A bi-lingual (in English and Maltese) fortnightly online publication specifically targeting all Maltese living abroad with emphasis on the Australian scene
24
Issue 112 online magazine ( driven by the voice driven by the voice of its readers of its readers ) October 13, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese online magazine The annual popular events of Notte Bianca (top three pictures) in Malta’s capital, Valletta, and the BirguFest (over three days) in the city that served as the first home of the Knights are intended to focus on the historical heritage and architectural beauty of these cities both built and closely connected with the Knights of Malta. Both again pulled the crowds as never before. The highlights were reached late evenings/night. Both provided entertainment that suit all taste and ages. The magical Birgu By Candlelight on Saturday was lit with over 35,000 candles.
Transcript
Issue112
online magazine
(driven by the voice driven by the voice of its readersof its readers)
October 13, 2015
The Voice of the Malteseonline magazine
The annual popular events of Notte Bianca (top three pictures)in Malta’s capital, Valletta, and the BirguFest (over three days) inthe city that served as the first home of the Knights are intendedto focus on the historical heritage and architectural beauty ofthese cities both built and closely connected with the Knights ofMalta. Both again pulled the crowds as never before.
The highlights were reached late evenings/night.Both provided entertainment that suit all tasteand ages. The magical Birgu By Candlelight onSaturday was lit with over 35,000 candles.
2 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday October 13, 2015
sioner, Tim Wilson,summed up the most im-portant lesson in an arti-cle for the Sydney MorningHerald. He said:
“… preserving freedomdoesn’t sit with the govern-ment. A healthy democracyis a constant negotiationbetween the governmentand the governed. We ne-gotiate the terms of theagenda at the pollingbooth. But our responsibil-ities don’t end there.
“We have an ongoing obli-gation to hold the arms ofgovernment to account. Weperiodically have debatesabout the merits or other-wise of laws to protect rightsand freedoms. But freedomdoesn’t solely live in laws. It sits in thehearts and minds of the body politic.”
The dominant Australian culture as-sumes that we should not be stopped bypolice or Border Force officers whilegoing about our normal business withouthaving done anything wrong. Generallyspeaking, we have the right to remainsilent in such situations; the only obliga-tion in most cases being to provide ourname and address if requested.
The recent Border Force incident sug-gests that, in the hearts and minds ofthe body politic, the proposal was goingtoo far and crossing a line. There areperhaps precedents in our recent polit-
There was considerable contro-versy recently when the Aus-tralian Border Force announced
a joint operation with Victoria Police toallow for large-scale Border Force ran-dom checks of the visa status of peoplein Melbourne’s central business dis-trict.
As it turned out, the plan was not forrandom checks, and it is not the pur-pose here to discuss the issue itself.However, in terms of understandingdemocracy, the overwhelming opposi-tion to the plan, or to how it was un-derstood, is useful.
Then Prime Minister Tony Abbottquickly stepped in to say:
“I want to make it absolutely crystalclear, as far as this Government is con-cerned, people will never be stopped inthe street randomly and asked for theirvisa details.”
He said this in response to a mediaand public outcry. His words expresseda view on the parameter of what isn’tacceptable in terms of our everydayrights, and the relationship betweenthe state and the people.
Australia’s Human Rights Commis-
Preserving freedom in a democratic culture
Dr BarryYork
ical history, such as the rejection ofgovernment attempts to introduce anational identity card, the AustraliaCard, in 1980s.
We want the democratic state to pro-vide the basics that keep us well but wewant to determine the extent to whichthe state can tell us what to do and in-terfere in our daily lives. We want spaceto allow us to question, challenge andrebel – and to change things.
Source: ‘Museum of Australian Democ-racy at Old Parliament House in Can-berra, with this link to the museum’swebsite:- http://www.moadoph.gov.au/
(Dr Barry York was awarded a PhD in Historyby the University of New South Wales in 1988.He has authored and co-authored severalbooks of political history and immigration his-tory. He was awarded the Order of Australia in2005 for his services to the recording of immi-gration history.)
Tuesday October 13, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 3
The special premiers of theMaltese film production,Simshar, a family sea tragedy
screened in various cities aroundAustralia was tremendously success-ful with packed houses in 12 cinemasin six States. The Voice of the Mal-tese attended the special screening atthe Palace Leichhardt, NSW.
Special buses transported Maltesefrom various parts of Sydney. At theend of the screening the writer/direc-tor of the film, Rebecca Cremona as-sisted by Charles Mifsud conducteda question and answer session.There is no doubt that this astonish-
ing true tragic story of a poor desper-ate Maltese fishing family fromMarsaxlokk that occurred in 2008 en-tangled with the refugee situation inMediterranean sea, portrayed astrong and emotional message, in someways similar to the Australian MV TampaAffair in August 2001.The film was shot in 21 locations around
the Maltese islands and showcases a lot ofour customs. It is primarily in Maltese andhas English subtitles. The film was Malta'sfirst-ever submission to the AcademyAwards and received very good interna-tional reviews.
In Australia it has/is being shown in VIC-TORIA (Melbourne): Nova Carlton, ClassicElsternwick, Cameo Belgrave, LidoHawthorn; NEW SOUTH WALES: (Sydney
& environs): Palace Norton St, Leichhardt,Palace Chauvel, Paddington, Avoca BeachPicture House and Orpheum in Cremorne;QUEENSLAND: (Brisbane) New FarmCinemas, New Farm; CANBERRA: PalaceElectric, Phillip Law Street; TASMANIA:Hobart State, North Hobart; SOUTH AUS-TRALIA: Toorak Gardens, Greenhill Road.
While in Sydney, Rebecca Cremona ac-companied by hermother Hertha paid a
courtesy call at the Maltese Resource Cen-tre at Parramatta West where the presidentof the MCC Emanuel Camilleri and othermembers of the executive welcomed them. Ms Cremona thanked the community for
their warm welcome and the MCC forsubsidising part of the transportation forthe elderly, and also Charles Mifsud whoco-ordinated her visit in Australia.
Breaking new ground for MaltaBreaking new ground for MaltaThe film The film SimsharSimshar in Australian theatresin Australian theatres
After the showing in NSW, the film ‘Simshar’ re-ceived rave reviews from the press, with Australian
leading daily The Sydney Morning Herald writing,“Maltese director Rebecca Cremona's film could havebeen a documentary. It's based on a tragedy that un-folded on Malta and its waters in 2008. But there aretimes when only fiction will do. That's because of itsability to impart a sense of intimacy – essential when adirector is trying to put you inside the hearts and headsof people whose background and experience are half aworld away from your own.”Under a picture of the Simshar boat, film critic SandraHall described the film as “a heartbreaking story thatcrystallises so many aspects of the refugee crisis with-out passing judgement on any of them.”She dwcribes the script’s twin themes as “intersecting
with devastating consequences as the plot gets under-way, but a lot more comes across in the elegant visualshorthand of Cremona's scene-setting.”The SMH names the main artists and that the film was
Malta's entry in the Best Foreign Language Film cate-gory at this year's Academy Awards – the first that
Malta has ever submitted to the Oscars.
Rebecca Cremona, the writer/director of the Maltese film Simshar pic-tired during her courtesy call at the MCC in NSW together with (fromleft), Lawrence Dimech, Emanuel Camilleri and Charles Mifsud,
‘Simshar’receives ravereviews in NSW press
4 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday October 13, 2015
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During a ceremony at the UpperBarrakka in Valletta on Saturdaymorning, Malta and the US com-
memorated US soldiers, sailors andmarines who took part in the campaignfor the freedom of Malta and werekilled in Malta during World War II.Participants during the ceremony in-
cluded members of the Armed Forcesof Malta, and about 125 membersfrom the Ancient and Honourable Ar-tillery Company of Massachusetts.
During the ceremony, Home AffairsMinister Carmelo Abela and CaptainDomenic Previte paid tribute to thelong history of close collaboration be-tween Malta and the United Statesand unveiled a plaque commemorat-ing the event. Minister Abela referred to the strong
relations existing between Malta andthe US, which, he said, also includedthe ongoing training of Maltese sol-diers in the US.
Captain Previte on his part said thatthe long history of close collaborationbetween Malta and the United Stateswas founded on “shared values of
peace, democracy and liberty for all”.It is worth recalling that some 1,800
Maltese sailors and Knights of St Johnalso fought alongside Americanforces, that took on the British army inthe war of independence.
That was a few years after the StateHouse bell, now known as the LibertyBell was commissioned by the speakerof the Pennsylvania Assembly IsaacNorris, from the Whitechapel Foun-dry in London in 1751. A Maltese im-migrant by the name of John Pace andJohn Stow cast the iconic symbol of USindependence.
Malta-US commemorate US personnelMalta-US commemorate US personnel
who died helping Malta during World War IIwho died helping Malta during World War II
The ceremony at the Upper Barrakka commemorating the US military personnelwho helped Malta to preserve its freedom during World War II. Right: The plaque inmemory of these personnel unveiled during the ceremony.
Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela (right) with Captain Domenic Previte at the ceremony
September 27th was declaredWorld Tourism Day by theUnited Nations. In order to
celebrate this day and also giventourism is one of the world’s mostimportant and resilient industries,in Malta, a Business Breakfast wasorganised by the Ministry forTourism and the Malta TourismAuthority.
is year’s theme was 1 billiontourists - 1 billion opportunities. e1 billion tourists mark was sur-passed in 2014, a number that isexpected to continue to grow in theyears to come. ese billion-plustourists have made tourism a lead-ing economic sector and a valuablesource of livelihood for millions ofpeople worldwide, contributing10% of global GDP and employingone in 11 jobs worldwide.Addressing the business breakfast, Minis-
ter for Tourism Edward Zammit Lewisstated that recent UNWTO Barometer re-sults published for the first six months ofthis year confirmed that Malta has continu-ed to outgrow its competition in this sector.
While international tourism grew by 4%compared to last year, Malta registered a5.3% growth. It also outperformed its com-petitors in the Southern European Mediter-ranean region, which registered a lowergrowth at 4.6%. “ese encouraging resultsclearly indicate that we are on the righttrack, but we surely cannot be complacentand need to continue working hard, espe-cially when faced with the challenges of sea-sonality,” the Minister said.He pointed out that tourism to the Maltese
Islands mainly depends on air route con-nectivity and that the country has been suc-cessful in this regard. In summer, Malta isdirectly connected with 94 airports, and forthe winter seat capacity shall increase by ap-proximately 5% on last year through directconnections to 57 airports. He also stressed that Air Malta still remains
a main contributor to the tourism winterbusiness, and in fact, for this winter, Malta’snational airline will operate an extensiveschedule of routes with direct connections to22 destinations and about 700,000 seats onoffer, excluding charter operations.
Minister Edward Zammit Lewis notedthat quality is another key success factor
that is becoming increasingly important forthis sector and is a key influencer for cur-rent and future travel choices. Achievingquality is about ensuring that the cus-tomer's perception of the service providedmeets, and preferably exceeds the cus-tomer's expectations.
In this respect, the Institute of TourismStudies has kept close contact with all the in-dustry’s stakeholders and has contributed ac-tively to the tourism and hospitality industryby providing highly professionally trained in-dividuals to deliver a high quality service.Minister Zammit Lewis expressed his sat-
isfaction in noting the positive response byoperators within the tourism sector that ismaterialising into millions of Euro worth ofnew investment in the shape of extensive re-furbishment programmes and developmentof new projects.
He said that this augured well for the fu-ture and is crucially important to ensureMalta’s future competitiveness. Further-more, the Government would ensure that
Tuesday October 13, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 5
Government confident of success in tourism- determined to improve the overall image of ‘destination Malta’
the country’s overall imageis improved and would en-hance the major factors as-sociated with tourismmirror value, particularly inthe tourism zone areas.Cruise Passenger market is
another complementary ac-tivity to the internationaltourism flows attracted toMalta. Valletta Cruiseportis expecting to register atotal of 325 port calls thatwould bring about 640.000passengers to Malta untilthe end of this year.
e Minister also referredto Malta’s sister islandGozo, which adds value toour destination as a wholeas it is considered as a dif-
ferentiated product to mainland Malta. Lastyear Gozo was visited by more than onemillion international visitors, which is anincrease of more than 6% on 2013. e Minister for Tourism Edward Zammit
Lewis thanked the different speakers fortheir valuable contributions to the seminarand concluded by stating that ensuring sus-tainable growth is a key challenge that re-quires cohesive efforts by all players, notjust governments, but including all industrystakeholders, the host community andtourists themselves. “We must ensure that we follow a strategic
process that leads to sustained growth, asonly this can guarantee continued successin the longer term”, concluded the Minister.
At the end of this business breakfast theMinistry for Tourism launched the officialvideo to further promote Malta as wintertourism destination.
Statistics just published by the NationalStatistics Office (NSO) on inbound
tourism performance in August 2015 showpositive growth rates for all indicators in-cluding the number of inbound tourists, thenumber of tourist nights and tourist expen-diture, with the latter registering the highestincrease over the same month last year. Total number of inbound visitors to Malta
in August reached 248,284, an increase of3.7% or 8,941 tourists when compared toAugust 2014. It is important to highlight that the number
of tourist nights and expenditure recordedhigher growth rates of 5.1% and 7.3% respec-tively. In August, tourists spent €276.2 mil-lion, that is, €18.7 million more than theprevious year, while the average length ofstay remained constant at 9.6 nights.
Cumulative data for the period January toAugust 2015 point to a very good perform-ance with the number of inbound visitors in-creasing by 4.7% over the same period lastyear. e number of nights stayed by touristsreached 9.7 million, an increase of 4.4%. e registered growth rate of tourists stay-
ing in private accommodation (+14.7%) isconsiderably higher than those staying incollective accommodation (+1.8%).Tourist expenditure feature the highest in-crease of 6.8%, reaching €1.1 billion, 71.5million more over same period last year.
Malta Tourism Authority CEO, Mr PaulBugeja, said “we are pleased with these pos-itive results in particular with the sustainedhigher growth rates in tourist expenditure,which is ultimately the more important in-dicator in performance measurement.”
7.3% increase in tourist expenditure
Minister for Tourism Dr Edward ZammitLewis addressing the Business Breakfast onthe occasion of World Tourism Day
Sammut Developmentsare the pride of theSutherland Shire and in-
deed the whole State of NSW.They have once again beenrecognised with a top awardin the 2015 Master BuildersAssociation of NSW, Excel-lence in Housing Award.They have been named asMaster Builder of the Year2015. They also won theaward for Contract Houses$10 million and over for Nau-tilus, which they built on theforeshore of Burraneer Bay.Sammut Developments was
throughout the years Sammut Developments has won 13MBA Awards including the latest two. It has also won 13HIA Awards including the 2012 HIA Winner AustralianApartment Project of the Year, 2011 HIA Winner NSWApartment Project of the Year and 2004 HIA AustralianDevelopment of the Year.
Allan Sammut told the St George & Sutherland ShireLeader that being recognised by the Master Builders As-sociation and winning their top award offers recognitionfrom industry peers and is a fantastic result for a localfamily business.“Winning the Master Builder of the Year has been a
dream of mine and something Sammut Developmentshave aspired to win since winning our first MBA award
in 1998,” Mr Sammut said.“We pride ourselves in our work and feel fortunate that
all of it is within Sutherland Shire.“We work with an amazing team of local architects and
designers, and a fantastic team of again mainly localtradesmen and subcontractors that all contribute to deliv-ering these award-winning products.”The winning home is set over four lots on the foreshore
of Burraneer Bay and comprises six levels, three lifts, a20-car space garage as well as a two-lane bowling alleyand private beach. It also saw the reinstatement of
Atwells, an iconic heritage boathouse.Allan Sammut said working on the Nautilus –
the project that won Contract Houses Over $10million – was an opportunity to create and de-liver Australia’s best home in the SutherlandShire.
Sutherland Shire mayor Kent Johns congratu-lated John and Allen Sammut on winning Mas-ter Builder of the Year 2015 Award and CiaranGoodman on winning the Young Builder ofthe Year Award.He aid: “The priority of this council has been
to ensure a quality built environment in keep-ing with our natural environment. "Theseawards show us how this can be achieved andshould be encouraged."I am pleased to commend to council the out-
standing achievements of John and Allen Sam-mut, and Ciaran Goodman for theiroutstanding achievements and wish them wellin their future building projects."The award winners now go on to the national
titles.
Maltese builders win excellence6 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday October 13, 2015
in NSW housing award
The Sammut family accepting the award for MasterBuilder of the Year (from left): Vicky, John Sammut, theMayor and Allan and Paul Sammut both holding theawards they won.
The Nautilus, the awardwinning Burraneer Bayproperty built by SammutDevelopments
Tuesday October 13, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 7
Malta Celebrates National Dayin CanberraThe High Commission in Canberra cel-
ebrated Malta’s National Day (Inde-pendence Day) on September 21 with
a reception at the High Commissioner’sresidence, during which, in his address tothe guests, H.E. the High Commissioner,Charles Muscat, said that it was not an easytask to transform Malta’s economy fromone based on dockyards and ship repairsto a modern and stable economy that it istoday – a vibrant and innovative economywhich is at the moment one of the most sta-ble in Europe.
He mentioned the healthy relations be-tween Malta and Australia that went back
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Malta’s High Commissioner to Australia, Charles Muscat (secondright) together with the Head of the EU Delegation, Ambassador SemFabrizi (extreme left) and Austrian Ambassador Dr. Helmut Bock,and the US Ambassador John Berry (extreme right) at the reception
to the 1940’s with the first waves ofMaltese emigrants reaching theAustralian shores. This only im-proved as diplomatic relationswere formalised with the estab-lishment of the High Commissionin Canberra in the same year of In-
dependence, in 1964.The High Commissioner ac-
knowledged with appreciationeveryone’s support to ensure thesuccess of the event, including theuntiring patronage of sponsorsand advertisers.
There was a good turnout ofaround 200 guests from the diplo-matic and Maltese community, thehost government and friends ofthe High Commission. Among the55 Heads of Missions present werethe Dean of the Diplomatic Corps,
the Head of the EuropeanDelegation, Ambassadorsof the United States, Ger-many, Switzerland, China,Japan, Pakistan, and Re-gional Representatives ofthe UNHCR, UNIC andthe IOM.
Present from the Depart-ment of Foreign Affairs wereMr. Kevin Magee, AssistantSecretary for NS&E EuropeBranch, and Mr. Trevor Pea-cock, new Director of theSouth Europe Section.Friends of the High Com-
mission, representatives ofthe Sovereign MilitaryOrder of Malta, the RoyalCommonwealth Society,leaders and members ofthe Maltese Communityshowed their appreciationat being part of this year’scelebration of Malta’s Inde-pendence.
High Commissioner Charles Muscatdelivering his National day address
Paul Mercieca from Fairfield, NSW writes
At times I feel so confused and at thesame time angry at the attitudeadopted by some politicians in
Malta, the country of my birth that I leftdecades ago to seek a better future for my-self and my family in Australia. I stilltreasure this small island that I love to callmy own and that has made very largestrides forward in recent years.
I follow the international news and am al-ways glad when foreign governments, praiseMalta for its stature. I still remember in my childhood Maltese
politicians proudly abiding by the call ofMalta first and foremost. However, I can-not understand some Maltese politiciansnow trying to slam the country in order to
try to gain political mileage; to criticise forthe sake of criticising is very wrong.
A few months ago we heard about vastChinese investment in energy in Malta thatwas bound to get a bankrupt Enemalta outof a financial hole.In agreeing and accepting the Chinese in-
vestment Malta is in line with the world’sbest economies. However, I was disap-pointed to read that the opposition inMalta blasted the deal and tried to createdoubts about this. Then recentlywe learn-ed of a further deal between the EU andChina in the energy sector. So the Maltesegovernment was once again proven right.It seems that the only opposition to invest-ments from China from around the worldwas Malta’s party in opposition.The European Union and China are global
players and two of the biggest traders in theworld. China is now the EU's second trad-ing partner behind the US, and the EU isChina's biggest trading partner.
As Strategic Partners, the EU and Chinaincreasingly cooperate with each other onkey international and regional issues. SoMalta should be commended for beingamong the first nations to take advantageof its relations with China.
The trade and investment relationship isan essential source of wealth, jobs, devel-opment and innovation for both sides,therefore Malta knows what it is doing. Itis looking ahead and buiding for the fu-ture. I think those in opposition shouldstart behaving as Maltese who have thebest of the country at heart.
Have your say/Xi trid tghid?Your letters/ L-ittri tag˙kom ...
onl ine magazineonl ine magaz ine
The Voice of the Maltese
is is a bi-lingual (inEnglish and Maltese) fort-nightly online publication
specifically targeting allMaltese living abroad with emphasis on the
Australian scene. is online magazine is
sent via email by request.Subscription is free.
Editors: Malta: Joseph CutajarAustralia:Lawrence Dimech: MOM,
Letters for publication in The Voice ei-ther in Maltese or English should bee-mailed to: [email protected].
Now you can also join uson facebook:https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevoice-ofthemaltese
8 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday October 13, 2015
While visiting Malta Stay at: While visiting Malta Stay at: The Diplomat Hotel, 173 Tower Road SliemaThe Diplomat Hotel, 173 Tower Road SliemaEmail:Email: [email protected] Tel: (00356) [email protected] Tel: (00356) 23497000
Karm Agius minn Fairfield NSW jik-teb
Jien kont wie˙ed minn dawk l-iffurtunatili rajt il-film Malti Simshar iΩda naf
˙afna o˙rajna li min˙abba diffikultajiet ta’distanza eçç, ma setg˙ux jattendu ç-çinemabiex jarawh. Tassew film tajjeb li jag˙mlilna unur lilna
l-Maltin. Nittama li meta jg˙addi Ω-Ωmieninkunu nistg˙u naraw dan il-film mhux bissf’dawn it-teatri li juru foreign languagefilms iΩda wkoll fiç-çentri tal-Maltin mad-war l-Awstralja, jekk mhux kull fejn hemmMaltin jg˙ixu barra minn Malta.Nirringrazzjaw lil Rebecca Cremona g˙ax
irnexxielha tikseb ˙afna pubbliçita`, u mhuxbiss g˙all-film imma wkoll g˙al Malta. Fl-a˙˙ar ˙elsu minnu!
Prosit tas-Simshar!
Malta and Chinese investment
Colin Giordimania minn BrisbaneQld, jikteb:
Qatt ma kont xi devot tal-eks PM TonyAbbott. Kien bniedem arroganti u
Forsi dan Turnbull ikun xi ftit a˙jar, al-menu jidher ferm aktar edukat u jargu-menta ferm a˙jar. Il-Gvern tal-koalizzjoni tassew jinsab ta˙t
s˙aba sewda min˙abba li l-ekonomija li tantkienet tajba marret lura min˙abba li t-talbag˙all-minerali, eçç naqset ˙afna. Nidde-pendu ˙afna fuq iç-Çina. Na˙seb li g˙all-Laburisti kien a˙jar li jibqa’ Abbott g˙axforsi kellhom aktar cans jie˙du lura l-gvern,imma ma’ Turnbull se tkun aktar iebsa
Tuesday October 13, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 9
Kbir, bil-KavallierFrank Testa jag˙meldiskors tal-okkaΩ-joni u wkoll preΩen-tazzjoni power pointli kienet ta’ interessstoriku. Huwa fisseril-qlubija tal-kaval-lieri u l-Maltin kon-tra l-qawwa Torka.
li tinsab f'wa˙da mir-rotot ewlenin ta' diversi minn dawn il-popli.Imrobbi f'familja u pajjiΩ Kattoliku, it-tendenzi tieg˙i huma lin˙ares lejn dawn in-nies bil-˙niena u nistenna li l-pajjiΩi j˙ossu d-dover morali li joffru kull g˙ajnuna.Dejjem kont nibqa' skantat ninnota li ˙afna nies madwari ma kell-
awgurat uffiçjalment fil-Melita Stadium mill-Onor AlfredSant, dak iz-zmien il-Kap tal-OppoΩizzjoni fil-ParlamentMalti meta kien g˙al Ωjara f’Sydney.
Din il-pittura kienet in˙admet f’Malta fuq talba ta’ TonyAzzopardi li dak iΩ-Ωmien kien president ta’ ParramattaMelita Eagles u t˙allset minn g˙add ta’ partitarji liisimhom jidhru fuq il-plakka li hemm ˙dejn dan l-inkwa-tru li juri stampi artistiçi wirt art twelidna.
Daylight Saving Time in Australia began at 2 am on the firstSunday in October, (October 4) when clocks were put forwardone hour. It ends at 2 am (which is 3am Daylight Saving Time)on the first Sunday in April, when clocks are put back one hour.Daylight saving is observed in New South Wales, Victoria,South Australia, Tasmania, and the Australian Capital Territory,but not in Queensland, the Northern Territory or Western Aus-tralia.
With a land mass close to 7.7 million square kilometres, Aus-
tralia is the world's sixth largest country and is divided intothree separate time zones. They are: Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST): Queensland, NewSouth Wales (except Broken Hill), Victoria, Tasmania, AustralianCapital Territory.Australian Central Standard Time (ACST): South Australia,Northern Territory and the town of Broken Hill in western NewSouth Wales.Australian Western Standard Time (AWST: Western Australia.
Australia is in Daylight Saving Time
Roundup of News About Malta
Malta dedicating 100% of military resources to saving people at sea
12 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday October 13, 2015
Malta PM addresses 70th Session of UN General Assembly
When he addressed the 70thSession of the United Na-tions in New York that was
attended by the highest number ofHeads of State and Government ever,Malta’s Prime Minister, Dr. JosephMuscat said that Malta was the onlycountry in Europe, and probably theonly one around the world, that ded-icates 100% of its limited military re-sources to saving people at sea.
He said: “My country finds itselfat the crossroads between the Mid-dle East, Europe and Africa. Thetragedy that is occurring so close tohome is so starkly evident and ofimmense concern to us.”
He recalled last April’s tragedywhen over 800 immigrants perishedin what is probably the worst ever recordedcapsizing of a boat laden with migrants inthe Mediterranean.
While many have been rescued throughconcerted efforts by European countries,several thousand others have continued tolose their lives on this perilous journey; ajourney they are sometimes forced to take atgunpoint by unscrupulous people smug-glers.
“Indeed so far, this year has broken allrecords in terms of desperate people at-tempting to flee from persecution and hope-lessness, in search of a better life and toattain the right to live in peace, free fromanxieties, poverty and persecution. It is aglobal phenomenon that needs global re-sponses.”
He reminded the UN General Assemblythat Malta had been highlighting this situa-tion for years and years at this Assembly.
“We have to continue doing our best togive shelter to those fleeing from war andqualify for asylum. But it must also be clearthat a free-for-all policy is not on the table.People who do not qualify for asylumshould be returned. Those who collaborate
should be rewarded with further aid and ac-cess to markets.” The Maltese PM then mentioned The Val-
letta Summit in November that Malta wouldbe hosting, during which, it would bring to-gether the leaders of the EU and key Africannations. He said this would be an opportu-nity “to enhance our dialogue and improveour understanding, in an attempt to addressthis issue comprehensively, in a spirit ofpartnership and cooperation with all coun-tries involved”.He said the Summit is expected to build on
and strengthen present frameworks of actionin the field of migration, in an effort to ad-dress the phenomenon in a holistic mannerand in order to reap the opportunities pre-sented whilst dealing with the challenge offorced displacement.
“The first priority must remain the savingof lives. This is our moral duty as human be-ings. Nevertheless, an important and neces-sary part of the effort by the EuropeanUnion requires a more committed responseto taking on the smugglers before they canput the lives of more innocent people at risk.
“The international community should be
under no illusion. When it comes tothese criminals, we are dealing withindividuals who feed on the desper-ation of innocent people. These peo-ple must be held accountable fortheir crimes and brought to justice.”
In the first instance, in order tocombat these networks, JosephMuscat said that efforts must bestepped up nationally and rgionally,and that closer cooperation is essen-tial for and amongst the countries oforigin, transit and destination, in-cluding through better intelligence-sharing and through joint criminalinvestigations. He said that starting with develop-
ment, 2015 is a pivotal year forglobal sustainable development, and
that we are called upon to respond in atransformative manner to the fundamentalchallenges facing the world today: eradicat-ing poverty, achieving inclusive and sustain-able development for present and futuregenerations, and ensuring the promotion andprotection of all human rights and funda-mental values as the basis for peaceful andprosperous societies.
“However we should all be starkly awarethat this is only the first step of a processthat can only be successful if we are trulyfully committed to its implementation.
It is not just Malta’s problem. It is not justEurope’s problem. It is everyone’s problem.And the United Nations needs to act as it ismorally bound to do, Dr Muscat said.
He added that the war in Syria needed tobe tackled, and when it comes to Libya,Malta strongly supports the toiling efforts ofthe UN to launch a national dialogue for areconciliation process and the formation ofa government of national unity in Libya.
He rounded up his address by saying thatfor the second time in ten years, Maltawould be hosting the Commonwealth Headsof Government Meeting that plans to exam-ine some issues of common concern, includ-ing global political and security challenges,most urgent of which is the unprecedentedrise of extremism and radicalisation.Malta believes that Climate Change is a de-
cisive global challenge, therefore it is con-fident that the Commonwealth can alsoprovide added value to the international de-bate on climate change. Climate Actionwould feature high on the summit agenda.
He told the assembly: “I am of the firmconviction that what binds us is strongerthan what divides us. The challenges weface should unite us as we need to - indeedwe must - face them together. As the stan-dard-bearers of optimism we respond totoday’s great problems with even greater re-solve. Malta will play its part.”
Malta’s Prime Minister,Dr. Joseph Muscat ad-dressing the UN GeneralAssembly in New York
Malta’s biggest trade union, the General Workers Unionhas a new man at the helm. Josef Bugeja (pictured left)
has replaced long-standing secretary general Tony Zarb whohad been doing the job for close to 17 years. Addressing the GWU General Conference in the presence of
the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition, the outgo-ing general secretary pledged his loyalty to the union and urgedhis successor to put social justice and workers’ rights at theforefront of his leadership. He also promised to remain loyalto the GWU till his death.
Meanwhile in his first speech as secretary general, Mr. JosefBugeja called on the union to become a more "pro-active" social movement. He said thatthe GWU must be a "social voice in an increasingly neoliberal and globalised world".
GWU has new General Secretary
Malta is to ban the cultivation of genet-ically modified organisms (GMOs).
The decision was conveyed to the EuropeanCommission.
Malta is thus availing itself of an opt-outclause after to an EU directive that in Marchhad cleared the way for new GMO crops tobe approved after years of deadlock. The
law had given individual coun-tries the right to ban GMOcrops even after the European
Commission has approved them as safe.The Ministry for the Environment said in
a statement, that by deciding to opt out,Malta is contributing to the facilitating ofthe smooth functioning of the internal mar-ket, through the likely improvement in theprocess for authorisations of GMOs, as wellas to the freedom of choice of consumers,farmers and operators, whilst providinggreater clarity to affected stakeholders con-cerning the cultivation of GMOs in theUnion.
It added that Malta was seeking to safe-guard positions taken before April 1, whenit voted against eight cases of notifi-cations/applications submitted to the Com-mission, demanding that their geographicalscope be adjusted to the effect that all of theterritory of Malta be excluded from cultiva-tion of GMOs.
Tuesday October 13, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 13
Roundup of News About Malta
84% of foreign companies believeMalta to be attractive for direct
foreign investment - survey finds
Malta bans GMO crops
Research carried out by EY establishedthat 84% of executives of foreign com-
panies investing in Malta believe that Maltais attractive for direct foreign investment.This is an increase of five points over thefindings from the 2014 survey; 55% ofthem said they planned to make further in-vestment on the island in 2016.
The results emerge from the 11th editionof the EY’s Attractiveness Index that was atthe Westin Dragonara, titled: ‘Malta: openfor business’.
Stability of social climate and stability andtransparency of the political, legal and regu-latory environment are the top ranked MaltaFDI parameters for 59% of respondents whendeciding on a location in which to establishoperations, followed by corporate taxation(50%) and local labour skill levels (48%).
The research also established that a de-crease in bureaucracy was an important stepfor enticing greater innovation (69%), fol-lowed by educational upgrading and new
technology (49% and the development ofcultural innovation and creativity.
Twenty-eight spectators were in-jured, five critically, including asix-year-old girl, after a 918 Pors-
che Spider supercar with its British mil-lionaire tycoon owner behind the wheel,crashed into the spectators on an unusedairport taxiway in front of the LufthansaTecknik facility at Luqa Airport. The accident occurred at around on Sun-
day October 4 when one of the £750,000supercar's rear wheels clipped the grass asit was being driven at speed, skidded outof control, spun and ploughed throughplastic barriers and ordinary police barri-ers before hitting a large number of spec-tators.
The supercar, which has a top speed of210mph, was one of the main attractions atthe Paqpaqli G˙all-Istrina motor show,held to raise funds for L-Istrina, the main-fund-raising event of the Community ChestFund chaired by the President of Malta.
The driver, father of four Paul Baileywho was taking part for a good cause, wasamong the critically injured. He and anumber of spectators who suffered frac-tures or cuts requiring hospital treatment,were rushed to Mater Dei Hospital or thePaola Medical clinic.
By the end of last week eight patientswere still receiving treatment, two still inintensive care. One is still in critical con-dition. The driver of the Porsche and otherspectators had been discharged.
Spectators, particularly children whowitnessed the crash were offered help toget over their trauma.
Malta named as best place for LGBTIs In Europe
Horror crash at charity car show
injures 28
Malta, which introduced civil unions and adoption rights for gay couples in 2014, hasclimbed to the top position and is now regarded as the number one place for LGBTI
rights in Europe. Malta has moved up 22 percentage points in the European rankings andreplaced England.
Malta is the fastest climber in the ranking after scoring 89% across forty sets of criteria;the UK falls behind in second place on 86%.
New rules surrounding outlawing surgery on intersex children, education and civil part-nerships have all added to Malta's new position at number one on the ILGA-Europe's Rain-bow Europe list.
On Monday evening, the Government ofMalta presented its budget for 2016. It
was much too late for us to report on it. Wewill include an analysis in the next issue.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Edward Sci-cluna said that the government is on track toreach a deficit of 1.6% of Malta’s GDP by theend of the year. This will mean that the posi-tive difference between government expendi-ture and income would have decreased by €69million when compared with the deficit reg-istered at the end of 2014.
In a pre-budget press conference the PrimeMinister pledged 'European standards of in-frastructure' in popular touristic zones andsaid that a corporation would be set up to re-generate St George's Bay in St Julian's.
Govt. presents 2016 budget
Spectators being attended to after the accident, and (right) the crashed Porsche
ment il-barrikati li kien hemm jifirdu lill-pubbliku u l-pista’ (it-triq) ta’ fejn kienug˙addejjin il-karozzi, kienu aktar immirati˙alli jΩommu lin-nies milli jid˙lu fil-pista,milli li l-karozzi jid˙lu fin-nies. G˙ax kif tis-tenna li barrikata li ssoltu tintrema waqt il-festa u xi okkaΩjoni simili se ΩΩomm millikarozza tid˙ol fin-nies?
Biex taqg˙ad il-ftit barrikati ta’ sa˙˙a li
kien hemm, attwalment ma kienu jiswewg˙alxejn g˙ax dawn ma mtlewx bl-ilma...mhux g˙ax b’daqshekk kienu se jΩommul-karozza milli tid˙ol fin-nies!
l-avveniment kien organizzat “by The Officeof the President in collaboration with a coreteam of volunteers, all working towards themain aim of raising funds for the MaltaCommunity Chest Fund”, u g˙alhekkwie˙ed jista’ jistenna li jfittxu lil dan l-Uf-fiççju g˙ad-danni, sfortunatament g˙al dawkinvoluti, dawn se jsibu diffikulta’ biexjag˙mlu dan billi “the Office of the Presidentenjoys immunity from civil and criminalprosecution.”
tal-karozza, iΩda hawn wie˙ed irid jara x’tipta’ assigurazzjoni kellu dan, aktar u aktarbilli l-inçident ma se˙˙x fit-triq u çerti assig-urazzjonijiet ma jag˙tux kumpens g˙al inçi-denti li ma jse˙˙ux fit-toroq. Imma dawnforsi kollha suppoΩizzjonijiet.
U l-vittmi?
Vittma ie˙or!
Kien hemm vittma ie˙or ta’ dan l-inçi-dent.... wie˙ed li ma kienx fil-post tal-
inçident u g˙alhekk ma setax jintlaqatmill-karozza li g˙amlet dik il-˙erba kollha.
zjoni u ntqal li attwalment dak is-salarju(€28,420) kien ta’ sena s˙i˙a u mhux ta’kull xahar, u li jing˙ata allowance ta’€59,261 billi dawk li jservu f’ambaxxati
barra l-pajjiΩ jing˙ataw allowancemsejj˙a“post adjustment” (din ir-rata tvarja skontil-pajjiΩ li wie˙ed ikun jsevi fih).
Tuesday October 13, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 15
Mix-xena tal-˙ajja Maltija 2
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Mill-ibg˙ad Ωminijiet g˙add ta’ Maltin uG˙awdin ˙allew il-gΩejjer tag˙na biex if-fittxu xortihom f’artijiet barranin. Bejn il-˙amsinijiet u s-sittinijiet eluf ta’ Maltin˙allew il-familji tag˙hom u o˙rajn telqubil-familja tag˙hom ifittxu x-xog˙ol f’pa-
jjiΩi barranin fosthom l-Awstralja, l-In-gliterra, l-Istati Uniti u Kanada.
b˙al dawn qed japplikaw biex jibdew kar-riera f’Malta, fejn g˙alkemm is-salarjihuma ferm inqas minn Londra, l-ispejjeΩbiex wie˙ed jg˙ix huma ukoll ferm inqas,filwaqt lil l-klima hija ferm a˙jar u l-istilta’ ˙ajja huwa deçenti
Fl-okkaΩjoni tal-bidu tas-sena Universi-tarja studenti jie˙du sehem f’kompetiz-
zjoni, speçi ta’ pika dwar min hu kapaçijiekol l-aktar pastizzi.
Tg˙iduli b’daqshekk x’fiha? DaΩ-Ωgur lifiha, l-aktar meta wie˙ed jie˙u inkunsider-azzjoni l-kampanja qawwija li qed issir, l-aktar fost it-tfal, biex kemm jista’ jkunjevitaw çertu ikel u li jkollhom dieta tajba.G˙ax x’eΩempju se jie˙du dawn meta jarawlil dawk li suppost jag˙tu eΩempju jiffangawfil-pastizzi?
detainees will still eat, sleep and receivemedical services at the centre. It is under-stood they could opt to live outside the fa-cility but of course they can never leaveNauru.
Will people smugglers test theAustralian waters again hopingthat the new leadership would
take a more lenient approach? The newPrime Minister has admitted concernabout conditions on offshore processingcentres but ruled out a change to existingpolicy.
Mr. Turnbull said that offshore process-ing was an area that clearly is one that iscontroversial, that is a challenging one.There are still about 1600 asylum seekersand refugees held in Nauru and PapuaNew Guinea’s Manus Island including 93children.
“It is absolutely clear that there will beno resettlement of people on Manus Islandand Nauru; they will never come to Aus-tralia. I know that’s tough. You could saywe have a harsh border protection policybut it has worked” Mr. Malcolm Turnbulltold Radio national.
A quick glimpse at AustraliaA quick glimpse at Australia
16 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday October 13, 2015
Harsh border protection
A national disgrace
Preventable cancers
Cut in Foreign aid
Aresearch commissioned by the CancerCouncil, found that about 37,000 cancer
cases in 2010 were caused by factors such assmoking, UV exposure, alcohol and obesity.The study estimated 33 per cent of all can-cers in men and 31 per cent of those inwomen were avoidable.
Cancer Council Australia Chief executiveSanchia Aranda said the research should en-courage Australians to be positive aboutminimising their risk of being diagnosedwith preventable cancers. She said peoplewere confused by fad diets and conflictinghealth advice but a diet rich in vegetables,fruit, whole grains helps to cut cancer risk.
Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop announced that Australia would seek anotherterm on the UN Security Council for 2029 to 2030 as well as a seat on the Human
Rights Council for 2018 to 2020 but it will face headwinds in seeking these UN keypositions because of deep foreignaid cuts amounting to $11 billionand treatment of asylum-seekers. Marc Purcell, executive director
of Australian Council for Inter-national Development – the na-tion’s umbrella aid peak bodysaid there is no doubt that thecuts to the aid budget, particu-larly with African states, left avery bad taste in the mouth. Gilliam Triggs, president of the
Australian Human Rights Commission said Australia’s treatment of refugees would bea major matter of concern to the human rights community and to the Human RightsCouncil itself.
Calling domestic violence levels a na-tional disgrace the Prime Minister an-
nounced about $100 million in federalgovernment funding to tackle this unAus-tralian culture.
“Let me say this to you: disrespectingwomen does not always result in violenceagainst women. But all violence againstwomen begins with disrespecting women”Mr. Turnbull said.
The Minister for Women Michaelia Cassaid the emphasis on respect for womenwas a “game changer”. Fair Agenda and Homelessness Australia
called the announcement a good start butthey’re not enough. In a recent report, thegroup itemised more than $3000 millionof funding that is needed to plug immedi-ate service gaps.
Meanwhile, the Nauruan government in-tends to process the refugee claims of 600asylum seeker saying it has flung open thedoors of controversial camp and the era ofdetention “has ended”.
All restrictions have now been lifted but
The Nauru detention centre (above)
A quick glimpse at AustraliaA quick glimpse at Australia
Tuesday October 13, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 17
University is not the only pathway
No school advantage for multilingualism
Ministry for the future
Senator Simon Birmingham from SouthAustralia, the new Federal Minister for
Education plans to boost the status of voca-tional training so that students don’t feel theyhave to go to university to have a good ca-reer. He wants to make sure that parents and stu-
dents consider a vocational pathway along-side a university pathway. “The data shows employment rates for peo-
ple who complete trade-based apprentice-ships are around 90 percent. Starting salariesare often better than those for universitygraduates and the chance of running yourown small business are greater. It’s criticalthat students make informed decisions andnot think university is the obvious and onlypathway,” he said.
According to the Australian Bureau of Sta-tistics, 23 per cent of the population
speaks a second language at home with Man-darin, Italian and Arabic the most popularlanguages. A research conducted over five years by ac-
ademics at Charles Sturt University and theQueensland University of Technology foundthat English did not affect children academicoutcomes at school. “The report shows that there is no advantage
or disadvantage to speaking multiple lan-guages in terms of school readiness, literacyor numeracy,” said Sharynne McLoad, one ofthe authors. Professor McLoad also said that while par-
ents in metropolitan areas were more likelyto believe multilingualism was an advantage,during the course of their research they foundparts of regional Australia thought it was bet-ter to teach their children only English.
Minister Marise Payne
Australia has the eleventh Minister for Defence since1996. Senator Marise Payne was born in Sydney 51years ago. Appointed to the Senate in April 1997 her
partner is Stuart Ayres the State Member for Penrith. The first female to hold this important post wants to be
judged on her performance not on her gender and “hopethat my appointment will encourage more young womenin to the military”.
Commenting on the revolving door of defence minis-ters, Senator Payne said she planned to stay in the role“for the long haul as I have no intention of walking awayfrom politics any time soon”. The PM has wielded the axe in his first ministerial line-
up. He expanded cabinet from 19 to 21. The PM said he announced a 21st century government
and a ministry for the future.His cabinet, which was sworn in on October 5 features
five women, more than double the previous number.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull stands with the female members ofhis cabinet (on the front the five Ministers) for an official photograph
Joe Hockey announced his retirementfrom politics and the future of Tony
Abbott will not be known for a while.Some are predicting that he would be an-other Kevin Rudd.
Declaring that he would have let theCoalition to victory, as he would havepulled off a David Cameron (UK) style re-election Tony Abbott, the former PMurged the Liberals to vote for his successoreven if through “gritted teeth”.
Talking on radio he condemned the re-volving door primeministership and saidno leader could achieve anything if theywere “subject to death by opinion polls”and a “party room coup”.
*The Royal Australian Air Force is tak-ing part in the US-led coalition campaignagainst Islamic State targets in Iraq andSyria.
18 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday October 13, 2015
This year’sfeast ofM a r i a
Bambina inMelbourne wascelebrated onthree days. Itwas organisedby the ReskeonMaltese Associ-ation SeniorsGroup Inc.(RMASG) onbehalf of theMissionary So-ciety of St. Paul.The commem-
oration beganon Victory Day,September 8with a Mass cel-ebrated at St.Paul’s Chapel,next to theMaltese Centrein Parkville byFr Edwin Agius.Readers werePhyllis and Pa-ul Vella. Afterwards, those who at-tended the church service wereinvited to go to the foyer of the Mal-tese Centre for light refreshments.
Four days later, on September 12,the group organised the Vittoria Din-
ner Dance at Firenze Receptions,Fawkner, which was also well at-tended. The President of the MalteseCommunity Council of Victoria, MrVictor Borg and other committeemembers were among those present
along with honorarylife members of theReskeon Group.
The feast itself wasorganised on Sundaythe 13th at the StMary Star of the SeaChurch in in thepresence among oth-ers of the ConsulGeneral of Malta inVictoria, Mr VictorGrech, MCCV presi-dent, Mr Victor Borgand other membersof the MCCV Execu-tive; members of theSovereign MilitaryHospitaller Order ofSt John of Jerusalem,of Rhodes and ofMalta; membersfrom religious or-ders, representativesfrom the Maltese Ex-Services Associationof Victoria, and alarge number ofMaltese Associa-
tions, with their banners. Banners from the four villages and
towns where the ‘Bambina’ feast iscelebrated in Malta and Gozo, that is,Senglea, Mellie˙a, Naxxar andXag˙ra (Gozo) were also on show.
On this day Fr Edwin Agius,Rector at Parkville (whosebrother died in Canada theday before) concelebratedMass, while other mssppriests, Fr John Taliana, Fr.Emmanuel Adami, Fr LonnieBorg, Can. Mannie Bonello(Parish Priest of St. Joseph theWorker Parish, North Reser-voir), and Fr. Karm Borgjoined him in the celebrationof the mass.
Master of ceremonies wasEmmanuel Farrugia assistedby Frank Siriani, while theMaltese Choir of Victoria ledby Charles Schembri andLydia Gusman providedmusic and singing.
After Mass, a processionwith the statue took place inthe streets close to the churchfollowed by the Benediction,and Fr Edwin thanked allthose present, the ReskeonSeniors Group for organisingthe feast on their behalf, FrAnthony Bernal, Parish Priestof St. Mary Star of the Sea, thestatue bearers, and the MaltaGozo Concert Band.
PaulVella
Maria Bambina celebrations in Melbourne
The congregation at St Mary Star of the Sea Church in West Mel-bourne. Inset: the priests celebrating Mass celebrating Il-Bambina
The procession withthe statue of MariaBambina in the streetsclose to the St MaryStar of the Sea Church
Tuesday October 13, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 19
The NSW Federation of CommunityLanguage Schools held its AnnualState Conference and Professional
Training Day at the University of Sydney.Hundreds of teachers from 68 ethnicschools throughout Sydney and many dig-nitaries among them a number of Mem-bers of Parliament attended for thisfunction that, as usual, was a huge success.
Mary Pace-Feraud, Janet Borg and IvanBorg represented the Maltese LanguageSchool NSW, a branch of the MalteseCommunity Council of NSW.
The function started with the Australiannational anthem, while the students fromthe Sri Lanka language school, wearingtheir traditional costume performed a na-tional dance.
Dr. Michael Christodoulou, the MC,made a welcome speech and introduced allthe dignitaries who in turn, together withMr. Albert Vella, the president of the Fed-eration, delivered speeches and urged allthose present to continue working hard toachieve better results for our schools.
The keynote speaker was Joseph LoBianco, Professor of Language and Liter-acy, from the University of Melbourne.
After morning tea a panel consisting ofProf. Lo Bianco, five MPs and two school
principals was formed and teachers fromdifferent schools asked questions and dis-cussed problems they encounter.Following a very hearty lunch all the
teachers attended a workshop. There wereanother two workshops of one hour each,all dealing with different topics. Therewere ten workshops in each session all
conducted by professionals. All those who attended the workshops
were highly satisfied with what the presen-ters offered.
Hundreds of teachers attend Annual State Conference andTraining Day
ABOVE: (From left): Mary Pace Feraud,Albert Vella (Federation president), Ivanand Janet Borg who represented the NSWMaltese Language Schools
Biex tikteb Malti tajjeb
1. Il-Konsonanti li jixxieb˙u huma dawkli g˙andhom le˙enhom jaqbel ma’o˙rajn u li g˙alhekk xi drabi jitlissnuwa˙da minflok l-o˙ra.
kliem Malti g˙al xi ˙ut, u˙ud popolari u o˙rajn mhuxdaqstant, li forsi jafuhom aktar bl-Ilsien IngliΩ, u li jinstabufl-ib˙ra Maltin. Illum nibdew bi ftit u ‘l quddiem nippub-blikaw o˙rajn, fosthom u˙ud li qatt ma forsi smajtubihom, la bl-IngliΩ u lanqas bil-Malti, jekk mhux xi sajjied:
Óut li nsibu fl-ib˙ra Maltin
ÓaddielaGallinaPoutingTonnTutlu
MALTIMankanaPastardellaGurbellZonduPixxi spadRoΩetta/RuΩettaPixxi San PietruTracna/SawtSawrellaSawrella/Sawrella kahlaGallinettaÓaddiela tal-g˙ajnejnÓaddiela mda˙˙na
Dawn huma griebel (plural ta’ Gurbellfl-ib˙ra Maltin
Guaranteed cheapest ratesAll vehicles in NRMA road Service;
Low holding Deposit; Discount for weeklyrentals; Shuttle service to the Airport
PPhh oonnee:: 9966 2222 22220088 MMoo bb:: 00 441188 440055 2277 1111 0022 KK ii lldd aarree RRdd BBllaacc kkttoo wwnn NN SSWW 22114488
L e o ’s Ve h i cl eL e o ’s Ve h i cl e
Re n t a l sRe n t a l s
L e o ’s Ve h i cl eL e o ’s Ve h i cl e
Re n t a l sRe n t a l s
Fuq talba ta’ xi qarrejja, qed nippubblikaw it-30 ittra tal-alfa-bett Malti u anke l-mod kif jin˙assu l-ittri kif mitkellma u jinqraw.Dawn huma: (ittri kapitali u zg˙ar):
Tuesday October 13, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 21
SAINT NICHOLAS FESTA COMMITTEE NSW
Other important activity this year:Sunday December 6: Feast of St Nicholas
On Sunday October 18 Good Shepherd Hall,130-136 Hyatts Road, Plumpton
Classic Cars, Motorbikes & Trucks Exhibition9.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.
Contact Charlie Gatt: 9671 3919 or Jim Farrugia: 9677 9755 Afterwards
Il-FIERA l-KBIRADoors open at 1.30 p.m. Music
& Entertainment byRon Borg, Joe Xuereb & Tony Fenech
Loads of fantastic prizes to be won, Includingthe traditionalrabbit – ‘Fiera Tal-Fniek’
There will also be drinks and food of all typesincluding: pastizzi and ˙obΩ biΩ-Ωejt or bigilla
and FREE ice cream for all children.Entry is free; Plenty of parking space
SO COME ALONG, BRING YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDSFurther information, from: President:
Bill Schembri: 0416 261 415 or PRO: Joe Fenech: – 0412 009 957
dak li jkun g˙addej, kull filg˙odu inta' Malta fuq il-website jittellg˙uwkoll l-a˙barijiet tal-jum ta' qabel.
L-a˙barijiet tal-PBS (Malta)
One good turnOne good turndeserves anotherdeserves another
Dedication we have lots of;when it comes to time, we
find it as when dedicating one-self to a cause, it’s there. Athird ingredient needed toproduce an online magazinesuch as The Voice of the Malteseis financial. To offset that, theproduction team has beenseeking sponsors to help usshare that burden with us.
Some have responded posi-tively by advertising the serv-ices they offer to their clientson our publication. More isneeded, so we call upon othersto follow.
In return, our readers areurged to use the services of-fered by our sponsors.
ObituariesMoses Mifsud died on September 13 at the JohnPaul Retirement Village at Heathcote. He leaves tomourn him his wife Carmen, his sons Paul, David andMichael and their families. Moses was born inBirkirkara, Malta, on June 19, 1934 and emigrated toAustralia at the age of 19. For 48 years he lived inKingsgrove NSW before moving to the RetirementVillage in 2013.Moses founded the Maltese Bowlers Social Group in
which he was very active till the very end, but formost of adult life he was involved in various associa-tions where he was a successful organiser of all sort oftours, other activities and fundraiser.
Lina Role’ (left) an active member of the Mal-tese Bowlers Group of NSW died on September18, 2015. She was born in Gzira, Malta on April24, 1937, the eldest of six children. She wasmarried to Joe (deceased). She leaves to mournher seven grandchildren, and surviving sib-lings Joe and Doreen
He was also active with the BeverlyHills Soccer Football Club as a coach,and the First Aider for the Melita EaglesSoccer Club. He spent 25 years as a
member of the Our Lady Queen ofPeace Parish Band where as young manplayed the trumpet. But his great loveoutside of the family was lawn bowls.
Charles Meli died at St Joseph HospitalAuburn NSW on Saturday September 26. Hewas born in Malta on the July 19, 1944 andemigrated to Sydney, Australia with his familyin 1949. Son of Romeo and Mary Meli (de-ceased). Loving husband to Suzanne and fatherof Belinda and Rebecca. Brother to Joe (de-ceased), Frank, Marlene Dimech and CarmenCachia. Played football with Melita Eagles FC.
Presents...... Classic Cars Show and Il-Fiera l-Kbira
22 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday October12, 2015
Community NewsCommunity News
The Maltese Community Council ofNSW is conducting a computer class at
Maltese Resource Centre 59b Franklin Street, Mays Hill 2145NSW every Friday between 10.00
a.m. and 12.00 For more information contact Em.
Camilleri: 0409 744 376
Computer Class for the ElderlyComputer Class for the Elderly
Learn
Maltese!
MALTESE LANGUAGE
SCHOOL OF NSW
Classes are available for students from 6 years to adults at all levels of ability in theMaltese language. We have trained and experienced teachers qualified in
language teaching and with Maltese study credentials. Learn the Maltese language,the culture, lifestyle, cuisine, traditions and about the amazing history of the island.
Classes at: HORSLEY PARK - SEVEN HILLS - LUDDENHAM
For more information and enquiries Call Mary on 9601 2189Or email: [email protected]
Supported by the Minister of Education and Training and the NSW Community Languages Schools Programme.
Member of the NSW Federation of Community Language Schools of NSW; Member of the Federation of
Maltese Language Schools of Australia; Supported by 16 Maltese associations affiliated with the MCC
of NSW. The Maltese Language School of NSW is a Not-For-Profit organisation.
A Division of the Maltese Com-munity Council of NSW Inc.
Join us on The Voice of theMaltese facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevoiceofthe-
maltese
St Helena MalteseAustralia SC
OCTOBER 24: (Saturday): Get-togetherat St Martin de Porres, Avondale Heights.
OCTOBER 25: (Sunday): 2.p.m.: Gen-eral Meeting at Parkville.
NOVEMBER 14: (Saturday): Get-toget-her at Holy Eucharist, St Albans.
DECEMBER 19: (Saturday) Xmas fun-ction at Melrose Receptions, Tullamarine.
For more information:Phone Victor on 0412 99 13 25 orMary Abdilla on 03 (9370 51 64)
Iç-Çittadini jkomplu fl-2016Il-kumpanija tat-teatrin fi NSW l-Awstralja, “Ic-Citta-
dini” jixtiequ jfakkru li s-serati tag˙hom se jibdew mill-gdid fis-sena 2016.
Skond Doris Caruana, il-president tal-kumpanija,b˙alissa jinsabu weqfin min˙abba li hemm xi atturi li
jinsabu fuq btala f’Malta.
Past Pupils & Friends of Don Bosco (NSW)Saturday October 24: 28th Annual Dinner Dance at Mandavilla Function Centre 1788 The Horsley
Drive Horsley Park from 7pm. Music by Joe Apap. Dress: semi formal. For booking: Marlene: 02 9631 9295
In response to a number of inquiries, The Voice of the Maltese wishes to advice that we cannow supply hard copies in colour of our magazine to our readers at a price. So anybody in-terested in acquiring copies of the magazine can communicate with us personally or byemail to: [email protected]. The magazine can also be delivered by post. As the costof postage varies one is kindly requested to get in touch with us to work out the details.
Readers can now request a printed copy of The Voice
The Maltese Language School of NSW invites appli-cations for Maltese language classes at the
Alfred Fenech Maltese Resource Centre located at59b Franklin Street (corner with Young Street) Mays
Hill (next to Parramatta West Public School). Both young and adult students may apply.
For more information contact Mary Pace-Feraud on 96012189 or email: [email protected]
The Maltese Language School of NSW
The Sutherland & StGeorge Maltese Groupare organising a daytrip to The Entrance onFriday November 13.
The Coach departs Mi-randa Community Cen-tre at 7.30 a.m., then proceeds to pick up at Our Lady Queen of PeaceGreystanes at 8.30 a.m.
From there we will continue to The Entrance where we will stop forlunch at a club. Joe Galea and others will be there to meet us.
At 3.30 p.m. we will go to see the feeding of the Pelicans, and at approx.4.00 p.m. will start the journey back to Greystanes, and then continueto Miranda Community Centre to arrive by approx. 7.30 p.m.
For booking (not later than Friday October 30) contact Charles N. Mif-sud: 0421 662 298, or Joe C. Deguara: 0408 966 877
Travel by 5-star coach. Fee only $40.
SUTHERLAND & ST. GEORGE
MALTESE GROUP
On SBS RadioDay Time Analogue and Digital
Friday: 12:00-13:00 97.7fm SBS Radio 2Saturday: 14:00-15:00: 97.7fm SBS Radio 2To tune into digital radio you need a re-ceiver or device with a DAB+ chip. Tuningin is by station name not frequency. Digitalradio can also be heard via digital TV.
SBS Radio 2 is on Channel 38.The radio programmes can be accessed on-line (live or catch up) at sbs.com.au/mal-tese and via mobile phone, using the SBSRadio app. For television news fromMalta - SBS 2 TV on Thursdays andSundays at 8am.
Maltese Radio ProgrammesMELBOURNE, on 3ZZZ 92.3FM or onwww.3zzz.com.au. Mondays 5pm, Fridays5pm, Saturdays 10am.; Last Wednesday eachmonth at 1pm.MELBOURNE on 98.9 North West FM, eachFriday 6.00 - 7.00p.m. Presenter EmmanuelBrincat.MELBOURNE: STEREO 974 (93180930):97.4FM Wed (Maltese Magazine) & Thursday(Mer˙ba): 6.00pm to 8.00 pm Co-ordinator –Ray AnastasiIn SYDNEY, listen to the MCC radio pro-grammes on 2GLF FM 89.3. Saturdays 6 to 8a.m. Martese Caruana presents NostalgiaMusic; Sundays from 10.00 - 11.00 am: Il naMaltin. Both available on demand. Followsame procedure as for MCC programmes, exceptselect programe in reference.In BRISBANE listen to the Maltese Programon 4EB on Tuesdays 6.00 -8.15am; Sundays4.15pm to 5.15pmUNCLE SAM DJ (Maltese Radio) tune in tolink: www.unclesamdj.com
The SBS MALTESE NEWS L-A˙barijiet on SBS TV twice a week nationwide Sunday at8.00 am on SBS2 (Chan. 32); Thursdays at 8.00 am on SBS2
Isma’ l-programm tar-radjubil-Malti mill-Kunsill Maltita’ NSW minn fuq l-istaz-
It is open to all who have an interestin the Maltese culture.
Maltese Programmes on TV and WebThe GDAY MALTAUSSIE SHOW on TVS is broadcast in Sydney
Every Saturday at 2pm. Repeats onMondays 5 pm and Tuesdays 7.30 amWatch direct via HYPERLINK:http://ww.tvs.org.au; http://ww.tvs.org.au
Community NewsCommunity News
Listen to John Borg & Glenn Cassar every Sat-urday at 1.00 p.m. on RADIO 2RRR 88.5FM oron the Internet - www2rrr.org.au ON DeMAND
Meetings of DayCare Maltese
Groups in NSWFairfield Active Maltese SeniorsMeets on the first Tuesday of the Month
from10:00am to 12 noon. The group meets in the Parish Hall, cnr
of Stella Street & The Boulevard, Fair-field Heights.
Maltese Seniors Central CoastYou need to contact our Welfare
Officer for an appointment.For all information and referral
matters one should call Censina Cefai:Tel: 02 439 000 12 or 0414 267 652
*(All Groups are Sponsored by The Maltese Community Council of NSW).Please contact the MCC Welfare Officer: Marisa Previtera JP on 0414 863123. The MCC offices are at 59b Franklin Street (corner with Young St)Parramatta West NSW(next to West Parramatta Primary School)
Daceyville Maltese SeniorsMeets on the last Wednesday of the
month in the Meeting Room One, No. 3General Bridges Crescent, Daceyville.Note: The Groups also arrange regular Bus TripsCome and join us and make new friends.Merrylands Social Maltese SeniorsMeets every second Friday of the
month; Miller Room, Memorial AvenueMerrylands from 10.30am to 12.30 am
Llandillo Maltese SeniorsMeets on the second Monday of each
month at the Llandilo Community Hall,Seventh Avenue, from 11am to 1pm.
Greystanes Maltese SeniorsMeets on the second Monday of each
month at the George Preca Centre ofOLQP Church, 198 Old Prospect Road,Greystanes from 10 am to 12 noon
The Sutherland & St GeorgeMaltese GroupOngoing: We meet every First Wednesdayof the Month from 10:00am-1:00pm
Our Meetings/Get Togethers are inter-esting, informative & entertaining. Come Join us and make new FriendsFor more information contact our Coor-dinator: Charles Mifsud J.P.Phone (02)9501 5525 – mobile 0421 662 298.
Tuesday October 13, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 23
VIVA MALTAVIVA MALTA on COAST FM 96.3Community Radio in Gosford Central
NSW. Aired every fortnight from 6 pm -7 pm (Next is October 22).
Presenter: Nathalie Gatt. Web streaming on: www.coastfm.org.au.
La Valette Social CentreProgramme of activities
SUNDAY November 1: At PineGrove for our beloved. Mass at5pm. Our Lady Queen of PeaceMaltese Band will take part from
4pm. One is advised to bring achair.
TUESDAY November 3: Melbo-urne Cup lunch $25 for 2-coursemeal, morning tea. Centre opens
at 10am. Sweeps lucky door prizesand hat competition - book early.
TUESDAY December 8: Trip forCherry picking at Orange. Lunch at
Orange RSL (at own expense orbring your own). Cost $50 pp; chil-
dren $30 - includes coach andmorning tea. Coach leaves
Greystanes at 6am and from laValette at 6.30 am
For bookings & information: Cen-tre: 96225847; Frances
0412320432 or Antoinette96712992
In what has been described by national coach Pietro Ghedin as“probably the worst performance in the current European cam-paign,” Malta were defeated 2-0 by Norway in a Group H Euro 16
qualifier at the Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo. It was Malta’s seventh defeatfrom nine outings.
Malta were dominated throughout, physically and technically andrarely looked like scoring or to stand a chance of taking something outof this match the result of which kept alive Norway's chance of quali-fying for the Championship's finals next summer.Norway were constantly on the attack and there was never any doubt
that their superiority could result in an easy victory. The Maltese werehardly allowed to forage in their opponents' half of the field, let alonescore. The Maltese not only conceded two goals, but also 17 cornersand were it not for some erratic shooting and good saves by AndrewHogg in Malta's goal, Norway’s victory would have been more pro-
nounced. They made 23 at-tempts at goal as againstMalta's three.This performance does not
augur well for Malta's home match Tuesday against Croatia. Norway took the lead on 19 minutes through Alexander Tettey follow-
ing a corner and a lucky deflection. Vegard Forren hit the post for Nor-way two minutes into the second session and then the Scandinavianssecured all three points seven minutes into the second half with the sec-ond goal from Alexander Soderlund after Hogg dropped Henriksen'slow cross.
Hibernians were stunnedinto submission for the
first time this season whenthey were disap- pointinglythrashed 4-1 by Mosta en-abling Balzan, who nar-rowly defeated Qormi witha goal deep into stoppagetime in Round 7, to takesole command of the Pre-mier League’s ladder, whichis in itself a historic occa-sion for this club that untilbefore this game had al-ready done more than wasexpected by sharing the po-sition with defending cham-pions Hibernians who havenow lost ground as they slidto fourth position.Before the recess for inter-
national team commit-ments, Hibernians were atthe end of a 1-4 defeatagainst Mosta who havestrengthened their teamfrom last season in order to
try and challenge for a Eu-rope place. Mosta camefrom 1-0 down to win.Valletta kept up their chal-lenge with a 3-1 victoryover Tarxien Rainbows andnow sit in the runner up po-sition, two points behindBalzan.
Birkirkara leapfroggedover Hibernians and movedto within three points of theleaders in third place thanksto a comfortable 1-0 winover pointless St Andrews,who like Naxxar Lions havelost all their seven matchesso far.
For Naxxar, their 1-5 de-feat at the hands of Pem-broke was the last straw forthe wooden-spoonists andin midweek sacked coachStefano Grima.
Floriana continued to im-prove by beating ‘old firm’rivals Sliema 3-0.
24 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday October 13, 2015
Spor tsSpor ts
Mosta v Hibernians 4-1Osa Guobadia, Jonas Rodriguez, Ian Zammit, EdinMuga (M); Jorge S Silva (H)Balzan v Qormi 1-0Aleksander VujacicValletta v Tarxien R. 3-1Abdelkarim Nafti, Bruno de Oliveira o.g., JPMifsud Triganza (V)); Luke Mointebello (T)Birkirkara v St Andrews 4-0Fabrizio Miccoli 2 (1 pen), Vito Plut, ElintonMorais Floriana v Sliema W. 3-0Matteo Picciollo 2, Steve PisaniPembroke v Naxxar L. 5-1Kyle O’Brien, Leighton Grech, Gustavo Villalo-bos 2, Lyden Camilleri (P); Richard Cardozo (N)
RESULTS: Round 7The football season kicked off at thePirtek Stadium where Western Syd-
ney hosted Brisbane Roar the way theyended the last one, in defeat, as they lost1-3m that does not augur well for thetough campaign ahead.Defending champions Melbourne Vic-
toria, who finished with only 10 men,could only register a scoreless drawaway to Adelaide United. It was a bal-anced affair but Victory’s coach KevinMuscat was very disappointed with thereferee’s decision to send off team cap-tain Leigh Broxham on 73 minutes fora second yellow card. In fact, Replaysconfirmed the Victory skipper was a tri-fle unlucky.Victory will look to improve markedly
when they tackle hometown rival Mel-bourne City in the local derby at EtihadStadium on Saturday night.
Full Results on Day 1Adelaide U. v Melbourne V.West. Sydney W. v Brisbane R.Central Coast v Perth GlorySydney FC v Melbourne C.Wellington Ph. v Newcastle Jets
Malta’s Premier League Football Balzan take sole command of league ladder
BalzanVallettaBirkirkaraHiberniansFlorianaMostaPembrokeSliema WTarxien R.QormiSt AndrewsNaxxar L.
