Daily Archives: December 9, 2014

Federal Member for Calwell Maria Vamvakinou tabled a motion in the Australian Parliament to recognise the 29th UN International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, and 2014 as the UN Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian people.

In her speech, Ms Vamvakinou said the time had come for the Australian parliament recognise the State of Palestine and vote yes at the UN for Palestinian Statehood.

“I want to remind the House it has been 67 years since the partition of Palestine and the occupation which continues until today. An occupation that is devastating, demoralising and damaging for all involved,” Ms Vamvakinou said.

She said Australia must now recognise the State of Palestine and Australia must vote yes at the UN for Palestinian Statehood.

source: Neos Kosmos

The facade of the planned $200 million project.

Australia’s richest Greek Con Makris has unveiled plans to redevelop his site at O’Connell St, North Adelaide following previous failed attempts.

Makris’ company, the Makris Group, will wholly fund the $200 million project, which will include a high market hotel, luxury apartments, a shopping complex, the first Australian built Whole Foods Market (an America grocery chain), as well as cafes and restaurants.

Makris told Neos Kosmos he expects construction to begin by the second half of 2015, in an area he likens to Kolonaki and Syntagma in Athens.

“(South Australia premier) Jay Weatherill gave his blessing, the mayor of Adelaide gave his blessing, the shopkeepers association has given its blessing, every department here in South Australia is supporting it because Adelaide needs something like this. North Adelaide is the Kolonaki of Adelaide, it’s where all the rich people live and it’s less than one kilometre from the centre of the CBD, across King William Road. The same way Syntagma is in Greece, where you travel down Kolonaki, it’s similar to that.”

The site, which historically housed furniture store Le Cornu until 1989, has been an empty lot since. Makris purchased it in 2001, with plans to develop it in 2008 shelved due to the onset of the global financial crisis (GFC).

“We had approval back in 2008 which was different to this. Back then we couldn’t build more than five storeys, we had approval for only five, and I mean it was a blessing that we didn’t build because now we have about 16 floors.”

“It would have been stupid for us to build if we couldn’t sell apartments (because of the GFC) so we didn’t go ahead with it and we waited for an opportunity.

Now under the new rules of the state government here, we can build at any height provided we satisfy the government, and we have done that.”

He estimates construction will create 700 jobs, with a further 700 for the service and maintenance of the complex, which he hopes will add to his legacy in his native state.

“It’s my dream! I want to leave a legacy in South Australia. I have so many properties around all of Australia and I want to leave something here, because I came here as a 16-year-old and I became the most successful businessman.”

“It will change North Adelaide … O’Connell Street used to be the number one street in South Australia, but in the past 10 years it has spiralled downward.

By doing this, the mayor came out and said the council will fix everything, the pavers for the streets, more trees, and he urged people with other properties in the area to redevelop.”

With final approvals set to be formalised, Makris is confident there won’t be any issues involved with its development, including through the public consultation period.

“Well, they had it in the newspaper and 85 per cent of people are supporting it. I mean when you see the premier on television supporting it and the mayor supporting it, who’s left?”

The project coincides with the company’s $50 million extension of Gilles Plains Shopping Centre in Adelaide’s north-east.

Greek national Vaggelis Tsirapidis chose to study in Melbourne because of the city’s high international education rankings.

Melbourne has been ranked the second best city in the world for students, while Sydney is not far behind in fourth, showing how highly regarded Australian universities are in the eyes of international students.

Another four Australian cities made it into QS Top University’s Top 50 Best Student Cities for 2015.

Canberra came in at 21, Brisbane at 23, Adelaide at 29 and Perth at 38, indicating Australia ranks as one of the best countries to study in all round.

But for many Greeks here on student visas, the news comes as no surprise.

Thousands of Greek nationals have flocked to Australia on student visas since 2008, seeking an out from the crisis and a better future.

In 2012-13 student visas granted for Greek nationals have increased from 332 to 854, more than doubling in just a year according to the Australian Immigration Department.

There has been a sharp rise in Greeks seeking vocational education training sector visas, jumping from just six granted in 2008-09 to 108 granted in 2013-14.

Those on the same visa that are still in Australia and are seeking extensions, with 441 visas being granted in 2013-14, are up from just seven in 2008-09.

Nineteen-year-old Greek national Vaggelis Tsirapidis came to Australia last year on a student visa to undertake a bachelor of commerce at Deakin University, and says a number of factors pushed him to decide to study in Melbourne.

An avid long distance swimmer, the opportunity to do what he loves and study at world-renowned universities were huge deciding factors.

“If you check online of the world rankings of universities, you can see that Melbourne and in general Australian universities are really highly ranked,” he tells Neos Kosmos.

“Other countries recognise the degree that you take, so if I want to work in Greece, I can work with this degree.”

Vaggelis was able to rely on relatives in Melbourne to help him get settled and keep costs down.

International students can only work a maximum of 20 hours per week, something Vaggelis admits is not enough to meet the high cost of living and university fees.

He pays upwards of $24,000 each year to study and works a part-time job to keep up on his repayments.

In the same QS Top Universities ranking, Melbourne and Sydney failed to impress in the affordability category. Melbourne and Sydney dropped to 42 and 46 out of 50, a harsh reality check for Greek students coming from a poverty-stricken Greece.

“I don’t think a person that doesn’t have family here would choose to come to Australia from Greece because we have really popular destinations for universities in the EU, like Germany and other big European cities, plus we have no fees, because we are European Union members,” Vaggelis says.

Greece is seeing unprecedented numbers of young citizens leaving the country in search of better prospects.

With unemployment rates for the young sitting at almost 50 per cent and the difficulties faced when trying to get a place at Greek universities, may find that there is no other option than moving overseas.

“It’s a common solution for our generation because of the situation back in Greece; it’s really hard to get into university,” Vaggelis says.

International students in Australia still remain a massive cash cow to the country, showing that they have spent $15.74 billion to the Australian economy in the past year, the highest figure since the industry peaked in 2010.

Applications for higher education visas have also jumped 19.7 per cent since last financial year, with the highest number of applications coming from China.
Together with Indian students, they represent 32 per cent of all student visa applications.

source: Neos Kosmos