Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and his wife Michelle photographed withUS President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania during the UnitedNations General Assembly in New York (See PM addresses UN on page 12)

Issue163 Fortnightly magazine for the Diaspora September 26, 2017Fortnightly magazine for the Diaspora

(driven by the voice driven by the voice of its readersof its readers)The Voice of the Maltese

On the same day (Septem-ber 21) of the Prime Minis-ter’s meeting with the USPresident, Malta markedthe 53rd anniversary of In-dependence. In the ab-sence of the President(also with commitments inNY) and the PM, DoloresCristina and Chris Fearne(first left), stepped in tolead the official celebra-tions. Right: they are pic-tured with PN’s caretakerleader Simon Busuttil dur-ing a guard of honour inValletta

(See also page 2)

2 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday September 26, 2017

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l-Aġent President ta’ Malta DoloresCristina tpoġġi l-fjuri fuq il-monum-

net tal-Indipendenza fil-Furjana

Imfakkrat-53senatal-IndipendenzaNhar il-Ħamis 21 ta’ Settem-

bru Malta fakkret uffiċjal-ment it-53 sena minn metakisbet l-Indipendenza taħt it-tmexxija ta’ dak li kien PrimMinistru dakinhar, Ġorġ BorgOlivier li kien irċeva d-doku-menti li bihom l-Ingilterra mabaqgħetx tqis lil Malta bħalakolonja tagħha.Bħala parti mit-tifkira nhar il-

Ħamis, fl-assenza tal-Presidentu l-Prim Ministru, l-aġenti Do-lores Cristina u d-Deputat PrimMinistru Chris Fearne segwewil-gwardja tal-unur u l-bandamill-Forzi Armati fil-Belt. Wara,flimkien ma’ mistednin distinti,fosthom l-iSpeaker Anġlu Far-rugia, Simon Busuttil f ’isem il-PN, u wkoll Presidenti Emeritiattendew għal Quddiesa Pontif-ikali fil-Kon-Katidral ta’ SanĠwann li kienet iċċelebrataminn Mons. Arċisqof CharlesScicluna u Te Deum.

Iċ-ċerimonja ssoktat fil-Fur-jana fejn l-Aġent President ta’Malta, l-Aġent Prim Ministru ul-Kap tal-Oppożizzjoni poġġewbukketti tal-fjuri fuq il-monu-mentt tal-Indipendenza.

Waqt il-Pontifikal f’San Ġwann: XELLUG : Il-Presidenti Emeriti Ugo Mifsud Bonnici u George Abela, Simon Busuttil u l-iSpeaker AngluFarrugia. LEMIN: Is-Sinjura Dolores Cristina u s-Sur Cristina, Dr Chris Fearne u s-sinjura tiegħu, u l-Ministru Michael Farrugia

Kull sena l-G ħ a q d aKultural i

Maltija ta’ NSWtfakkar mhux bissJum Maria Bam-bina iżda wkolltippreżenta l-Pre-mju Kulturali liġie mogħti għall-ewwel darba fl-1991. G ħ a l l - e w w e ldarba wkoll, dis-sena ċ-ċerimonjali fiha ġie ipprem-jat bl-Award Vic-tor Grech saretfic-ċentru La Val-ette ta’ BlacktownNSW.

Victor huwaGħawdxi li twie-led f’Settembrutal-1942. Huwakellu l-karrierata’ għalliem libdiha fl-1965 wara li l-attenda l-Kulleġġ ta’ St Michael’s. Ħdax-il senawara, fl-1976 huwa ggradwa BA(Hons) fl-istorja u l-arti u għadda 14-ilsena jgħallem fil-Liċeo.

Fl-1979 Victor emigra lejn Sydney u

beda jgħallem fid-De La Salle ta’Bankstown u l-Holy Spirit CollegeLakemba. Baqa’ jgħallem sa ma rtirafl-2006.

Fil-bidu tiegħu f’Sydney Victor kienaffiljat mal-Maltese Guild kif ukoll if-

forma parti miċ-Cittadini TheatricalGroup.

Huwa ħa sehemukoll f’għadd ta’esebizzjonijiet tal-arti u ddisinja l-pannelli tal-bronżli hemm fil-MalteseAustra-lian Bi-Cen-tennial Monumentf’Pendle Hill,NSW.

Victor Grech hu-wa wkoll sinon-imu mal-Għaqdatal-Past Pupils ofDon Bosco fejngħal ħafna sninserva bħala Presi-dent u għadu attivfiha sal-lum. Hu-wa miżżewweġ lilMarlene u għand-hom tifel, Adrian.Huma wkoll nan-niet ta’ żewġt itfal.

L-apprezzament tax-xogħol li wettaqfost il-komunita’ tfisser bid-dettal fiċ-ċerimonja tal-għoti tal-unur minngħadd ta’ kelliema li tkellmu dwaru udwar ix-xogħol siewi tiegħu.

Matul din il-lejla gie mfakkar ukollJum il-Vitorja, u fid-diskors ewlienital-okkażjoni, il-fundatur tal-GħaqdaKulturali Maltija, Frank Zammit tkel-lem dwar ir-rwol tal-kavallieri fl-is-torja ta’ Malta.

Wara, Charles Mifsud, il-Presidenttal-għaqda, ippreżenta t-trofew lir-reb-bieħ u semma wkoll l-isem ta’ kullrebbieħ/a li irċevew dan il-premju tull-aħħar 29 sena.

Tul l-avveniment, il- kor tal-Għaqdammexxi minn Marisa Previtera sebbaħil-lejla bil-kant ta’ għadd ta’ innijiet ad-dattati għal din waħda mill-festi Naz-

Tuesday September 26, 2017 The Voice of the Maltese 3

Victor GrechVictor Grech -- jingħatajingħatal-Premju Kulturali NSW 2017l-Premju Kulturali NSW 2017

Victor Grech (l-ewwel fuq il-lemin) wara l-preżentazzjoni ħdejn Charles Mif-sud. Jidhru wkoll, mart Victor, Marlene, u binhom Adrian ma’ martu Rebecca

Damfest started a few years ago witha chat, a cup of coffee and some bigideas. This year will be the 13th

Damfest Event and it will be bigger thanever.Damfest takes months to prepare and with-

out the ongoing support of its wonderfulvolunteers and sponsors it could not takeplace, it truly is a unique event that changeswith new ideas every year. Damfest catersfor all age groups and children of all ages.

This is a family friendly event that willplease every member of your family, fromamusement rides for the children to carshows and swap meets for the man and ladyof the family.Come along and say a big hello to Elsa and

Anna from Frozen who will be at Damfestfrom 12:00pm to 3:00pm.

Damfest also raises money for the localcommunity and helps throughout the yearwith financial help for many causes, whichalso includes the help and support offeredto the Warragamba Silverdale Neighbour-hood Centre.

The best family gathering of the year:The 30th Annual Dinner Dance

Saturday, 14th October 2017Mandavilla Function Centre

1788, The Horsley Drive Horsley Park NSW rom 7.30 pm: Music by Joe Apap

Book early. Donation $65Contact: Marlene on 02 9631 9295

Organised by the Past Pupils & Friends of Don Bosco (NSW)

All proceeds to the Don Bosco Missions.

zjonali Maltin.

This year the Damfest Committee will beraising desperately needed funds for thestatue for ANZAC Day in Memorial Park,plus many other clubs and organisationsthroughout the year.Damfest will provide a beautiful fun filled

family day for you. All you have to do iscome along on the day and enjoy!!!

As you walk around the ground you canbuy a cup of coffee,something to eat andpurchase many noveltyand unique gifts fromthe stallholders whowill be there on the day.

Don’t forget to callinto the WSNC tent andsay hello to the volun-teers from the WSNCOffice, Teddy BearCottage and Wigwamand also pick up yourpre-purchased arm-bands for the amuse-ment rides.

A family friendly eventon Sunday October 15

4 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday September 26, 2017 4 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday July 18, 2017

S o m e th in g m a g ic a l h a p p e n s e a c h tim e y o u e n te r th e s e c ity w a lls . A rc h ite c tu ra l e x c e lle n c ec a p tiv a te s y o u r v is u a l s e n s e s , a s e v e ry s te p le a d s to a la n d m a rk o f h is to ric a l v a lu e . W a lls a n dp a v e m e n ts th a t lin e th e g rid o f n a rro w s tre e ts w h is p e r s e c re ts a n d m y s tic ta le s to p a s s e rs b y , w h ils t th e a ir fills u p w ith m o d e rn a rt, liv e m u s ic , a n d a n a rra y o f c e le b ra tio n s . T h e U n e s c o W o rld H e rita g e S ite c o u ld p e rh a p s b e s t b e d e s c rib e d a s a p la c e w h e re h is to ry m e e ts th e p re s e n t;w h e re e v e ry e x p lo re r c a n fin d s o m e th in g th e y lo v e . H o w w ill y o u r V a lle tta s to ry u n fo ld ?

Something magical happens each time you enter these city walls. Architectural excellencecaptivates your visual senses, as every step leads to a landmark of historical value. Walls andpavements that line the grid of narrow streets whisper secrets and mystic tales to passersby, whilst the air fills up with modern art, live music, and an array of celebrations. The Unesco World Heritage Site could perhaps best be described as a place where history meets the present;where every explorer can find something they love. How will your Valletta story unfold?

Tuesday September 26, 2017 The Voice of the Maltese 5

The PBS (Malta) twice-weeklynews programme (l-aħbari-jiet) transmitted to Australia

via satellite is hugely popular withthe Maltese community, thereforeit follows that presenter/ broad-caster Joe Dimech has become a fa-miliar face and voice amongst thevast continent of Australia.

Joe has been a familiar face withTV news followers in Malta formore than 40 years. In fact, he firstappeared on the Maltese TVscreens reading the main 8 pmNews Bulletin on his mother’sbirthday, on April 1 1975.

Joe has held various positionsand duties within the PublicBroadcasting Services in Malta forthe past 43 years. He spent his first25 years at the station within theNews Division where he movedfrom a journalist up to DeputyNews Editor before moving on toanother role within PBS, that ofManager in charge of Local TVproductions. In 2004, following arestructuring process at PBS, Joewas assigned the duties ofRadio Coordinator.

During his career as a broad-caster, Joe also produced andpresented various other docu-mentaries and special pro-grammes. He was alsoawarded the BPC Award toJournalists for Broadcast Jour-nalism.

When in the past overseas assignments for Maltesejournalists were very limited, Joe was assigned somevery interesting commitments, among them in August1990 when he accompanied then Maltese Prime Minis-ter Eddie Fenech Adami’s official visit to Australia asthe broadcasting station’s correspondent. Joe regards that as a very memorable event for him in

his career, as besides covering a very intensive visit bythe Prime Minister throughout Australia’s states, healso had the opportunity of meeting various Maltesefriends living in Australia, among them one of hismentors and iconic Maltese broadcaster, VictorAquilina and his dear wife, Rosalie. In fact throughThe Voice Joe wished to send his warm and best re-gards to this amazing couple.Asked about his involvement with the SBSTV seg-

ments, Joe Dimech told The Voice of the Maltese,“Compiling and presenting the TV News programmefor the Maltese/Australian audience twice weekly isrewarding. As added information, the News pro-gramme aired on SBS on Thursday is recorded inMalta the previous Monday, while the one aired onSunday is recorded the previous Thursday.”Joe regards this particular programme, during which

he delivers news, social, humanitarian and culturalMaltese stories to his compatriots living in such a dis-

tant continent as avery satisfying as-signment.

“I am verypleased when Mal-tese-Australiansholidaying inMalta recogniseme from the TV

News and stop to talk to me”. Most of them ask to takephotos with him. He also gets visits at PBS Studios inGwardamanġa where he is always more than pleasedto give them a tour of the PBS building.

Joe is now semi-retired, but he is still being of serviceto the national broadcasting company, PBS where he isemployed on a part-time self employed contract. Hestill considers his work as a service to his audiences,both in Malta and in Australia.

Joe Dimech was born in Birkirkara on December 231951, and had his secondary education at the St Paul’sMissionary College. He was one of the very first students of the newly es-

tablished college between the years of 1964 and 1969.He recalls those five years as the best of his youth,holding the college as his second home. He also fol-lowed a University diploma in Business Management.

Joe is married to Carmen and has two sons, Ian andGareth. Both are now married. Ian has also made Joeand Carmen grandparents, as he is the father of threegirls, Dawn aged 6years and twins Amber and Jadewho are just 18 months old.

So now, besides still enjoying his broadcasting profes-sion, grandad Joe, is also enjoying his extended familyespecially his three nieces.

Joe sends his warm wishes and love to all Malteseand their families living in Australia.

The Voice from Malta TelevisionJoe Dimech

Joe Dimech

PERSONALITYOF THE MONTHOF THE MONTH

6 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday September 26, 2017

Kull sena l-komunita’ Maltija fiNSW timbarka f’pellegrinaġġta’ talb u ringrazzjament li jwas-

sal sal-Katidral majestuż ta’ St Mary’sfil-qalba tal-belt ta’ Sydney. Il-festa tat-twelid tal-Verġni Mqaddsa Marija, il-Vi-torja hu l-jum li għadu jgħaqqad lill-komunita` Maltija, forsi iktar minn kulljum ieħor.Din is-sena l-Katidral, tliet kwarti mimli

sema’ lil Fr Charles Brincat (imwieled l-Awstralja) jagħmel eloġju dwar din il-

Il-Maltin ta’ NSW jingħaqdu għall-festatal-Vitorja

festa. Huwa anke għamel appell biex in-żommu sħiħa l-familja Maltija quddiem l-istħarrig li se jsir bil-posta dwar iż-żwieġbejn dawk tal-istess sess.Għadd ta’ saċerdoti Maltin iċċelebraw il-

quddiesa mal-prim celebrant Fr TarcisioMicallef MSSP. Saret ukoll is-solita pur-ċissjoni bl-istatwa ta’ Marija Bambina

akkumpanjata mill-għaqdiet Maltin, liwħud minnhom ġarrew l-istandarditagħhom, u l-Kavallieri ta San Gwann(SMOM). Bħas-soltu, Dr. Ġorġ Boffa kienil-kummentatur. Ħa sehem ukoll il-kor ta’La Valette immexxi minn Victor Floridia.Wara, fil-Mons Depiro House li tinsab

qrib il-Katidral sar riceviment li għalihkienu mistiedna wħud minn dawk li at-tendnew fil-knisja għall-manifestazzjonita’ fidi u għaqda nazzjonali.

(ara aktar ritratti f ’paġna 20)

The statue of Maria Bambinavenerated at Mons. Depiro Ho-use, Saint Paul’s chapel in Stan-

ley Street, East Sydney, NSW is themain focus in the celebration of Il-Vi-torja at St. Mary’s Cathedral.The statue was made in Italy at the ex-

pense of the Maltese community in theMetropolitan area of Sydney andbrought to the city on the initiative ofFr Publius Cassar OFM. Cap. CardinalGilroy blessed it on July 14 1963. Asmall inscription in relation to theblessing can be found on the statue’spedestal.This statue was commissioned so the

feast could be celebrated with great de-votion at St. Mary’s Cathedral everyyear on the second Sunday of Septem-ber.

During the year this artistic statue,along with other equipment and cos-tumes used during the feast, was nor-mallystored in a secluded place at theFranciscan Capuchins’ convent of Le-ichardt. Fathers Cassar and Busuttil,the two Franciscan Capuchins wereresidents at this convent.

When Fr Publius Cassar was trans-ferred to Halifax, he asked Fr Busuttilto take charge of the organisation of thefeast and to look after the statue, the equipment and costumes. In turn, Fr Busuttil approached Fr George Scerri MSSP, then in

charge of the Mons. De Piro House at Stanley Street, East Syd-ney, to see to the organisation of the feast of Il-Bambina, and he

and his successors to look after thestatue. At the time, until it ceased to exist, an

organisation by the name of MalteseClergy Association, was formally ac-cepted to be the organisers of the cele-brations marking the popular feast.

During that time Fr George Scerri,used to live in the old house, that waslater demolished. A new chapel, thecurrent one, was then built. An ade-quate niche made of timber for expos-ing the statue to the devotion of thefaithful throughout the whole year wasalso built in a spot where it could beseen from the chapel and also from thestreet.

The halo on the head of the statueused to belong to the statue in Senglea,Malta. It was a gift from the Sengleanclergy on the request of Fr Publius Cas-sar who hails from that city. When anew silver halo was made the old onewas stored in a safe place. The chapel also houses a statue of the

Risen Christ that dominates the presby-tery, and a crucifix. An Italian artistwho used to live in Sydney made bothfrom timber.

The chapel also houses a statue ofSaint Paul, also sculptured from timber

made at the same place as that of the Maria Bambina, and a paint-ing of our Lady of Sorrows, a painting by Carmelo (sieve Charlie)Grech. John Xuereb who lives in Botany, NSW, made otherworks in metal.

The Maria Bambina statue in East Sydney

Tuesday September 26, 2017 The Voice of the Maltese 7

The feast of Maria Bambina organ-ised once again by the ReskeonMaltese Association Seniors Group

Inc. on behalf of the Missionary Societyof St. Paul was celebrated in Melbournewith a Mass at St. Paul’s Chapel, next tothe Maltese Centre in Parkville.

On the eve of the feast, on September 7,Fr Victor Shields, who was on a visit toMelbourne from Malta celebrated Massfor the Maltese community. Two moreMSSP priests, Fr Edwin Agius, Rector atParkville, and Fr Lonnie Borg acted asconcelebrants.

Singer Kimberly Grech organised a spe-cial CD with hymns for the occasion,among which was “O Marija Bambina”music by Mro Carmelo Muscat, lyrics byKeith Zammit. Fr Shields delivered thehomily. Among the attendees were the President

and members of the Executive committeeand members of the female section ofSDC. At the conclusion of the Mass, Fr

Edwin thanked all those who helped makethe occasion a successful one. They in-cluded the Reskeon Group and Mr AlfredAsciak who decorated the chapel. After Mass, everybody was invited to the

Maltese Centre for refreshments.On Saturday, 9th, Reskeon organised the

Vittoria Dinner Dance for which around200 members and friends attended, andthen on September 11, on behalf of MSSC,Reskeon organised the Feast of MariaBambina at St Mary Star of the SeaChurch in West Melbourne.

Among those present was Chev. JosephBorg who, with another member of theOrder represented the Sovereign MilitaryHospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem,of Rhodes and of Malta, Sisters from reli-gious orders and members of the Societyof Christian Doctrine. A large number of Maltese Associations

also attended along with their banners, andthe banners of the four villages and townsin Malta and Gozo where the Bambina is

celebrated, namely Senglea,Mellieħa, Naxxar andXagħra in Gozo.

Fr Dennis Carabott celebrated Massalong with Fr Edwin Agius, Fr VictorShields, Canon Fr Emmanuel Bonello, FrKarm Borg, and Fr Lonnie Borg, who alsodelivered the homily.

The Maltese Choir of Victoria under thedirection of Mr Charles Schembri and MsLydia Gusman provided the music andsinging.During Mass two collections were made,

one on behalf of the Missionary Society ofSt Paul and the other for Church of StMary Star of the Sea.

After Mass, Fr Edwin thanked all thoseattended the celebration, the people whohelped in the organisation of the event andthe participants that included the MalteseOwn Band that this year is celebrating the40th anniversary of its foundation. TheMSSP and Reskeon were also celebratingthe 40th anniversary of the Feast. Thebenediction followed and a processionwith the statue of the Bambina took placein the streets around the church.Later refreshments were served.

- PaulVella

The Maria Bambina feast in Melbournecelebrated at St Paul’s Chapel, Parkville

The procession behindthe Mellieħa banner

Fr Dennis Carabott celebrat-ing Mass assisted by five

other priests from the MSSP

The Maltese Own Band playingmarches during the celebration

The statue ofMaria Bambina

being carried ou-side the chapel for

the procession

8 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday September 26, 2017

Have your say/Xi trid tghid?

fortnightly magazinefortnightly magazine

The Voice of the Malteseis is a bi-lingual (in Englishand Maltese) fortnightly mag-azine that specifically targetsall Maltese living abroad with

emphasis on the Australianand Maltese scenes.

e magazine can also be read inflipbook format online. A pdf copy

is also sent via email on request. If you require a printed copy we

can also oblige.Editors: Malta: Joseph CutajarAustralia:

Lawrence Dimech: MOM,OAM, JP

email address:maltesevoice@gmail.com

fortnightly magazinefortnightly magazine

Letters for publication in The Voicemagazine, either in Maltese or Englishshould include name and e-mail ad-dress of the writer and be e-mailed to:maltesevoice@gmail.com.

Now you can alsojoin us on facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevoice-ofthemaltese

Your letters/ L-ittri tagħkom ...

An Aussie’s impressions

Concetta D’Amato minn Sunshine Victoriatikteb:

Il-Gvern federali tassew ħawwadna fil-każ taż-żwieg bejn persuni tal-istess sess.

L-ewwel ma ridux referendum, imbagħadsabu li plebiscite mhux se jgħaddilhommis-Senat. Fl-aħħar ħarġu bil-infamużaMarriage Law Postal Survey li ftit ilurcevejna bil-posta. Ikun xi jkun ir-riżultat dan l-istħarriġ xorta

jrid imur lura fil-Parlament għad-deċiżjonifinali tal-membri. Kif inhi x-xena fil-Parla-ment min jaf kif se jivvutaw? Veru taħwidawaħda sew.

Grazzi għal The Voice li ippruvat tispje-galna xi jkun ghaddej għax ħadd mis-sup-post kapijiet tal-komunita` ma jindenjaruhu jispjegalna x’qed isir.

Il-kant tal-Innu Malti

Taħwida nobis

Eugene Calleja from Harvey WA writes:

In the past two years, I have read so much aboutMalta on The Voice magazine, which I regularly also of Malta

forward to an Australian family neighboursof mine, that I managed to convince thesesame friends to spend their holiday thisyear in Malta with my family. I myself hadnot visited the island since 2012 and attimes I was a bit concerned about what Icould find. As such, at times I asked myselfwhether I was taking too much of a risk by‘inviting’ these friends along.I should never have doubted my decision.

After three weeks in Malta, because theycould not stay more, while I spent a wholetwo months with relatives, my friends wereso excited with their stay that they assuredme they would visit again next year, andeven do their utmost to participate in theValletta 2018 celebrations.

Perhaps I could be biased to laud Malta’sexceptional attractions. However, I wish topoint out that what I am about to say is whatmy friends related to me about their impres-sions after describing it as, “a pleasant ad-venture”

At the end of the holiday my friends saidto me, “For such a small island, Malta is re-ally big”. When I asked for an explanationthey explained that for its size Malta hasenough attractions and goings-on to keep avisitor busy all the time, and for somebodylike them who are interested in history itcould be “heavenly”.

It was only in the first week that I tried toshow them round. After that I left them ontheir own during the day and met mostevenings for a beer or a meal. They kept meposted about their ‘adventures”. They visited many interesting sites (some

of them I am sorry to say, were new to me.They were most impressed with the con-tents in Malta’s museums, which they de-

scribed as treasures, the likes of which Aus-tralia does not have.

They were also full of praise for the waythey were looked after in tours to the is-land’s National Museums and sites organ-ised for them by Malta Heritage. They saidit was money well spent. Unfortunately theduration of their holiday proved to be tooshort for them to visit all the attractions andtry to mix with the locals in activities, cul-tural or social organised almost daily bylocal councils around Malta. They also had the chance to visit Gozo and

to walk around the Cittadella. But again,they said that a day trip to Malta’s sister is-land is much too short. Therefore they aredetermined to make up for it in their nextvisit, when they would also probably spendat least a week there.

George Agius minn Glebe, NSW jikteb:

Naqbel perfettament mal-kampanjadwar il-kant tal-Innu Malti. Nittama li

l-għaqdiet kollha jagħtuh importanza. Iżda dan l-aħħar smajt min jargumenta li

l-Innu Malti għandu jitkanta/jindaqq bissmeta jkunu preżenti r-rappreżentanti tal-Gvern Malti. Jekk inhu hekk, mela zgur ftit se nisimgħu

dan l-innu tant sabiħ taghna l-Maltin għaxrari naraw rappreżentanti tal-Gvern Maltif’okażżjonijiet important li jiġu organizzatimill-għaqdiet tagħna. Tant hu hekk li ħafnaminna qed insejħulhom fantażma.

Tuesday September 26, 2017 The Voice of the Maltese 9

Challenging a Will: Are your children’sstep-children counted as your grandchildren?

Most people would feel fairlyconfident that they have astrong understanding of who is

and who is not a “grandchild”. Ask yourself these questions:

The NSW Supreme Court was recentlyasked to consider the third question, inthe case of Re Staughton; Grant vMcMillan [2017] VSC 359. In this case, Mr and Mrs Staughton each

made wills leaving the residue of their es-tate to their “grandchildren”. Mr andMrs Staughton had two children, adaughter and a son.

At the time that they made their Wills,in 1997, their daughter was married andhad two children. Their son, Nigel, wasnot married and did not have any chil-dren. In 2007 Nigel married. Nigel’s new wife had two children from

a previous relationship, being Nigel’sstep-children and effectively, theStaughton’s step-grandchildren.

Both Mr and Mrs Straughton died in2014. Mrs Straughton was the last to passaway, and therefore it is her will which isunder scrutiny in this case. The biologicalgrandchildren of Mrs Straughton appliedto the Supreme Court of Victoria, askingthe Court to interpret the word “grand-children”.

In other words:

For All Your Legal Needs Now at:

21 George StreetParramatta

Phone: 8599 8877

Also at:Level 4, 370 Pitt Street, Sydney. Ph: 8355 9999

Email: paul.sant@longtonlegal.com.auMaltese Spoken

PAUL SANT(SOLICITOR)

PARTNER AT LONGTON LEGAL

Legal information:

by PaulSant

The Court held that yes it did matter, andhugely so. It was held that step-grand-children were included in the will by rea-son of Mrs Straughton’s family circum-stances.

When deciding how to interpret the de-ceased’s Will, the Court emphasised theimportance of the testator’s intentions,and stated that “the task of the court whenconstruing a will is to discover the testa-tor’s intention by examination of thewords used in the will, having regard tothe will as a whole” and the surroundingcircumstances.

As plain and simple as this sentencesounds, carrying out this task is difficultand complex. Unless there are special cir-cumstances, evidence regarding the testa-tor’s individual subjective intention is notallowed. The Court must begin by consid-ering the plain and ordinary Englishmeaning of the word “grandchildren”. If this does not produce a satisfactory re-

sult, the Court must consider the word inthe context of the will read as a whole,and in the surrounding circumstances ofthe deceased.

The Court closely examined on oldercase of Morgan v Moore. In this case, thetestator had children from a previous mar-riage and a later marriage. Both relation-ships produced grandchildren. The testator did not know his biological

grandchildren from this first relationship.In Morgan v Moore, the Court was faced

with a slightly different situation, wherethe Court was asked to exclude some bi-ological grandchild (with whom the de-ceased had no relationship) from theinterpretation of the word “grandchil-

The judge decided in Morgan v Moorethat the testator adopted the phrase ‘mygrandchildren’ in her will, in a mannerthat excluded grandchildren from herfirst marriage. Given the circumstances,the Court accepted a definition of“grandchildren” that was different to theordinary or literal meaning of such anexpression.

In the case of Re Estate of Wright, thejudge made the following salient com-ment, that “notwithstanding adherence towhat might be seen as the traditionalmeaning of the word ‘children’, theCourt has no doubt that in today’s soci-ety in particular cases its meaning read-ily extends to stepchildren”. Overall (and confirmed in Straughton),

there is general agreement that in the or-dinary sense the phrase “my grandchil-dren” does not include step-grand-children, however the cases have nowshown that the surrounding circum-stances of the deceased’s family can alterthe interpretation of the phrase to includestep-grandchildren.

Conclusion

The lesson learned here is that clarity iskey. When making a will, going the extrastep and defining the words “children”and “grandchildren” can save the willfrom future litigation regarding constitu-tion of its terms. Adding a simple clauseto the following effect will have a pro-foundly reduce the chances of havingyour will challenged: “In this Will, theword ‘grandchildren’ includes (or ex-cludes) biological, adopted and/or stepgrandchildren”.

1. Does your grandchild have to be adescendent by blood?2. If not, do children that have beenformally adopted by your childrencount as your grandchildren?3. Taking the line of questioning onestep further, do your child’s step-chil-dren count as your grandchildren?

1. when making her will, the testatordid not inform her solicitor about herprior marriage, and identified onlygrandchildren of the second marriage;2. although aware of grandchildrenfrom her first marriage, the testator didnot maintain a relationship with thosegrandchildren; and3. the testator referred to only thegrandchildren of her second marriageas her grandchildren.

1. Did the word “grandchildren” in-clude Nigel’s step-children?

We have provided you with anoverview of the topic above but youshould consult a professional for ad-vice specific to your circumstances.

2. Does it matter that the MrsStaughton had a close relationshipwith her step-grandchildren andtreated them as biological grandchil-dren?

dren”. In Morgan v Moore, the Court al-lowed evidence to prove the meaningthat the deceased is considered to haveattributed to the phrase “my grandchil-dren”. The relevant factors were that:

10 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday September 26, 2017

kitba ta’IVAN CAUCHI

A version of this series inEnglish may be found inthe author's blog at: https://ivancauchi.blogspot.com

Perspettiva

Għalfejn?

Ngħidilkom id-dritt, iktar majgħaddi ż-żmien

aktar qed insibha diffiċlibiex nirrispondi għall-mistoqsija.

Issa jien minn meta konttifel kont imdorri u mgħal-lem li nirrispetta lis-super-juri tiegħi u nies fl-awto-rità, kemm jekk huma ġen-ituri, għalliema, kapijietpolitiċi (bl-awra messja-nika tagħhom), il-kleru u l-mexxejja tal-knisja (dawkli huma flok Alla), persu-naġġi magħrufa fix-xenasoċjali eċċ.

L-ideja kienet, nimmaġina, li kelli wisq x'nitgħallem mill-għaqal, il-ġudizzju, l-għażliet u l-filosofija tagħhom.U maż-żmien, sibt li kelli wisq x'nitgħallem, veru, imma mhux

kollu kien onorevoli jew aċċettabbli. Kultant dak li tgħallimtkien diżgustanti u aborrenti. Dan l-eżempju li rridu li jieħdu t-tfal?

Ikkunsidraw każ li għadni kif smajt bih hawn fl-Awstralja.Ġej minn NSW, fejn president passat tal-organizzazzjoni tal-karità ta' nies irtirati tas-servizzi RSL, Dan Rowe li rtira mill-pożizzjoni fl-2014, illum ammetta li uża l-flus tal-orga-nizzazzjoni biex fost l-oħrajn jixtri mobajls lill-familja, isi-firhom u anke jħallas id-dejn tad-dar tiegħu. Investigazzjonitallega li l-ammont ta' flus involuti huwa ta' kważi nofs miljundollaru.1

Każ simili kien ta' Eman Sharobeem, li kienet il-kap ta' żewġNGOs, Immigrant Women's Health Services u Non-EnglishSpeaking Housing Women's Scheme. Hi kienet magħrufa għax-xogħol tagħha kontra ż-żwiġijiet sfurzati tal-minorenni (li qaletkienet ġrat lilha), il-mutilazzjoni ġenitali tan-nisa u l-vjolenzakontra n-nisa. Din is-sena ħarġu allegazzjonijiet li kienet barmet żewġ terzi

ta' miljun dollaru mill-NGOs, inkluż xiri ta' ġojjelli u tratta-menti ta' sbuħija għaliha; li hemm dubju dwar l-istorja ta' żwieġsfurzat tagħha; u anke dwar it-titlu akkademiku ta' Dr. li kienettuża.2

Fl-arena politika, kellna lil direttur tal-partit Liberali f'Victoria,Damien Mantach, mixli b'miżapproprijazzjoni ta' $1.5 miljunmifruxin fuq diversi snin, allegatament jinkludu ħlasijiet lejnkumpanniji li ma kinux jeżistu għal xogħlijiet li ma sarux, fle-jjes li spiċċaw fil-familja.3

Fuq in-naħa l-oħra tal-ispettru politiku, kellna lil MichaelWilliamson, li kien kap tal-Health Services Union u wkoll pres-ident tal-partit Laburista Awstraljan, ikkundannat għal ħamessnin ħabs għal frodi ta' kważi miljun dollaru li kienu jinkluduħlas ta' dejn fuq proprjetajiet u ħlas ta' miżati ta' skola privata,u wkoll li pprova jfixkel lill-pulizija fl-investigazzjonijiettagħhom.4

Kellna lill-eks-ministri Laburisti ta' NSW Ian McDonald5 uEddie Obeid6 misjuba ħatja ta' aġir kriminali u ssentenzjatigħall-ħabs.

U xi ngħidu għall-organizzazzjonijietreliġjużi Awstraljanita' diversi tipi li tanttlajna mgħannqinmagħhom u li ffur-mawlna l-ħsieb u l-karattru tagħna tulħajjitna kollha, liqed insiru nafub'kemm membri or-dnati u mexxejjatagħhom kienu invo-luti direttament, jewindirettament, b'ab-buż sesswali ta' mi-norenni, xi kultantgħal ħafna snin?

B'disgrazzja liemabħalha, il-knisja li

jien assoċjat magħha, dik Kattolika Rumana, hemm allegaz-zjonijijiet kontra madwar 7% tal-kleru.

Nista' nibqa sejjer hekk.Tiskanta li l-fiduċja fil-kleru niżel minn 59% għal 34% f'għox-

rin sena, u li l-fiduċja fil-politikanti, kemm statali kif ukoll fed-erali, huwa ta' inqas minn 20%7?X'tistenna, meta tant minn dawn il-persuni li suppost jispiraw

fiduċja jidher li jkunu qed jistennew is-siegħa u l-mument biexibillu subgħajhom (jew forsi jimlew il-barmil), jistennew l-op-portunità li jabbużaw mill-pożizzjoni tagħhom?

Jien inkun minn tal-ewwel biex ngħid li ma tistax titfa 'lkulħadd f'keffa waħda. Madankollu, meta wieħed jara dankollu, kif tispjega li hemm partiti li huma kontra li jkun hemmkummissjoni federali għal kontra l-korruzzjoni? Kif mhux kullstat għandu liġi kontra d-donazzjonijiet ta' zviluppaturi tal-art,ta' donazzjonijiet minn barra l-pajjiż, ngħid jien anke ta' don-azzjonijiet ta' iktar minn $1000, lil kandidati u partiti politiċi?

X'konsegwenzi se jkun hemm għall-istituzzjonijiet reliġjużigħall-imġieba ħażina ta' min qed jaġixxi f'isimhom, u ta' minqed imexxihom u naqas li jagħmel dan?Il-fiduċja, meta titnaqqar, qajla terġa' tintrebaħ, u din xi impatt

se jkollha.Referenzi1. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-18/former-rsl-nsw-president-admits-to-misuse-of-charitys-money/8957590, retrieved 18/9/20172. http://www.news.com.au/finance/work/at-work/eman-sharobeemsjawdropping-deception-documented-as-her-colleague-prepares-to-give-evidence/news-story/501c02679de4ed88575c4095bcebd51c, retrieved18/9/20173. http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/damien-mantach-liberal-party-in-shock-after-15-million-fraud-allegations-20150820-gj442z.html, re-trieved 18/9/20174. http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/former-union-boss-michael-williamson-loses-his-appeal-to-have-jail-sentence-reduced-20150916-gjntf9.html,retrieved 18/9/20175. http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/ian-macdonald-found-guilty-of-miscon-duct-in-public-office-20170307-gushfa.html, retrieved 18/9/20176. http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/eddie-obeid-loses-appeal-over-miscon-duct-conviction-20170912-gyg9wd.html, retrieved 18/97. http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/7244-roy-morgan-image-of-professions-may-2017-201706051543, retrieved 19/9/2017

Ejja nirrispettaw lill-mexxejja

Dan Rowe Eman

Sharobeem

Tuesday September 26, 2017 The Voice of the Maltese 11

Il-Knisja Kolleġġjata ta San Pawl fir-Rabat għandha għaddta’ tifkiriet li, naturalment, ifakkruk fl-Appostlu tal-Ġnus(San Pawl). Fost dawn wieħed isemmi s-saqaf tal-korsija

ta’ din il-knisja ewlenija ta’ dan il-lokal sabiħ u arjuż. Li ftit jafu hu li x-xbiha ta’ San Pawl impittra fis-saqaf tal-kor-

sija ta’ din il-knisja huwa l-akbar San Pawl impitter fil-GżejjerMaltin. Din il-pittura hija ta’ Eliodoro Coccoli.F’din il-pittura Coccoli kien oriġinali għax warrab fil-ġenb l-

idea tal-kwadri kif is-soltu nafu lil San Pawl. Coccoli, li f’dinil-knisja għandu xogħlijiet oħra, pitter lil San Pawl fil-glorjatiegħu fit-tul kollu tas-saqaf tal-korsija. Anke d-dehra ta’ SanPawl hija waħda maestuża.

Fil-ġnub ta’ din id-dehra ta’ San Pawl, il-pittur Coccoli daħħalukoll bosta personaġġi li kellhom rabta mal-ħajja ta’ San Pawlu l-aktar mal-missjoni evanġelika tiegħu.Insemmi wkoll li d-dekorazzjoni sempliċi izda sabiħa li

ddawwar dan is-saqaf, xogħol id-dekoratur Rabti Mikiel Fsadnili għamilha wara li konsultazzjoni mal-Isqof ta’ dak iż-żmien,Mons. Mauro Caruana u wkoll mal-pittur Coccoli. Tajjeb ukoll wieħed isemmi li meta sar dan ix-xogħol, fir-

Rabat kienet inħolqot ħafna polemika argumenti dwar din il-pittura u l-kompożizzjoni tagħha. Fil-fatt, l-abbozz tal-pittura, lijinsab fil-Mużew Wignacourt, huwa bil-bosta isbaħ u aħjarminn dak li jidher fis-saqaf tal-korsija.

Hawn wieħed jistaqsi: mela għaliex il-pittura tas-saqaf mhixbħal tal-abbozz? Naħseb li r-raġuni hija l-flus. Wieħed irid jif-takar fil-faqar li kien hawn f’pajjizna f’dawk iż-żminijiet, al-lura naħseb li l-pittur Coccoli gie mġiegħel ibaxxil-prezz u għalhekk għamel il-pittura aktar sempliċi utefa’ lil San Pawl qalb ħafna sħab.

Din il-pittura ta’ San Pawl fis-saqaf tal-Knisja ta’ San Pawlfir-Rabat saret fi żmien il-Kappillan Buħaġiar li kien ħabib kbirtal-Isqof Mauro Caruana li kien bis-saħħa tiegħu li Coccoli ġieMalta mill-Italja. Naturalment l-Isqof Caruana ġab lil Coccoli għall-Knisja

tiegħu (San Girgor f’Tas-Sliema), fejn il-pittur Taljan għanduverament xogħlijiet tajbin. Xogħlijiet oħra ta’ dan l-isess pitturjinsabu wkoll fil-knisja parrokkjali ta’ Birżebbuġa.Ta’ min jgħid ukoll li Eliodoro Coccoli kien pittur u dekoratur

Taljan ta’ importanza. Huwa twieled fi Brescia fl-l880 u mietfl-1974 fl-eta’ ta’ 94 sena. Ħadem ħafna fl-Italja u anke barraminn pajjiżu, fosthom fl-Isvizzera u naturalment f’Malta fejnfil-Knisja ta’ San Pawl fir-Rabat speċjalment, tana diversixogħlijiet, fosthom kif semmejt, l-akbar pittura ta’ San Pawl f’-pajjizna.

L-akbar pittura ta’ San Pawl fir-Rabat

PeterPaulCiantar

During his visit to New York,Prime Minister Joseph Muscat,who is accompanied by Foreign

Minister Carmelo Abela, joined otherworld leaders at the UN headquartersin signing the declaration on Reforms ofthe United Nations.The declaration includes a call for more

transparency, the better use of re-sources, and that the UN becomes an or-ganisation that implements its missionwhile cutting on extra bureaucracy.The Maltese delegation also participated

in various meetings that centred on anumber of topics, including the Libya sit-uation, the 17 UN targets for SustainableDevelopment and a conference discus-sing LGBTIQ persons’ rights.

Meanwhile, as Chair-in-Office of theCommonwealth of Nations, JosephMuscat addressed the Global CitizenLive, which is part of the Global CitizenFestival in New York that brings to-gether citizens and world leaders advo-cating an end to extreme poverty.

He said that in the remaining monthsthat Malta would be leading the Com-monwealth, it would continue working toconvince more leaders to commit more re-sources to the elimination of Polio. Heurged cooperation to eradicate polio, thatin spite of today's "technological worldwe have not yet managed to eradicate.”

He was pleased that Commonwealthcountries like Australia, Canada, Nigeria,the UK and Malta committed resourcesto address the 1% of cases that remain.

As Chair of the Commonwealth, together

with the UK, Malta also organised a meetingfor member countries at the UN building.During it, British PM Theresa May said thatwith Malta as Chair the organisation hasbegun an important regeneration process. Sheadded that the UK, which follows Malta in theposition, will ensure the process to continue.

Earlier, Maltese Prime Minister JosephMuscat said he is proud that over the lasttwo years with Malta as Chair, thanks to theinvolvement of youths and organisations inCommonwealth activities, the organisationhas become more relevant and more impor-

tant. He said the Commonwealth shouldstrive to achieve greater equality at differ-ent levels in order to obtain more commonrights and to lessen discrimination.

The Maltese delegation also took theopportunity to hold various bilateralmeetings aimed strengthening Malta’srelations with a number of countries,and with Joseph Muscat saying thatMalta is open to more investment andthat it is in the interest of the country toreach agreements that could facilitateinvestments.

12 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday September 26, 2017

Roundup of News About Malta

While congratulating the new PN lead-er Adrian Delia, Prime Minister Jo-

seph Muscat said that on his return from theUS he would invite him for a meeting todetermine how they could work togetherover the course of the legislature.At a PN mass meeting on Thursday Delia

said he would be accepting the invitation tomeet.

Muscat also hoped there would be achange in the PN Leader’s attitude even ifhe disagreed with the government’s deci-sions, and said the initial test could bewhether Delia would reverse a PN decisionnot to participate in a waste-to-energy tech-nical committee tasked with evaluating aprocess to transform Malta's waste man-agement options.

However, Delia said the government

would not be allowed to dictate the Oppo-sition's agenda. The decision was taken bythe party and not by just one person, addingthat it was unfair of Labour to request thechange of the decision.

Later Delia said if the Government ex-plained what its role in the committeewould be the PN would be ready to recon-sider the proposal internally. The government is set to introduce a waste

management project expected to cost be-tween €100 to €150 million to be com-pleted within six to seven years and formeda committee giving it a deadline for the endof the year to present a final proposal.The committee consists of technical indi-

viduals, experts and representatives fromeNGOs. Foreign experts from the EU com-mission will also be giving their input.

Hectic time for government delegation in New York

PM Muscat hopes for a change innew Opposition Leader’s attitude

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscattold the 72nd UN General Assemblyin New York that despite its size Malta

can now serve as a beacon of political couragethat inspires others to introduce concrete meas-ures and reforms. In the general debate, he said that there can be

no peace while poverty, especially extremepoverty, still exists, adding: “Peace is not justthe absence of war or conflict. It is rather, man-aging and addressing climate change, migration,and food and water insecurity”.He dealt with a number of key issues, including

waters, saying that Malta has registered a vol-untary commitment of 30% of all the watersunder its jurisdiction as Marine Protected Areas,and that it has internationally been at the fore-front of maritime and marine related issues andwould continue contributing towards the goodgovernance of the oceans by hosting the next‘Our Ocean 2017 Conference’ next month. Likewise, Malta wholeheartedly welcomes the

entry into force of the Paris Climate Accord.He said that together with all the EU partners, itis strongly committed to the Paris Agreement.

Muscat said that as a government, “we baseour policies on four overarching principles: so-cial mobility, social justice, equality, and unity”.He said Malta has put human rights, equality,

and empowerment at the forefront of its politicalagenda, and in particular on the priority issuesof LGBTIQ rights and gender equality.As a member state of the European Union, the

PM said Malta is part of a wider European re-sponse to tackle human trafficking networks inthe Mediterranean Sea. It also welcomes theprogress registered on the development of aglobal compact on migration. He wrapped up his address by saying, “We are

strong believers in the overarching power ofmultilateralism. We do not believe the UN issimply a sum of its parts, but rather a force thatgrows exponentially when we think and act asone, rather than alone.”

Malta can be beacon of politicalcourage for others - PM Muscat tells UN

Maltese Prime Minister JosephMuscat addressing the UN

General Assembly in New York

At the same time that the Maltese del-egation led by PM Muscat was at-tending the UN General Assembly,

Maltese President Marie Louise ColeiroPreca was also in New York to participateat an international conference on child pro-tection and the implementation of the inter-national convention on children’s safety.

At a meeting she had with UNICEF offi-cials, the President said that children are thepresent and future of the global society.“We do our utmost to invest in their skillsbecause we will be preventing also the pos-sibility of terrorism and extremism. Whenyou have traumatised children who end upin the periphery of society, there is greaterchance that the risk exists,” she said.

She spoke aboutthe situation be-ing faced acrossEurope and theworld and theoutcomes of theconference enti-tled ‘Lost in Mi-gration’ which

was organised in Malta by Missing Chil-dren Europe and the President’s Foundationfor the Wellbeing of Society, last January.President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca was

also a guest of honour at the Global HopeCoalition launch by UNESCO, at the NewYork Public Library, where, on behalf ofthe people of Malta, she said she was proudto support the Global Hope Coalition.

The President said that the Global HopeCoalition would send a powerful messageto all people of goodwill - “a message thatshould encourage all people to understandthat each and every one of us has a role toplay, to nurture, and to work for sustainablepeace.”

She explained that this is also a messageof “our united commitment” to stand up foruniversal human rights and fundamentalfreedoms, for the benefit of all humanity.During the launch, the President presented

two ‘Everyday Hero’ awards to Ms LatifaIbn Zaiten and Mansour Al-Nogaidan.In New York President Coleiro Preca also

found time to meet with the Maltese com-munity in New York.

US international insurance entity Starr Companies has chosenMalta as the place from where it would be implementing itscommercial activities for the EU. The investment was sealed

during a visit Prime Minister Joseph Muscat made to the company’soffices in New York.The investment is the result of negotiations started in November last year

by the PM at a meeting with Starr officials at their offices in New York.PM Muscat said both sides had immediately understood the benefits

of this agreement, which would allow Starr companies to operate andpenetrate European markets, particularly following Brexit, Britain’sexit from the European Union.The Government said that for Malta the agreement means that more

than ever, the country would be on the international insurance map asa prime player. It also meant that Malta has become more attractive to

Tuesday September 26, 2017 The Voice of the Maltese 13

Roundup of News About Malta

UNICEF, UNESCO meets for President in NY

Love in Paradise, the film shot entirely in Malta by direc-tor-producer Julian Galea (that was featured in the last

issue of The Voice of the Maltese magazine) has won the bestfilm award at the Malta Film Festival.

The film that brings the everyday life of Malta and its mainattractions on the big screen was released last month in Aus-tralia and is also currently being shown in theatres in Malta.

Julian, whose father emigrated to Australia in the sixtieswanted to rediscover his roots in Malta through this film. Heintends to film more productions on the island that, he says, isthe “perfect production landscape to shoot a film”

Julian said with Love in Paradise he wanted to show Maltafor its culture, its vibrancy and aesthetic.

Love in Paradise wins Best filmAward at Malta Film Festival

Asurvey of 43 professionalsworking in Malta’s finan-

cial services industry revealsthat the clear majority expect thesector, that currently contributesjust over 12% of Malta’s GDP,to enjoy strong growth over thenext five years.About 87% of the respondents

of the Managing Partners Groupsurvey believe that by 2022 thiswould be higher, with 70% an-ticipating it would account for15% or more.

The asset management groupsaid that one of the key reasonsbehind this growth would be anincreased focus on innovation.Some 16% expect product inno-vation in the Maltese financialservices sector to increase ‘dra-

matically’ over the next fiveyears and a further 68% antici-pate some sort of improvementhere.The main driver behind this trend

would be more financial servicescompanies locating to Maltawhile others believe the country’sflexible legislative and regulatorysystem would also help.

The chairman of the MaltaStock Exchange, Joe Portelli,also welcomed the results,adding that as more companiesconsider their Brexit options, itis anticipated that Malta’s qual-ities as a well-regulated, Eng-lish-speaking financial centrewith a hardworking and edu-cated workforce would prove tobe very attractive to them.

Malta’s financial sector could grow to 15% of GDP

President MLCP presenting‘Everyday Hero’ award to Ms Latifa Ibn Zaiten at the Global Hope Coalition

US Insurance company,Starr, chooses Malta tooperate its EU business

strong investment from US companies thatare now looking at Malta “as a small butflexible jurisdiction”.

Muscat said that Starr Companies' invest-ment was a solid vote of confidence inMalta and the Maltese economy.

The US company vice-President BertilLundqvist expressed satisfaction at the ex-cellent process of the investment, includingthe Maltese financial services regulators.

Starr Companies previously used a Lon-don company for EU operations but in sum-mer last year it started seeking otheralternatives. He said that after meeting theMaltese Prime Minister, the company re-alised that Malta offered the best environ-ment for the company to establish itself in.

He added that after Brexit, more compa-nies would realise that Malta is the idealplace to operate from in the EU.

Għal darb’oħra l-istħarriġ li sar minn ċerti ġurnali, uoħrajn, dwar l-elezzjoni tal-Mexxej tal-Partit Nazzjon-alista laqtu l-musmar fuq rasu, għax kif bassru, l-Avukat

Adrian Delia ħareġ rebbieħ f’din it-tiġrija. Tiġrija li għalkemmġiet imsejjħa bħala waħda bejn il-ħbieb, fil-fatt spiċċat f’attakkisottili, u kultant mhux daqshekk sottili bejn il-kontestanti u aktaru aktar bejn dawk li jappoġġjawhom.

Ir-rebħa ta’ Delia hija impressjonanti minħabba l-kampanjaqalijla li tqajjmet kontra tiegħu, kultant, saħansitra minn dawknidħla sewwa tal-Partit Nazzjonalista. Attwalment filwaqt ligħadd konsiderevoli ta’ membri parlamentari Nazzjonalistiħarġu jappoġġjaw b’qawwa lil Dr Chris Said, dawk li wrew ap-poġġ lil Delia kienu waħdiet. Said kellu wkoll l-appoġġ ta’ TheTimes, li oriġinarjament kienet appoġġjat lill-Avukat PericiCalascione u ma tantx għaddiet kummenti sbieħ dwar il-kon-testanti l-oħra. Iżda mbagħad meta Perici Calascione ma għaddiex, dan il-ġur-

nal intefa’ wara Said. Min-naħa l-oħra The Malta Indipendent,għalkemm b’mod sottili kienet qed tappoġġja lil Delia.Delia rebaħ b’marġini konvincenti billi kiseb madwar 52% tal-

voti mitfugħa.Il-votazzjoni nnifisha qajjmet xi ftit tal-polemika wkoll, fejn

kien hemm min allega li ċerti membri tal-Partit Nazzjonalistali kellhom id-dritt tal-vot ġew imċaħħda minn dan, fosthomuħud li huma membri tal-Partit Nazzjonalista għal għomorhom(life-members). Biss il-Kummissjoni, li kienet qed tmexxi l-elezzjoni, insistiet

li kull min kellu dritt għal-voti ngħatalu.

14 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday September 26, 2017

Delia jagħmilha għal kap, imma ...

Li hu żgur huwa li l-għadd ta’ dawk liattwalment ingħataw il-vot kien il-bogħodmit-23,000 membru li kien intqal inizjal-ment mil-Partit Nazzjonalista, għax dawntniżżlu għal madwar 18,000, u attwalment,finalment kienu ftit aktar minn 15,000 liġabru l-vot u kellhom dritt li jivvutaw.

Minn dawn 95% ivvutaw waqt l-elez-

zjoni.. li huwa vot qawwi meta tqis li dinkienet l-ewwel darba fl-istorja Maltija lipartit politiku ħatar il-mexxej tiegħu per-mezz ta’ votazzjoni minn fost il-membrikollha tiegħu.

U sintendi meta tagħmel xi ħaġa għall-ewwel darba ma jistax jonqos li jkunhemm xi nuqqasijiet.

Kien hemm min feraħ u min sfoga- imma żgur għadma iebsa għal DeliaMhux xi sigriet li r-rebħa ta’ Delia fil-

waqt li ġiet milqugħha b’ewforijakbira, ma niżlitx tajjeb mal partitarji naz-zjonalisti kollha. Saħansitra kien hemmmkandidati tal-partit stess li meta wieħedjaqra kitbiethom ma jemminx li dak likitbu kien ġej minn xi ħadd minn ta’ġewwa. Saħansitra kien hemm min sostna

li dan kien il-bidu tat-tmiem tal-Partit Naz-zjonalista.

Għalija din hi reazzjoni eseġerata. L-ewwelnet għax partit bi storja hekk twila– l-eqdem partit politiku f’Malta – mhuxgħalkemm jitlef is-saħħa tiegħu għax in-ħatar mexxej li lil xi wħud majogħġobomx. It-tieni għax fuq kollox

x’jiswa Delia kważiħadd ma jaf, għaxdan qatt ma deherfix-xefaq politiku.Nistgħu ngħidu li hukaxxa magħluqa.

Li hu żgur li Deliagħandu għadmaiebsa xi jgerrem,mhux biss għax il-Partit Nazzjonalistiġarrab żewġ telfietelettorali umiljanti, umhux biss għaxSimon Busuttil Jason Azzopardi

jinsab f’diffikultajiet finanzjarji, iżda l-agħar ħaġa għax fl-elezzjoni għal mexxejtal-partit ħarġu fil-beraħ firdiet interni lima jawgurawx tajjeb għall-Partit Nazzjon-alista. Allura l-ewwel biċċa xogħol ta’Delia hija li jrid jara x’jagħmel biex iġibmill-ġdid l-għaqda fil-partit, li mhux ta’b’xejn bħala l-logo li ntuża fil-festi tal-In-dipendenza hemm: “il-Bidla li tgħaq-qadna”.

Għalkemm anke fl-istess mass meetingtal-festi tal-Independenza, kien hemmmembri parlamentari nazzjonalisti li m/at-tendewx, fosthom l-ex-mexxej tal-PNSimon Busuttil u Jason Azzopardi u KarolAquilina, għalkemm kien hemm oħrajnbħal Karl Gouder, Marthese Portelli, Fred-eric Azzopardi, Ivan Bartolo, ThereseCommodini Cachia li wkoll ma dehrux.

Ikompli f’paġna 15

Adrian Delia fuq il-Fosos

Delia għad għandu wkoll diffikultajiet personali. Fuq quddiemkif se jsib ruħu fil-Parlament biex ikun jista’ jmexxi l-Oppożiz-

zjoni. Dan minħabba li għalkemm fil-kampanja elettorali sostna likien sab min lest iċedilu postu biex jidħol fil-Parlament, u li kienetkwestjoni magħluqa, jidher li fil-fatt ma kien hemm xejn assigurat.

Tant li qrajna storja wara l-oħra kif il-bibien tal-Parlament kienuqed jidhru aktar iebsin biex jinfetħu għal Delia minħabba li diversimembri parlamentari qalu li ma ridux iċedulu posthom. Hawnhekk tajjeb ngħidu liema huma t-toroq biex Delia, li ma kkon-

testax l-elezzjoni ġenerali li għaddiet jista’ jidħol fil-Parlament.L-eħfef triq kienet dik li xi wieħed mill-ħames membri Nazzjon-

alisti eletti permezz ta’ elezzzjoni każwali jirriżenja, għax fil-każil-PN kien ikollu dritt jinnomina lil xi ħadd biex jieħu post l-MP lijkun irriżenja... u ma jistax jonqos li kien jagħżel lil Delia.

It-tieni triq, u li jidher li se tkun hi wara li Jean Pierre Debono t-Tnejn ta r-riżenja tiegħu, hi li jirriżenja membru Par-lamentari. Dan issa jwassal għal elezzjoni każwalifis-seba’ distrett b’dawk li jistgħu japplikaw jirrinun-zjaw li jikkontestaw. Jekk ħadd ma jikkontesta, jewf’każ rarissimu ħadd minn dawk li jikkontesta ma’ jġibnofs il-voti +1 tal-kwota, il-Partit Nazzjonalista xortajkun jista’ jinnomina lil Delia. Ħadd mill-ħames kandidati eletti f’elezzjoni każwali,

fosthom Godfrey Farrugia tal-PD (elett bħala membrutal-PN) ma kien lest iċedi postu lil Delia. Lanqas l-aħħar tentattiv, biex l-Għawdxi Frederick Azzopardijċedi postu ma rnexxa. Issa l-unika triq li l-partitjikkonvinci lill-kandidati fuq l-istess distrett majikkontestawx. Diġa` qalu li lesti jaċċettaw dan.

Il-PN worta għandu problema, għax f’kull distretttaħt l-isem tal-PN ikkontestaw ukoll membri tal-PD uMarlene Far-rugia, limexxiet il-PDfl -e lezz joniqalet li mhixlesta tikkoperamal-PN f’dini l - m a t e r j a .Dan stqarrituċar u tond fuqil-facebook:a

Saħansitra tat struzzjonijiet biex jekk issir elezzjonikażwali l-kandidati tal-PD kellhom jikkontestawha.

Dan jista’ jikkomplika s-sitwazzjoni, għax ikunmeħtieġ elezzjoni każwali li tieħu ż-żmien, u tista’twassal biex il-PD jirbaħ l-elezzjoni każwali. Marlene Farrugia ħarġet ukoll qatta bla ħabel kontra

Delia. Fost kollox ġiet ikkwotata ssostni skont il-ġur-nali taħt ir-ras: “Marlene Farrugia: The PN has sunkdeeper in the quagmire, DeliaPN will snuff out any lifeleft to it,” u waslet tgħid li ma kienetx se taċċetta lilDelia bħala kap tal-Oppożizzjoni.Sadanittant iż-żmien qed jagħfas, għax fit-2 ta’ Ottubru

jiftaħ il-Parlament u tkun daqqa ta’ ħarta kbira għal Deliali jispiċċa li ma jkunx hu li jmexxi l-Oppożizzjoni, iżdadin tkun immexxija minn Dr Simon Busuttil.

Fil-fatt Delia diġa` tilef l-ewwel appuntamenttiegħu..... dak li bħala Kap tal-Oppożizzjoni jieħusehem fiċ-ċelebrazzjonijiet uffiċjali tal-Festi tal-Inde-pendenza, fosthom billi jattendi għall-Pontifikal fil-

Kon-Kattidral ta’ San Gwannu t-tqegħid tal-kuruni f’riġlejnil-monument tal-Indipendenzafil-Furjana.

Għal dawn iċ-ċerimonji at-tenda Dr Simon Busuttil, li uf-fiċjalment għadu l-kap tal-oppożizzjoni.

Delia xorta attenda għall-Po-tifikal ta’ San Gwann, (stampa fuq) iżda ma kienx fost il-mistednindistinti għax il-protokoll ma jippermettix dan.Insomma kull bidu huwa iebes, iżda nispera li l-affarijiet jiċċarraw

ma jdumux għax barra Gvern tajjeb, il-pajjiż jinħtieġ ikollu wkollOppożizzjoni b’saħħitha u mhux imfixxkla minn diffikultajiet in-terni.

Delia Kap tal-Oppożizzjoni

Tuesday September 26, 2017 The Voice of the Maltese 15

It-Tnejn sar magħruf li Jean Pierre Debono li ġie elett għall-ewweldarba u bħalissa hu l-assistent segretarju tal-PN, offra li jirriżenjahu biex Delia jidħol minfloku fil-Parlament. Issa l-kandidati l-oħrali ħarġu fis-7 distrett jinħtieġ ma jikkontestawx f’elezzjoni każwali.

L-aħħarżviluppi

16 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday September 26, 2017

Australia stands with US against N. Korea

Elder abuse epidemic

Referring to US President DonaldTrump’s fiery language on NorthKorea at the UN General Assem-

bly last Tuesday, saying “the whole coun-try would be destroyed” and “many,many thousands of innocent people willdie,” the Australian Prime Minister Mal-colm Turnbull, said Australia was readyto assist the United States.

“It's stating the reality. It's very impor-tant that North Korea understands that ifit attacks the United States or its allies, asthe President said, the United Stateswould respond and respond in a way thatwould end the North Korean regime.

“I mean, it is a situation of increasinggravity and risk, and it is vital that the UN- and this is where the President wasspeaking - increase the economic sanc-tions on North Korea so that it can bebrought to its senses without conflict.”

Mr Turnbull again invoked the ANZUSTreaty, saying if America is attacked byNorth Korea “we will come to America'said. If we are attacked, under that sametreaty, America comes to our aid”.

“I don't thinkthis guy willcommit suicide,because that'sthe truth. I meanP r e s i d e n tTrump and Ihave said ex-actly the samething: if he at-tacks the UnitedStates that is asuicide note forhis regime.Now, it is a dis-aster because many, many thousands willdie. But the reality is, if North Korea de-cides to attack the United States or it's al-lies, that will be the end of the regime.”

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop was inNew York for the UN General Assemblyand spoke with Mr Trump following hisspeech. “I spoke to the President abouthis speech and his comments on NorthKorea,” Ms Bishop told reporters.“The President's speech was about call-

ing out this illegal behaviour and callingon the international community to con-tinue to condemn North Korea and ensuresufficient pressure is put on North Koreaso it returns to the negotiating table,” shesaid.

“We had a rather detailed discussion onwhat options are available to the interna-tional community and what is Kim Jong-Un's end game.”

Professor Patrick Mc-Gorry, medical health

expert and former Aus-tralian of the Year is thelatest prominent Australianto voice his concern aboutthe measure, which willsee 5000 welfare recipientsdrug tested at three trial lo-cations.He has warned the policy

fails to understand the in-tersection between mentalillness and drug and alco-

hol addic-tion. Theconsequencewill be todrive vulner-able Aus-tralians witha mental

health issue away from thewelfare system, and mostlikely into homelessness.Professor McGorry’s crit-

icisms come after the for-mer Australian federalpolice commissioner MickPalmer delivered ascathing assessment of theplan.

Mr Palmer, who was re-sponsible for implement-ing strong Howard-eradrugs policies, told theABC the plan would sim-ply not work, would harmthose least able to change,and risk pushing peopleinto crime to support theiraddiction. The bill hasbeen pushed back in theSenate for mid-October.

Drug testing is anabsolute disgraceOur society seems to be all care, and no responsibility when it comes

to fixing the growing elder abuse epidemic writes Greysafe founderMichael Riley in The Age.

If I told you that right now, while you read this article, 200,000 Aus-tralian women were being abused, bullied or kept in social isolationyou'd be outraged. Correct? What about if a new report came out thatthe same number of children was being sexually abused both at homeand in supposed safe institutions? Or if we read a news article that toldus the same number of animals were being physically mistreated andleft shaking in fear from those that “own” them?

Quite rightly, we'd all be angry, shocked and pretty in much in agree-ment that something needs to be done right away.

So, if I tell you that 200,000 is the estimated number of Australiansaged over 65 that are subject to abuse, does it upset you as much as whatI described above?We as a society seem to be all care and no responsibility when it comes

to fixing this growing elder abuse.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un

While visiting Malta Stay at: While visiting Malta Stay at:

The Diplomat Hotel, 173 Tower Road SliemaThe Diplomat Hotel, 173 Tower Road Sliema

Email:Email: sales@diplomat.com.mt Tel: (00356) 23497000sales@diplomat.com.mt Tel: (00356) 23497000

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The Prime Minister of Australia Malcolm Turnbull in pro-moting the postal vote regarding same-sex marriage encour-aged all Australians to have their say freely and respectfully,

but he also defended the right of religious churches to refuse tomarry same-sex couples. “Churches are free to marry whoever they like, that is part of re-

ligious freedom. There are many churches including my ownchurch the Catholic Church, who will not marry someone who hasbeen married before. There is no conflict, churches aren’t forcedto marry all comers, and people aren’t forced to have church wed-dings,” he said.The Prime Minister promised any same-sex marriage bill facili-

tated by his government would contain “strong” protections forchurches and religious groups. He also made the point that the NO

case would vote noagainst any legisla-tion of same-sexmarriage regardlessof protection thereare for religious free-dom.

Tuesday September 26, 2017 The Voice of the Maltese 17

Ban the burqamotion rejected

Same-sex marriage postal vote

The Nationals have rejected renegadeMP George Christensen's motion to

ban the burqa - but only by a few votes. Mr Christensen says he will continue to

push for the Turnbull government to adoptthe policy of banning the face coveringfrom government buildings and publicspaces despite his own party's decision.

The urgent motion came to a vote at theNationals federal conference and was de-feated 55 to 51. Mr Christensen said theban was needed for security reasons butalso noted the party was "bleeding to theright" on such issues.

The motion comes just weeks after OneNation leader Pauline Hanson caused afirestorm by wearing a burqa to Senatequestion time as part of her bid to ban it.

National’s leader Barnaby Joyce (pic-tured above) voted against the motion, de-spite disliking the burqa, citing Australia'strade with countries such as Indonesia,Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

The Turnbull government insists a pushto legislate the ABC must be “fair and

balanced” will not change anything aboutthe public broadcaster’s existing editorialpolicies. The change to the ABC Act – yetto be brought to Parliament – is part of thedeal the Government did with the One Na-tion Party in exchange for passing its over-haul of media laws.

Communications Minister Mitch Fifieldpoints out that the ABC existing editorialpolicies talk about the importance of fairtreatment. “There’s been a lot of uproarabout that proposed change, but there

shouldn’t be,” he said. “These are not newor strange journalistic concepts.”

The ABC’s editorial policy says it isguided by “hallmarks of impartiality” thatinclude “a balance that follows the weightof evidence” and “ fair treatment”.The One Nation senators have previously of-

fered up examples of topics where they thinkABC coverage hasn’t been appropriately bal-anced, including climate change and givingequal time to the views of anti-vaxxers.Other parties in the Senate, including the

Nick Xenophone Team, may yet stymiethe changes.

Following a Sydney eBayuser’s attempt to hawkhis postal vote for the

same-sex marriage survey forat least $1500, the AustralianBureau of Statistics haswarned that people who seekto pass on their postal votes forthe survey could face jail time.

The listing on eBay titled“buy my vote”, asks bidders:“What is the plebiscite worthto you?”

“The reason I’m selling myvote is because either way Idon’t care but thought there arepeople who do,” the user writesin the product description.

The seller assured part of theauction proceeds would go to“help kids battling cancer”, butthe charitable act has hit a snag

as ABS, the agency in chargeof the vote, has warned that aresponse that has been boughtor sold “would likely an of-fence against the Census andStatistics Act 1905 or theCommonwealth CriminalCode”.

The offence against the Cen-sus and Statistics Acts couldcarry a maximum penalty of$2100, while a potential crim-inal offence could see offend-ers jailed for up to 12 months.

The agency also said it hadcontacted several sites aboutthe possibility of people sellingtheir ballots, and eBay andFacebook had confirmed anyvotes for sale would beblocked and removed fromtheir sites.

Religious freedomis assured - PM Turnbull

ABC familiar with fairness says, Fifield

eBay user attempts to sell vote for $1500

18 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday September 26, 2017

Nearly three million voters, atotal of 1938 councillor and 61mayoral candidates stood for

seats in the 45 council elections man-aged by the NSW Electoral Commis-sion, with Maitland City Councilmanaging its own election held on Sep-tember 9.In Parramatta, the Liberals once again

dominated the council with seven seatsgoing their way. But in a historic first,the Greens got two seats on the council– with 14 per cent in Parramatta wardand 11.84 per cent in Rosehill ward.Labor gained five seats while formercouncillor and independent LorraineWearne could hold the balance ofpower with the final seat in the Eppingward.In Cumberland, formed from a merger

of parts of Auburn, Holroyd and Parra-matta councils, there were 74 candi-dates vying for 15 seats. Labor has woneight of them.

In the Greystanes ward, Greg Cum-

mings topped themost votes. Talking toThe Voice of the Maltesethe ex-Mayor of Hol-royd said his profileamongst the Maltesecommunity was anadvantage. His teamwere the only contest-ants to advertise onThe Voice of the Maltesethough this facilitywas available for allthe candidates.

“We never receivedso many votes inGreystanes ward. Wemissed electing thesecond candidate by17 votes,” said GregCummings.

Local Council elec-tions were held inBayside, Burwood, City of Canada Bay,Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland,

Georg-es River, Hornsby, Hunter’s Hill,Inner West, Ku-ring-gai, Laane Cove,

Mosman, North Sydney,Northern Beaches, City ofParramatta, Randwick,City of Ryde, Strathfield,The Hills Shire, Waverley,Willoughby and Wool-lahra.Background information

In December 2015 theBaird State Government ofNSW laid out plans for 35mergers which wouldhave reduced the state’s152 councils to 112. How-ever, that blueprint waslast year watered down tojust 19 mergers.

The Liberal Govern-ment’s decision was de-eply unpopular especiallyin regional areas and withthe more wealthy coun-cils. The Gladys Berejiklangovernment abandonedforced council amalgama-tions, ending an 18-monthwar with the state's localmunicipalities.

Therefore MetropolitanLocal Governments, in-cluding Mosman, Will-oughby, North Sydney,Lane Cove, Hunters Hill,Ryde, Strathfield, CanadaBay, Burwood, Ashfield,Ku-ring-gai, Hornsby, Wo-ollahra, Randwick andWaverley were not forcedto join leaving the otherslike Cumberland and Par-ramatta to an election thatwas held on the Septem-ber 9.

NSW Local Council Elections after the amalgamationsGreg Cummings ... he pulled most votes in Greystanes

Tuesday September 26, 2017 The Voice of the Maltese 19

Il-festi reliġjuzi u anke l-oħrajn b’laqta nazzjonali li jiġu ċċelebrati fl-Awstralja mill-komunita` Maltija, minbarra li jagħtu ċ-ċans lill-Maltin

li jiftakru minn fejn telqu u huma timbru li minkejja li ‘l bogħod minnart twelidhom għadhom jgħożżu dak li hu Malti, fosthom ir-reliġjon litrabbew fiha, huma wkoll okkażjoni li fihom jiltaqgħu fi gruppi kbar,xi ħaġa li mhux faċli jagħmlu ta’ spiss f’pajjiż ta’ dan il-kobor. F’dawn l-okkażjonijiet, ukoll bħal ma jsir f’Malta, jispikka wkoll l-ikel

tradizzjonali Malti u jinsew id-dieti u x’inhu l-ikel tajjeb u dak li jinħtieġjoqogħdu ‘l bogħod minnu. Kif jgħidu l-Ingliżi, “for once they let theirhair down”.

Ir-ritratt t’hawn taħt meħud quddiem it-taraġ tad-daħla tal-Katidral,juri l-Maltin, qabel u wara li attendew għaċ-ċeremonja tal-festa ta’Maria Bambina f’Sydney, jixtru l-ħelu Malti, il-qubbajt, il-kannoli, il-pastizzi eċċ.

...u jekk ma tiċċelebrax bl-ikel...? Ħafna jgħidulek li festa mhix festajekk ma jkunx hemm l-ikel. Min se jmerihom?

Festa bla ikel x’festa hi? The Voice of the Maltese being a fortnightly pub-lication often runs out of space to accommodate

articles or photographs that deserve exposure. Someprefer the “echo chamber” of Facebook to publishphotos without an adequate or proper explanation.In the last issue we missed out on a couple of pho-

tographs of people whose sterling work results inactivities that reminds the Maltese community whatthey have missed by leaving their island of birth.

So today we are publishing these photos:Above (left): Gejtu Deguara and his wife Mary withCouncilor Dr. Victoria Borg enjoying themselves atthe festa of San Gejtanu in Melbourne; and (right):six prominent members of our Maltese communityin Melbourne at the festa ta’ Santa Elena. From left:Paul Sammut, Fred Sammut, Reno Grima, VictorBartolo, Paul Borg and Emanuel Brincat.

Deserving of a mention

20 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday September 26, 2017

II-Mitħna tax-Xewkija f’Għawdex,ikkummissjonata mill-GranmastruPerellos fil-bidu tas-seklu tmintax,

se terġa’ tingħata l-glorja oriġinalitagħha għax se tiġi rrestawrata, bix-xogħol isir taħt is-superviżjoni tal-uf-fiċjali tal-Awtorità tal-Ippjanar

Din hija l-eqdem mitħna fil-GżiraGħawdxija, kif ukoll l-unika mitħna fil-Gżejjer Maltin b’bażi ottagonali (għandhatmien faċċati).

Il-mitħna kienet bdiet topera fl-1710minn Ġanni Scicluna għal ħafna snin, im-bagħad fl-1956 bdiet tintuża mill-Bandatax-Xewkija bħala l-ewwel każin tagħha,iżda fl-1965 ġiet abbandunata meta l-banda mxiet fil-każin tagħha.L-uniku użu li kien sar matul is-sittinijiet

kien biex isir sfreġju tagħha billi ntużatħalli jitpittru slogans politiċi u jitwaħħluritratti ta’ kandidati matul il-kampanji elet-torali ta’ dak iż-żmien.

Ġewwa tal-mitħna wieħed isib intratakbira, żewġt ikmamar paralleli u kċina fuqwara. Fin-nofs hemm ukoll garigor li

Se tiġi rrestawrata l-eqdem mitħna f’Għawdex

jwassal għall-bejt tat-torri. Fuq id-daħlahemm ukoll birth room.

Issa sa fl-aħħar nistennew li narawhamill-ġdid fl-istat oriġinali tagħha.

Bħala parti mir-restawr se tinħoloq

pjazza madwar il-Mitħna, jitneħħew xipartijiet tal-ħadid u konkrit, u jinbidel is-saqaf tal-konkrit ma’ wieħed tradizzjonalibi travi tal-ġebel. Se titnaddaf ukoll il-ġebla u jinbena mill-ġdid il-mekkaniżmu.

The much-awaited decisions by Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) tochanges to its services to reflect Australia’s rapidly changing and increas-

ingly diverse society were announced late last week. programmes

No major changes to Maltese SBS radioBased on the findings of the 2016

Census, more than 1.3 million peoplehave migrated to Australia in the pastfive years, and nearly 4.87 million peo-ple speak a language other than Eng-lish at home including Indigenouslanguages.

The revised services will includeseven new languages, including six‘high needs’ languages and one ‘large’language supporting new communi-ties who need news and informationin their language as they navigate lifein Australia.

During a four-week consultationprocess (November 14 – December 112016), which gave people and organi-sations the opportunity to providefeedback on the Selection Criteria thatwas being proposed, SBS Radio re-ceived more than 600 submissions rep-resenting 85 languages.The submissions received were taken

into consideration in finalising the Se-lection Criteria, which in conjunctionwith the 2016 Census data has deter-mined the revised language services tobe provided by SBS Radio. The last re-view of SBS Radio was conductedduring 2012-2013, after the 2011 Cen-sus. The Maltese Community Councils of

NSW and Victoria on behalf of theMaltese community in Australia pre-sented a very strong submission,which according to Mandi Wicks, SBSDirector of Audio Language and Con-

tent was one of the most researchedand best argued.

In this recent reshuffle by SBS, theMaltese programme will continuewith two radio programmes per weekwith some improvements.

The programmes are currently onconsecutive days. From November 20,the programmes will be broadcast onTuesday and Friday, in order to pro-vide a better spread of news and infor-mation across the week.They have streamlined the broadcast

times. Currently, the programmes areat midday and 2 pm. In future, theywill both be broadcast from 12 pm,which is easier for audiences to re-member and finally, the Friday pro-gramme has been added to theNational Radio Network, enabling au-diences right across Australia to tunein via their local radio station.As these announcements reached The

Voice of the Maltese practically on ourdeadline, comments and analyses will

be published in the next issue.For further information on the SBS

Radio Services Review 2017 and for allcurrent broadcast times and frequen-cies, one should visit sbs.com.au/radio.To tune in to SBS Radio anytime, anywhere:Download the free SBS Radio App availablenow at the iTunes App Store and GooglePlay; Analogue radio programs – AM / FM;Digital radio (DAB+) and digital television;Online live streaming and On DemandlPodcasts.

Belt il-Bniedem (City of Humanity) is an educational/artistic venture, en-dorsed by Valletta 2018 Foundation leading to the production of the first everMaltese opera cycle. The artistic concept underlying the series of operas isthe concept of a siege. This project will span two years, running from Sep-tember 1, this year 2017 until November 31, 2019.This project intends to widen the Maltese opera audience through the integra-

tion of local artists, through the use of the Maltese language and through thefact that the operas’ subject matter is closely intertwined with Maltese history.

More information about the event in the next issue

City of Humanity, Malta over 2 yearsIs-sensiela dwar Tagħrif dwar il-kitbaMaltija nkompluha fil-ħarġa li jmiss

For issues concerning:Ageing and disability - community services -education - environment - health - housing - planning - Police - transport - water

Saint Nicholas Festa CommitteeMain events for 2017Sunday October 15:

FeteSaturday Nov. 11:

Dinner DanceSunday December 3:

St Nicholas FeastSt Nicholas FeastFor more information: Joe Fenech 0412009 957 or PRO Emm. Vella 045 677 064

Oct. 14 – Sat.: GM meeting at Albion (2.p.m).Oct. 22 – Sun.: BYO Function at Errington Hall, St Albans.Nov. 12 – Sun.: BYO Function at Errington Hall, St Albans. Dec. 16 – Sat.: Xmas Function at Melrose Tullamarene.

ST HELENA MALTESE/AUSTRALIAN S.C. ST HELENA MALTESE/AUSTRALIAN S.C. Events: October - December 2017Events: October - December 2017

On Sunday October 1the Maltese Community

Council of NSW is organising a bus tour to Canberra, vis-iting the National War Memorial. Bus departs 8.00 a.m.from the MCC Centre, 59b Franklin Street ParramattaWest.Tickets: $40 per person. Lunch not included.

Lunch stop will be at the Hellenic Club.

Bus tour to CanberraBus tour to Canberra

Horsley Park Community Social Group & Friends10-day Adelaide TourMon. October 9 - Wed. October 18

Tour includes: 10 days 5 star coach touringtravelling through three

States: NSW, Sth Australia and Victoria; 9 Nights accommodation;

9 Breakfasts; 3 Lunches; 9 Dinners; Morning orAfternoon Tea; two Cruises; Wineries

For further information and itinerary contact:Theresa 0402 178 781

or Josephine 0402 040 954

Anybody interested in advertising on The Voice of theMaltese magazine in order to reach the widest audi-ence possible, partcularly among the Maltese diasporais requested to write to Maltesevoice@gmail.com

Tuesday September 26, 2017 The Voice of the Maltese 21

Community NewsCommunity News

La Valette Social CentreGħana Night

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 30: The Centre will be organising anGħana Night with Saver Bonnano. Also be a special guest from Malta,

Joe Bonello. Everybody is welcome. Also Saturdays (winter): Bingo: 8.00pm Winter. Boċċi, Raffle,

members’ lucky door prize - dinner for twoMembership is only $7 a year.

We also have other activities that we advertise on theradio, church bulletins and The Voice of the Maltese.

La Valette Social Centre 175 Walters Road, Blacktown Tel. 96225847

Classes are available for students from six yearsto adults at all levels of ability in the Maltese lan-guage. We have trained and experienced teach-

ers qualified in language teaching and withMaltese study credentials.

Learn the Maltese language, the culture, lifestyle,cuisine, traditions and about the amazing history of

the island.

Teachers urgently needed- Paid positions

For more information and enquiries Phone 9601 2189Email: malteselanguageschoolnsw@hotmail.com

Supported by the Minister of Education and Trainingand 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.

Learn Maltese!MALTESE LANGUAGE

SCHOOL OF NSWA Division of the Maltese Community Council of NSW Inc.

Kemm taf dwar: Iċ-ċittadinanzadoppja, il-visa,

passporti u t-tibdil enormi li sar fil-ħajja ta’ kulħadd fl-Awstralja?

Int mistieden/a tattendi laqgħa ta’ informazzjoninhar l-Erbgha, 4 ta’ Ottubru fis-7.30 pm

fis-sala San Gorg Preca OLQP Parish Church OldProspect Road Greystanes NSW

Kelliema: Rita O’DwyerRita O’Dwyer (Mill-uffiċċju tal-Konsolat Gen-erali)

Kulħadd mistieden. Dħul b’xejnTitilfux din l-okkażjoni ta’ tagħrif important.

Community NewsCommunity News

Maltese Radio ProgrammesMELBOURNE, on 3ZZZ 92.3FM oron www.3zzz.com.au. Mondays 5-6 pm, Fridays 5-6 pm and Satur-days 10-11am. MELBOURNE on 98.9 North WestFM, every Friday 6.00 - 7.00p.m. andMondays 7.00 to 8.00pm. Presenter:Emmanuel Brincat.MELBOURNE: STEREO 974(93180930): 97.4FM Wed (MalteseMagazine) & Thursday (Mer˙ba):6.00pm to 8.00 pm Co-ordinator – RayAnastasi

On SBS RadioDay Time Analogue and Digital

Friday: 12:00-13:00 97.7fm SBS 2Saturday: 14:00-15:00: 97.7fm SBS 2To tune into digital radio you need a re-ceiver or device with a DAB+ chip. Tun-ing in is by station name not frequency.Digital radio can also be heard via dig-ital TV.In SYDNEY, listen to the MCC radio pro-grammes on 2GLF FM 89.3.

Tune In to Radio and Television

The SBS MALTESE NEWS: L-A˙barijieton SBS TV twice a week nationwideSunday at 8.00 am on SBS2 (Chan. 32);Thursdays at 8.00 am on SBS2Isma’ l-programm tar-radju bil-Maltimill-Kunsill Malti ta’ NSW minn fuq

l-istazzjon 2GLF 89.3FM.Jista’ wkoll jinstema’ On Demand

minn fuq l-Internetwww.893fm.com.au

(On Demand >Ethnic >Maltese Council 11am)Il-Ħadd 11.00 am: l-aħħar aħbarijietminn Malta, mużika, tagħrif, kultura,avviżi u suġġetti ta’ interess. UNCLE SAM DJ (Maltese Radio)tune in to link: www.unclesamdj.com

SBS Radio 2 on Channel 38.Programmes can be accessed online(live or catch up) at sbs.com.au/malteseand via mobile phone, using the SBSRadio app. For television news fromMalta - SBS 2 TV on Thursdays andSundays at 8am.

VIVA MALTA on COAST FM 96.3Community Radio in Gosford Central

NSW. Aired on Thursdays every fortnight from 6 pm -7 pm. Presenter: Nathalie Gatt.

Web streaming on: www.coastfm.org.au.In BRISBANE listen to the MalteseProgramme on 4EB on Tuesdays 6.00-8.15am; Sundays 4.15pm to 5.15pm

Merrylands Social Maltese SeniorsMeets every second Friday of themonth: Miller Room, Memorial Av-enue Merrylands from 10.30am to12.30 am

Llandilo Maltese SeniorsMeets on the first Wednesday of eachmonth at the Llandilo Community Hall,Seventh Avenue, from 11am to 1 pm.

Maltese of Bankstown Group meets 3rd Wednesday of monthat New BCRG offices 15 Kitchner Pa-rade, Bankstown NSW (opposite RSLClub). Every other 3rd Thursday anouting. Enquiries call: Sam 9534 2357

Greystanes Maltese SeniorsMeets on the second Monday of eachmonth at the George Preca Centre ofOLQP Church, 198 Old Prospect Road,Greystanes from 10 am to 12 noon

The Sutherland & St George Maltese Group

Meets every First Wednesday of theMonth from 10:00am-1:00pm. Meet-ings/Get Togethers are interesting, in-formative & entertaining, so come Joinus and make new FriendsFor more information contact our Co-ordinator: Charles Mifsud J.P.Phone(02) 9501 5525 – mobile 0421 662 298.

Maltese Seniors Social Welfare Day Groups

Fairfield Active Maltese SeniorsMeets on the last Tuesday of the Month.Group meets in Parish Hall, cnr of StellaStreet & The Boulevard, Fairfield Heightsat 10 am.Maltese Seniors Central Coast

Have to contact our Welfare Officer foran appointment. For all informationand referral matters call Cen-sinaCefai: 02 439 000 12 or 0414 267 652

Daceyville Maltese SeniorsMeets the last Wednesday of the mon-th in the Meeting Room One, No. 3General Bridges Crescent, Daceyville.Note: The Groups also arrange regular Bus TripsJoin us and make new friends.

*(All Groups are co-ordinated by The Maltese Community Council of NSW) with asponsorship from Multicultural NSW. Please contact the MCC Welfare Officer: MarisaPrevitera JP on 0414 863 123. The MCC offices are at 59b Franklin Street (corner withYoung St) Parramatta West NSW (next to West Parramatta Primary School).

Għalkemm il-PBS ta’ Malta tforni lill-SBS fl-Awstralja bis-servizz tagħha,il-qarrejja huma mħeġġa biex x’ħin iridu jistgħu jidħlu fil-website tal-istaz-

zjon Malti: www.tvm.com.mt. Din bil-Malti u bl-Ingliż.Il-website hija aġġornata tul il-jum kollu għalhekk wieħed jista’ jieħu stampa

ċara tal-ġrajjiet li anke jkunu qed iseħħu dak il-ħin stess.

L-aħbarijiet tal-PBS (Malta)

The Australian High Commis-sion’s in Malta now has a new

Facebook page, and the HighCommissioner a Twitter accountthat could both be accessed bythe readers.

The High Commission’s Face-book:https://www.facebook.com/AusHCMalta/The Commissioner’s Twitter handle

is: https://twitter.com/AusHCMalta

Australian High Commission on facebook; HC on twitter

Present

For tickets phone:

29 ta’ Ottubru29 ta’ Ottubru

Monica: 98960712 or 0414 859386Joe Borg: 96242280; Julie: 96367679

DONATION of $12.00 Kids: $6.00

Wentworthville Leagues Sunday 2pm

22 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday September 26, 2017

The initial stages of the current Premier League in Malta isunearthing quite a few unexpected results, particularly for

the teams that normally challenge for the title. However, thesurpise team of the campaign, newly-promoted Gżira Unitedkeep marching on as the only team to enjoy maximum pointsfrom five games after Sunday’s win against St Andrews.

Day 4 registered quite a fewshock results, but things retunred

to normal on Day 5. Champions Hibernians had lost

to a last-gasp goal against GżiraUnited; Birkirkara (back undercoach Paul Zammit) came a crop-per against Senglea, while Balzandropped two more points in ascoreless draw with Ħamrun andhad two players red carded.

Balzan and Hibernians s alsomissed crucial penalties.

At least Valletta’s game went toform when they beat Sliema 1-0 ina balanced game.

On Day 5 last weekend, Balzanbeat Valletta in the top match, onSunday, while Gżira defeated StAndrews in a hard fought game.

Tuesday September 26, 2017 The Voice of the Maltese 23

Spor ts on two pagesSpor ts on two pages

3-23-02-11-03-22-01-1

3-24-00-01-01-03-11-1

DAY 5 RESULTSGżira U v St AndrewsHibernians v Mosta Balzan v Valletta Floriana v Ħamrun S. Birkirkara v Naxxar L.Sliema W. Lija AthSenglea v Tarxien RNaxxar L. v DAY 4Gżira U. v Hibernians Floriana v S. AndrewsBalzan v Ħamrun S. Valletta v Sliema W.Senglea v Birkirkara Mosta v Tarxien R Naxxar L. v Lija Ath

Gżira’s dream start continues

How Manly United did the historic doubleQuite simply we all agree that Parramatta FC’s disastrous sea-

son in the PS4 NPL NSW MEN'S needs to be forgotten, andquick. But Manly United's dynamic on field performances duringthe campaign will certainly never be forgotten as the club fromSydney's northern beaches ensured they will forever be in FootballNSW's record books after snaring a jaw dropping club double.

The victory on September 10 over APIA Leichhardt Tigers onpenalties in the Grand Final of the competition followed the suc-cess of Manly's women winning their big dance versus MacarthurRams on August 27.

No wonder Manly’s CEO David Mason was so enthusiastic inhis reaction. He said they were so proud to be the first club inFootball NSW history to be crowned champions in both themen’s and women’s competitions in the same season. Both teamswere full of local juniors, which shows they are developingtremendous pathways at Manly United for all local kids.It was also a big reward for the club’s technical directors, Warren

Grieve and Sharon Egger. Manly's men's squad had finishedfourth in the season proper. Then they faced Sydney Olympic FCand beat them 2-1 in their elimination semi-final, and triumphed2-0 against Blacktown City FC in their next match.

Rockdale City Suns then were left pondering what may havebeen after losing their qualifying final 4-3 on penalties, withAPIA the final hurdle at Leichhardt Oval where goalkeeper DylanMitchell again was the hero, producing big time for the secondtime in just over a week in a shootout to secure the silverware.

Manly United’s women who finished second after 18 rounds,

entered the finals series in a confident mood. They had a 3-2 winin the major semi-final against highly fancied Macarthur andmoved straight into the decider.

The Rams were their opponents once again, and Norm Board-man's squad looked in ominous touch, taking an early 2-0 lead.But Manly refused to panic, and a Siemsen hat-trick saw themwin an absolute belter of a grand final, 4-3.

Manly United’s Men’s and women’s teams

Malta born Rose Sacco issuch a proud grandma after

her granddaughter, Madison Con-well not only representedQueensland Under 18 mixed te-am in the 2017 National IndoorNetball competition held at theSpringvale Indoor Netball Centrein Melbourne recently, but alsowon two gold medals in both the6s competition which is a NewZealand indoor netball game andthe Australian game of 7s.

Maddie played with a brokenfinger. She showed grit, determi-nation and maturity throughout.In the 6s, she was in the U/18mixed team that played U/18 and

U/23 teams from all over Aus-tralia losing. They won the U/18grand final. In the 7s she helped her team go

through the competition unbeatento win the Under 18 grand final,and to cap a successful week, shewas also selected in the All StarsAustralian Under 18 mixed teamfor 2017.

Maddie does nannaproud

STANDINGGżira UFlorianaHiberniansVallettaSliema W.BalzanSenglea AĦamrun S.Birkirkara.MostaS. AndrewsNaxxar L.Lija A.Tarxien R.

P W D L Pts5 5 0 0 155 3 2 0 115 3 1 1 105 3 1 1 105 2 2 1 85 2 2 1 85 2 2 1 85 2 1 2 75 2 1 2 75 2 0 3 65 1 0 4 35 0 2 3 25 0 1 4 15 0 1 4 1

The past weekend Malta and Gozo hosted the Gold Coast 2018Queen’s Baton Relay that is 71 countries before the official open-

ing of the Commonwealth Games on April 4 next year. On Friday itwas on show at the residence of the Australian High Commissioner inMalta, HE Ms Julienne Hince. Report and ocitures in the next issue.

Madison Conwell (centre) flanked by hermum Tania (left) and grandma Rose Sacco

Gold Coast 2018 Queen’s Baton Relay in Malta

24 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday September 26, 2017

Spor ts on two pagesSpor ts on two pages

The Parramatta FC (Melita Eagles)Under 17s and Under 15s ladiesmade up for the disappointment of

the Men’s football team by enjoying amost successful season, with the Under 17sachieving double honours and the Under15s narrowly losing out.

Having already claimed the Minor Pre-miership after a strong campaign, and de-feating second placed University of NSWin their Major Semi Final Parramatta’sUnder 17’s side were on a high, keen to de-feat the Lions in the NSW Women's StateLeague Grand Final to take out double ho-nours. They managed it with a 2-0 victory.It took the Eagles only six minutes to forge

ahead through Ellen Berios. Then for the re-mainder of the first half they dominatedplay leaving their opponents starving forpossession.

The Eagles also started the second half inconfident mood and went on the attack fromthe word go in search of a second goal tosafeguard their position. Though the Lionscharged forward to get the leveller it wasthe Eagles who sealed the win 13 minutesfrom the end with a well-deserved secondgoal again scored by Ellen Berios.

The University pressed on to get back intothe game but the Eagles’ defence held outfor the win. As the final whistle was blown, the victors’

players hugged each other in joy and alongwith coach Jeff Perry and manager JudyTomlin received their medals and the Pre-miers and Champions trophies.

After a stellar 2017 season that includedfinishing only one goal shy of taking

out the minor premiership, plus grinding outtwo tough Finals victories, the Under 15’swent into the Grand Final with high expec-tations against University of NSW; unfor-tunately they lost it by 1-0.

A nervous start paved the way for a well-contested match. In their best chance, of thefirst half Parramatta’s Brooke Hastie struckthe crossbar. The Univ. had few chances,and at half time the score stood at 0-0.After all the hard work and attacking plays

from the Eagles early in the second half,

against the run of play it was their oppo-nents who broke the deadlock 20 minutesfrom time with the all-important goal.

The Eagles’ ladies went searching for anequaliser, but in spite of their efforts it theyfailed to get it. It asn't their day losing 1-0.

Although the Eagles, led by coach An-drew Vicary and manager Brendan Byrne,just fell short on the final day of the season,they should be proud of this year's achieve-ment and by laying a strong foundation forthe future.

AnthonyTheuma

A most successful season for Parramatta’sU/17 and U/15 ladies teams

The Under 15s with theircoaches happy after asuccessful campaign