Daily Archives: September 4, 2014

The Parliament will hold a second vote for the bill at the week’s end. Photo: AAP.

The bill, passed after months of delays, will allow jail terms of up to three years and large fines for those that incite attacks against people based on their race or sexual orientation.

An anti-racism bill introducing tougher penalties for individuals and political parties that engage in racism or incite racist violence and those who praise acts of genocide was approved in principle by Parliament’s summer session. A second vote on the bill’s articles is to be held on Friday.

The bill, passed after months of delays, foresees jail terms of up to three years and large fines for those that incite attacks against people based on their race or sexual orientation. Those who praise historical acts of genocide such as the Holocaust, the mass killing of Armenians, Christians in Asia Minor and Black Sea Greeks, face similar treatment.

But Justice Minister Haralambos Athanasiou rebuffed a demand by opposition parties, and some PASOK MPs, for the bill to include a provision extending a cohabitation pact, granting unmarried couples greater rights, to same-sex partnerships. He said the issue will be studied separately.

Source: Ekathimerini.

The Smyrna Catastrophe by Vasilis Bottas.

Brisbane will host a three day event with a lecture, English and Greek memorial services and a wreath laying service.

The Asia Minor Greek Historical Society is organising a three day commemorative event in Brisbane to mark the Asia Minor catastrophe.

From September 19-21, the historical society will host two memorial services and include a historical night.

On September 19, Sofia Kotanidis and Dr Nicholas Al-Jeloo will present the lecture

The Christian Asia Minor Holocaust: A Brief Overview to give Brisbane audiences a full picture of what happened in the 1922 catastrophe.

The event will be held at 7:30pm at the Welfare Room of the Greek Orthodox Community of St. George, Besant Street, South Brisbane. Tickets are $8 or $5 for members.

On September 20 at 6pm, there will be a liturgy in English at the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint George. After the liturgy, a commemorative service will follow to mark those who died in the catastrophe.

The following day the church will host a Greek liturgy that will be followed by a commemorative service and a wreath laying service at the shrine outside the church.

The Society is calling for all Greek Associations to lay a wreath in honour of the 3.65 million people who were killed in the Christian Genocide of Asia Minor that began in the 1800’s and culminated in the Catastrophe of Smyrna in 1922.

After the ceremony, morning tea will be available in the Welfare Room of the Greek Orthodox Community of St. George. The Society asks those who stay to ‘bring a plate’ to share at morning tea. Donations collected at the door will assist the Greek Ladies Philoptochos of St. George to provide welfare services for the community.

The Greek community of Brisbane holds a strong connection to the events, with many of the first Greek migrants fleeing the catastrophe settling in Brisbane’s West End.

For more information and to book, contact Nick Drakos on 0478 699 284, Georgina Monserrat on 0407 732 328 or Elene Kyranakos at secretary@amghs.org

source: Neos Kosmos

New applications for 457 working visas have fallen in some industries by more than 50 per cent

Demand to work in Australia is waning, with the number of new skilled migrant worker applications falling.

The number of total overseas migrants ¬applying for a four-year work visa has dropped below 50,000 during 2013-14 compared to more than 81000 in the previous year.

Employers are blaming high visa costs, while a high unemployment rates are lessening demand for overseas workers.

The tourism and hospitality sector, the biggest employer of foreign workers, saw applications halve to 5330, from 10,700 the previous year.

The construction industry also saw applications halve, while the mining industry saw a 44 per cent reduction.

Health and social assistance was the only industry that had a reduction of less than 40 per cent, with 5020 new visa applications coming through in 2013/14, from 7650 the previous year.

Thousands of migrant workers also left the country, with 29,000 work visas cancelled by the Immigration and Border Control Department.

The Immigration Department says many of the cancelled visas were because the visa holder’s employer advised the Department that the worker had ended their employment.

Source: The Australian

Ukrainian servicemen speak near an armored vehicle in their camp near Donetsk Sept. 2, 2014.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has put forward what he called an “action plan” for peace in eastern Ukraine, amid contradictory reports on whether a cease-fire had been reached between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatist rebels.

Speaking in the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator, Putin said both the Ukrainian government forces and the rebels should halt “active offensive operations” in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine, where the two sides have engaged in fierce clashes.

He also said government forces should withdraw to a distance from which they cannot hit populated areas with artillery and other “volley fire” weapons.

Russia’s leader urged “full-fledged and objective international control” over cease-fire compliance, a ban on the use of military aviation against civilian areas, an unconditional prisoner exchange, the opening of “humanitarian corridors” for refugees and relief supplies, and the possibility of sending in teams to repair damaged infrastructure.

Ukraine and NATO say Russian troops and armor have crossed the border in recent days, forcing the retreat of Ukrainian units, which had been gaining ground against the rebels. Moscow denies its armed forces are involved in the fighting.

Earlier Wednesday, the office of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said he and Putin had agreed in a phone conversation on a “permanent cease-fire.”

But Poroshenko’s office subsequently revised that statement to say mutual understanding was reached on steps that will contribute to establishing peace, without giving any details.

Separatists skeptical

Pro-Russia separatists reportedly were wary. Russia’s RIA Novosti state agency on Wednesday quoted Vladislav Brig – a spokesman for the Defense Ministry of the separatists’ self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic – as saying there could be no cease-fire as long as Ukrainian government forces remain in the Donbas, the section of eastern Ukraine that includes the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

In a separate statement Wednesday, the Kremlin said Putin and Poroshenko did not agree on a cease-fire in Ukraine, noting that Russia is not a party in the conflict. The statement said the two presidents discussed how to resolve the conflict.

Earlier, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin and Poroshenko had exchanged views on ways to stop the “bloodshed” in southeastern Ukraine.  Peskov said the two presidents largely agreed on possible ways out of the crisis.

U.S. President Barack Obama said Wednesday it was too early to respond to reports of a cease-fire. But, in an address to NATO members meeting in Estonia, he emphasized that “the only path to lasting peace” is negotiation and respect for sovreignty.

“Borders cannot be redrawn at the end of a gun,” Obama said.

Conflict continues

Ukraine said Tuesday that 15 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in fighting in the east since early Monday.

Most of the fighting has been around the city of Donetsk, the rebels’ largest stronghold and one of two major cities controlled by pro-Russian separatists seeking autonomy from Ukrainian rule. The other city is Luhansk.

On Tuesday, a Ukrainian official, Andriy Lysenko, said Russian troops had been spotted at 10 locations on Ukrainian territory. Lysenko said Russia is continuing to concentrate soldiers and military hardware in six areas in the Donetsk region, including Donetsk city and Luhansk.

Separately, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Valeriy Heletey said Ukraine’s military goals are shifting from a counter-insurgency operation to a battle against the Russian army.

NATO estimates at least 1,000 Russian troops are in Ukraine, though Moscow has repeatedly denied any military presence on Ukrainian territory.

France suspends warship delivery to Russia

France announced Wednesday it would suspend delivery of the warship Vladivostok to Russia because of concerns about Moscow’s involvement in eastern Ukraine.

French President Francois Hollande’s office announced the decision the day before a NATO summit in Wales, the French paper Le Monde and the Associated Press reported.

Hollande’s office called the situation in Ukraine “grave” and said Russia’s recent actions threaten “the foundations of security in Europe,” the AP reported.

After Russia’s annexation of Crimea, the United States and Britain had criticized France’s plans to go ahead with delivery of the first of two Mistral-class warships. The vessels had been contracted by ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy’s conservative government in 2011. At the time, the deal made France the first member country of NATO to supply Russia with military equipment.

Journalist’s death decried

Also Wednesday, Russian officials confirmed the death of a Russian photojournalist who had been been covering the eastern Ukraine conflict and went missing in early August.

Russia’s Investigative Committee accused Ukrainian forces of killing Andrei Stenin, 33, who’d been on assignment for the state-run Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency. The committee demanded an investigation.

Likewise, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said it was “appalled” by Stenin’s killing.

An OSCE representative on media-freedom issues, Dunja Mijatović, called for Ukrainian authorities to swiftly and thoroughly investigate all killings and attacks on journalists in Ukraine.

source: voanews.com

Paul Keating said the decision flew in the face of ending the “age of ­entitlement.” Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

Former prime minister and compulsory superannuation architect Paul Keating said the superannuation freeze negotiated by Clive Palmer and the ­government would sabotage ­Australia’s universal savings scheme.

His criticisms were echoed by Reserve Bank of Australia board ­member Heather Ridout, who described the seven-year freeze of the guarantee at 9.5 per cent as retrograde.

Ms Ridout, who is also the chairman of Australian Super and a former chief executive of the Australian Industry Group, told The Australian Financial Review she supported the demise of the mining tax which, she said, was a poorly designed regulatory impost.

Ms Ridout, who was also a member of the Henry tax review panel, said she agreed with the government’s pre-election promise to freeze the guarantee for two years. But she said this week’s deal – which will freeze it at 9.5 per cent until 2021 and not increase it to 12 per cent until 2025 – was “retrograde”.

“It will strip away confidence in the sector and undermine the substantial contribution it will make to financial retirement income pressures,” she said.

Ms Ridout welcomed the three-year stay of execution granted to the low-income super contribution under which the government contributes $500 a year to the super savings of low income earners.

She said the super system was ­“fundamentally inequitable to those on low incomes” and the delay would enable a case to be mounted to retain it permanently.

The deal was struck to help offset the budget losses inflicted by being forced to keep for a limited period three of the eight spending measures associated with the mining tax. The deal will cost the budget $6.5 billion over the next four years but will be budget-neutral over a decade because the super freeze will claw back the losses over time.

Treasurer Joe Hockey rubbished claims by the industry that the freeze would strip $128 billion from retirement savings over a decade and claimed workers would keep the money as wages.

“I’d love to see some of the assumptions behind it, including the fees they’re deducting,” he said.

“There’s no reason why you couldn’t apply the same assumptions, maybe more generous assumptions, to the ability of individuals to spend their own money and get a better return than they might have got out of their super.”

Long-term pain for short-term gain

Mr Keating, who established the compulsory super scheme when ­treasurer, said this week’s decision was motivated by cheap ideology not balancing the budget.

“The Prime Minister and Mr Palmer trotted out the tawdry argument that working people are better off with more cash in their hand today than savings for tomorrow,” he said. “They omit to say that superannuation savings represent deferred ­consumption, not lost consumption. More than that, their superannuation contributions become compound ­savings.”

Mr Keating said the decision flew in the face of ending the “age of ­entitlement” and “puts the pension back at centre stage”.

“[The] decision is an appalling one, by a government lacking any ­genuine or conscientious concern for the nation’s workforce.’’

He equated it to that of the Howard government in 1996 which dropped his policy to phase the guarantee from 9 per cent to 15 per cent, which he said cost the ­average worker $250,000 over their working life.

As Labor accused the government of sacrificing people’s retirements to look after miners, Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Brendan Pearson said it was wrong to blame his sector.

He pointed out the mining boom at its peak had lifted wages by 6 per cent, and hence, increased superannuation and reduced unemployment.

source: afr.com