe- 500,000 to 1 million innocent civilian cially during the busy summer months. Tutsis and moderate Hutus in the The main ports of Rafina, Rhodes, worst episode of ethnic genocide Kos and Igoumenitsa, in northwestern since World War II. Greece, are among the others men- tioned in the report as lacking ade- quate infrastructure. Last summer, union officials blamed inadequate infrastructure at ports for a spate of ferry collisions in the Aegean. MARCH 2009 The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 3/21 Editorial them will be a “revolutionary act.” When the “asylum for ideas” means that legality Wasting words cannot be imposed on university campuses, then thugs will always find asylum. Unfortunately, there are thousands of kids out there who have not been taught By Paschos Mandravelis - Kathimerini to distinguish between concepts, to respect words. We have wasted words and allowed a generation to drown in the postmodern nebula that can be used to jus- Words are a society’s last resource. Even when everything else is lost, words tify almost anything, even the “destruction of the symbols of power,” that is, the are there to connect people; words are needed to find solutions, to describe murder of 21-year-olds in uniform. problems and make plans to emerge from every crisis. In Greece, this land of of endless contentiousness, words have been used up Soccer clubs hold key to hooliganism sooner than the paltry remnants of the public coffers. The law, for example, has become the resort of workers, farmers and anyone else with a complaint. The Greece’s soccer club owners have at times pressured the law enforcement au- fact that we have not yet been able to agree that “laws are passed by Parliament thorities to take the appropriate measures to prevent violence involving rival sup- and no one can break them with impunity” resulted in the events of December, porters or attacks on the actual teams and their officials. under the slogan “Law equals terror.” Their demands are hypocritical, to say the least. Soccer clubs should start by The fact that illegality has begun to be examined in the light (according to those severing their ties to the organized hooligan groups whose support they cultivate who break the law) of incentives has allowed certain youths to believe it is their and which they have repeatedly taken advantage of to serve their own interests. right to set fire to trains because they don’t like the faces of the people riding As recent events have made abundantly clear, the Greek police force is already them. When one generation carelessly exhausts the concept of legality in political overloaded trying to meet the already numerous tasks and challenges that it demonstrations, they shouldn’t be surprised when the next generation throws faces. The force cannot afford mobilizing extra staff to combat violence and hooli- stones at police stations.