Issue 78 online magazine

(driven by the voice driven by the voice of its readersof its readers)

July 8, 2014

The Voice of the Malteseonline magazine

the Siege BellMemorial inValletta

the Siege BellMemorial inValletta

One of the most interesting mon-uments in the Maltese capital,Valletta, is the Siege Bell Memo-rial, erected in 1992 to commem-orate the 50th anniversary of theaward of the George Cross toMalta and to honour over 7000service personnel and civilianswho gave their lives during thesiege of Malta 1940-43. The monument, which was de-

signed by Michael Sandle, a pro-lific and important sculptorworldwide and assembled on theinitiative of the George Cross Is-land Association is at the GrandHarbour and Fort Ricasoli. Pic-ture shows the monument closeto the Lower Barracca Gardens.Inset below is the monumentviewed from sea level.

2 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday July 8, 2014

Mr. Andrew Rohan, the StateMember for Smithfield stoodup in the NSW Parliament to

speak not just about the commemorationof the 50th Anniversary of the diplomaticrelationship between Malta and Australiabut as well, about the Maltese commu-nity in the eastern suburbs of Sydney.

Mr. Andrew Rohan said that it is indeedsignificant that he speaks in commemo-ration of the fiftieth anniversary of thediplomatic relationship between Maltaand Australia. In 1964 Malta became anindependent nation and in 1979 becamea republic but maintained its membershipto the Commonwealth of Nations.

Relations between our two countriesprecede this date. In 1883, 131 yearsago, organised emigration from Malta toAustralia began. Maltese-Australian con-nections are indeed multifaceted anddeeply ingrained in the history of the twonations.

It is fitting to note that the first HighCommissioner for Australia in Malta wasSir Hubert Opperman, a world-famouscyclist and a former Liberal Member ofParliament for Geelong (Victoria).

Mr. Rohan continued to say that fromthose early years’ relations between Aus-tralia and Malta have gone from strengthto strength. Political relations betweenour two countries are excellent and havebeen made easier by the fact that weshare a common heritage and vision.Apart from our shared values, the bondsbetween Australia and Malta also arerooted in history.

Malta and Australia fought side by sidein both World Wars and, true to its mis-sion as the nurse of the Mediterranean;Malta gave shelter and provided treat-ment to the Anzacs injured during theGallipoli campaign. Australian servicemembers also were involved in defend-ing Malta during World War II.

Malta now has an Anzac monument atthe Argotti Gardens, Floriana, which wascompleted last year as an initiative ofMaltese-Australians living in Malta, whowere ably backed by financial assistancefrom the Maltese community in Aus-tralia.The flow of Maltese migrants after

World War II continued and as many as50,000 people left the shores of Malta tobuild a new life Down Under. Like theAustralian Government, the MalteseGovernment looks after its people livingabroad. In 2012 it established, by an Actof Parliament, the Council for the Mal-

tese Living Abroad. Two councillors arefrom my electorate: Lawrence Dimechfrom Greystanes and Gaetano Pace fromBlacktown. Amendments to the Maltese Citizenship

Act 2007 extended the qualifications ofdual citizenship to second-generationchildren and beyond - those born outsideMalta - and removed the distinction be-tween parental and maternal lineage.Malta and Australia also have social se-curity and health agreements. Thousands of Maltese-Australians have

benefited from these changes, and thishas further strengthened the people-to-people bond between the two countries.

In February 2007, the Australian Senateapproved amendments to the AustralianCitizenship Act leading to some 2,000Maltese being re-eligible for Australiancitizenship.

Prior to that, in 2004, Malta became afull member of the European Union. Thisprovides the ideal framework for re-gional cooperation in that the EuropeanUnion and Australia share common inter-ests in the wider geopolitical arena. Malta again will host the Common-

wealth Heads of Government Meeting(CHOGM) in 2015. Mr. Rohan said thathe knows that the Maltese community iskeen to see Prime Minister Tony Abbottfollow in the footsteps of former PrimeMinister John Howard, who attended theCHOGM conference in Malta in 2005. What is perhaps unique in relations be-

tween Malta and Australia, and particu-larly our State of New South Wales, isthat between 1909 and 1917 then SirGerald Strickland, a Maltese-born, repre-sented the three Australian States of NewISouth Wales, Tasmania and Western

Australia as Governor. Later, Lord Gerald Strickland became

Prime Minister of Malta from 1927 to1932. The Strickland Foundation is stillthe owner of The Times of Malta, thelargest selling newspaper on the island ofMalta. The Maltese community in Western

Sydney is very active and well organ-ised. Like other communities that wereestablished here after World War II, theMaltese community is now ageing fast asmigration from Malta has virtuallystopped. Special needs relating to old agenow confront Maltese immigrants, simi-lar to those experienced with their initialsettlement. The Maltese have very large communi-

ties in the cities of Blacktown, Holroyd,Penrith and Fairfield. The largest Mal-tese meeting place is La Valette Centre atBlacktown. Then there is the MalteseResource Centre at Mays Hill and theHamrun Centre at Marsden Park. The Horsley Park Good Friday proces-

sion is a yearly spectacle with statuesand people dressed in biblical costumes.The Maltese Annual Festa of Our Ladyof Victories at Greystanes also is a majorevent that attracts large crowds. Malta's loss became Australia's gain.

Maltese people have integrated well intothe Australia community and Mr. Rohanconcluded by saying he is proud to haveso many of them living in his electorateof Smithfield in NSW. The Voice of the Maltese notices and

appreciates the continuous lobbying byour community leaders to promote thename of Malta in this country whereverpossible resulting in this excellent speechin the NSW Parliament.

Malta and Australia50th 50th anniversary of diplomatic relationshipanniversary of diplomatic relationship

ANDREW BAIJAN ROHAN MP was born inIraq and completed studies in petroleum geol-ogy at the University of Baghdad, graduatingwith a Bachelor of Science (Geology) in 1970and a Master of Science (Petroleum Geology)in 1975. Migrating to Australia in 1979,he initially

worked as a petroleum geologist for RobertsonResearch before establishing his own printingbusiness in 1995. He was elected as a Council-lor to Fairfield City Council in 2008. At the 2011 state election Mr. Rohan was

elected to the normally safe Labour seat with aswing of 20.5 per cent and won the seat with54.8 per cent of the vote on a two-party pre-ferred basis. Since the seat was first created in1988, Mr. Rohan's win was the first time theseat has been held by the Liberals

Tuesday July 8, 2014 The Voice of the Maltese 3

Mill-pa©ni ta’ dan l-on-line maga-zine li sar tant popolari mal-Maltin imxerda mad-dinja

kollha, naqraw kemm il-Maltin fl-Aw-stralja g˙adhom attivi u ankrati mat-tradiz-zjonijiet u l-kultura Maltija li ©abumag˙hom lejn dan il-pajjiΩ tantimbieg˙ed, l-Awstralja. Mhux veru libog˙od mill-g˙ajn bog˙od mill-qalb, anzil-kuntrarju, g˙ax aktar ma titbieg˙ed minnMalta, art twelidna, speçjalment fuq baΩipermanenti, aktar tikber fik l-im˙abba lejndak kollu li ˙allejt warajk.Fl-Awstralja g˙andna ˙afna g˙aqdiet tal-

Maltin. Dawn jinkludu g˙aqdiet reli©juzi,kulturali, soçjali u sportivi. L-attivita` ta’dawn ma tieqaf qatt u ma jg˙addix tmiemil-©img˙a li ma jkollnix xi attivita`; anzillum, anke matul il-gimg˙a, isiru attivita-jiet, l-aktar u l-aktar fost l-anzjani li mag˙adhomx fil-qasam tax-xog˙ol.Fejn ng˙ix jien, fl-in˙awi tal-belt ta’ Syd-

ney (Stat NSW) imbag˙ad, g˙andna dak lihawn insejj˙ulu l-Maltese CommunityCouncil of NSW li hu b˙al g˙aqda-um-brella li tigbor fiha madwar 16-il g˙aqdaMaltija. Delegati minn dawn l-g˙aqdietjiltaqg˙u darba fix-xahar biex jit˙addtudwar il-˙ti©ijiet ©enerali tal-komunita`speçjalment dawk li huma ta’ natura naz-zjonali.Kunsill ta’ din il-g˙amla dejjem ikollu d-

diffikultajiet tieg˙u min˙abba g˙add ta’fehmiet u talbiet mill-istess g˙aqdiet, iΩdal-mod demokratiku li jitmexxa bih il-kun-sill dejjem jirriΩulta f’deçiΩjonijiet li jkunuta’ g˙ajnuna g˙all-komunita` kollha.

minn Lawrence Dimech

Il-Kunsill tal-Komunita` Maltija fi NSWimexxi l-iskola tal-Malti li g˙andha di-versi klassijiet fis-subborgi ta’ HorsleyPark, Seven Hills u Schofields. Dawn il-klassijiet huma ssussidjati finazjarjamentmill-fondi tal-Kunsill.

Hemm g˙alliema ikkwalifikati li jg˙al-lmu l-ilsien Malti u anke l-kultura Maltija.U˙ud mill-istudenti jispiççaw ukoll jinter-essaw ruhom fil-komunita` Maltija, l-aktarfejn jid˙lu g˙aqdiet taΩ-Ωg˙aΩag˙.

Il-Kunsill g˙andu wkoll programm tar-radju (2GLF fm 89.3) kull nhar ta’ Óaddfejn jit˙abbru l-attivitajiet tal-g˙aqdiet ua˙barijiet o˙ra ta’ interess. Jipprovdi wkollservizz ta’ welfare officer biex jie˙u ˙siebil-˙ti©jiet soçjali tal-Maltin kollha, anke

dawk li mhumiex membri tal-Kunsill. Il-Kunsill wasal ukoll biex i˙abbar esten-

sjoni ta’ dan is-servizz biex flimkien ma’community development jikber is-servizzta’ information & referral.

G˙andu wkoll website ferm interessanti:www.maltesecommunitycouncilofnswIl-Kunsill jipprova ma jid˙olx fil-g˙alqa

tal-g˙aqdiet fejn g˙andhom x’jaqsmu l-at-tivitajiet tag˙hom, imma jorganizza Ωew©attivitajiet speçjali, dik ta’ Jum l-Awstraljafejn ji©u onorati i-Maltin li jirçievu unurinazzjonali mill-Gvern Awstraljan, u l-komemorazzjoni tas-Sette Giungo 1919 lihija wa˙da mill-˙ames festi nazzjonali, ta’meta l-Maltin irvellaw kontra l-IngliΩi uerba’ Maltin sfaw maqtula. Din l-a˙˙ar attivita` saret nhar il-Óadd 8

ta’ Ìunju u kienet suççess.Il-Kunsill dejjem ikun involut ukoll meta

ji©u jΩuru NSW xi personalitajiet distintiMaltin li dejjem ji©u me˙udin ˙dejn il-Maltese Bi-Centennial Monument f’CivicPark, Pendle Hill li nbena wkoll bl-inizjat-tiva tal-Kunsill.

Dan l-a˙˙ar, il-Kunsill irnexxilu wkollitemm il-˙olm li dejjem kellu, ji©ifieri li l-Maltin ta’ NSW ikollhom çentru mhuxdaqstant fejn isiru l-attivitajiet normali,g˙ax g˙al dawn hemm çentri akbar ta’g˙aqdiet fejn jistg˙u isiru, iΩda wie˙edfejn tin©abar l-istorja tal-komunita` kollhaming˙ajr distinzjoni u post li iservi b˙alauffiççju u post g˙al-laqg˙at tal-membri.

Dan iç-çentru, illum imsejja˙ MalteseResource Centre u li nfeta˙ f’59 FranklinStreet Parramatta West (Mays Hill) bil-g˙ajnuna finanzjarja tal-Gvern Statali ta’NSW u l-Kunsill Lokali ta’ Holroyd City,di©a` qed irendi g˙ajnuna siewja l-aktar ul-aktar g˙al dawk li jridu jag˙mlu riçerkafost il-komunita` Maltija.

Fost affarijiet o˙ra, f’dan iç-çentrug˙andek issib ukoll il-kopji kollha tal-Maltese Herald tul il-51 sena li kienet ilhato˙ro© kontinwament, u materjal ie˙orme˙tie© dwar Malta.

Il-Maltese Resource Centre (li hu biniheritage listed) feta˙ uffiçjalment fis-7 ta’Ìunju tal-2013 mis-Sindku tal-HolroydCity Council u l-Kummissarju G˙oli g˙alMalta ta’ dak iz-zmien, Francis Tabone.

X’qed isir fi NSW g˙all-komunita` MaltijaX’qed isir fi NSW g˙all-komunita` Maltija

Il-Maltese Resource Centre minn quddiem

LEMIN: Is-Sindku tal-Belt ta’ HolroydClr Ross Grove u l-Kummissarju Gholita’ Malta fl-Awstralja Francis Tabonemeta nfetah uffiçjalment Il-Maltese Re-source Centre f’Gunju 2013. Ta˙t:Dehra o˙ra taç-çentru mill-©enb

4 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday July 8, 2014

Alfred Fenech, President of the Mal-tese Community Council of NSW,ex Honorary Consul Commercial

for Malta in NSW and a stalwart advocatefor the Maltese in NSW, with a record in-volvement in community participation stre-tching over 40 years, died last Monday June30. He was aged 78.

Alfred, (better known as Freddie amongMaltese-Australians), born in 1936, wasmarried with three children. He was a Uni-versity of Sydney graduate in BA Econom-ics, and a recipient of the prestigious award,the Order of Australia Medal (OAM).

His life-long commitment to strive to-wards co-ordination and unity among Mal-tese is equal to none in NSW, and to dojustice in summarizing his contribution andinvolvement, it is felt that this is best donein readable point form.• Alfred left Sliema for Sydney in 1955 asan 18-year-old and initially occupied anumber of positions in the private sector. • In 1958, he joined the Federal Public Serv-ice in the then Repatriation Department,which looked after the health and pensionentitlements of ex-servicemen; in 1963 hejoined the then Dept of Labour & NationalService to carry out labour market research.• After graduating in 1966, Alfred joinedthe Department of Trade a year later and re-mained there till early retirement in Febru-ary 1997. The department changed its namea number of times until it becameAUSTRADE, (Australian Trade Commis-sion) in 1986. In this department, he occu-pied various positions in Sydney, Canberraand Melbourne and carried out short- termassignments in Italy and Malta.• He headed many units and programmesbut specialised in assisting exporters/in-vestors in the service industries of heavy en-gineering, energy, building and construct-tion. Clients included both large companiesand small and medium enterprises. • He made contributions, very often signif-icant, to many export development projectsin Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Theseincluded many export initiatives such as the

National Export Week and the Ferris Com-mittee Report of 1980 that changed thewhole range of government assistanceschemes for exporters.• Between 1994 and 1997, Alfred had theresponsibility for keeping members of Par-liament, both Federal and State in NSW,briefed on Austrade programmes and thetrade and commerce portfolio.• In 1993, he developed Austrade’s EthnicExporters Programme in NSW that in 1995was adopted as a national programme. Itwas designed to meet Austrade’s obliga-tions under the Access & Equity agenda byproviding access to Austrade’s services forthe ethnic communities of which there werein excess of 150. It also drew on the productive diversity of

multicultural Australia to increase commer-cial links with the many countries from

which the Australia’s ethnic communitiescome from.• Whilst in Austrade, he assisted variousconsuls in promoting trade between Aus-tralia and Malta, and in 1985, he suggestedthe double tax agreement between Australiaand Malta to the then consul in Sydney andthe Acting High Commissioner in Can-berra. This agreement was signed later thatyear.• In February 1997, he started his own pri-vate business, Ausethno Export and Busi-ness Services, providing export services tomainly Asian businesses. Projects included organising visits to Aus-

tralia of overseas delegations, market re-search and attracting Chinese students toAustralian educational institutions.

Continued on page 5

A community giant with many varied and extensive contributions

ALFRED FENECH OAM, BA (Econ) JP.

Alfred Fenech’s funeralThere will be a mass said for him at

10.30 am on Tuesday July10th at StMarys Cathedral in the city.A burial service will be held at Rook-

wood cemetery at 1.00 pm.

Tuesday July 8, 2014 The Voice of the Maltese 5

One may also add the following silent achievements:- Director of the College of International Business from1996 to 1999- Honorary member of the Australian Arab Chamber ofCommerce & Industry- Honorary member of the Australian Lebanese Chamberof Commerce- Founder of the NSW Vietnam Chamber of Commerce- Assisted in the foundation of the Turkish Chamber ofCommerce in Australia and the Australia Armenia Cham-ber of Commerce- Lecturer at TAFE on export practices from 1969 to1995 and guest lecturer on exports to many organsationsincluding the University of Technology, various cham-bers, Business Enterprise Centres and the College of In-ternational Business.Maltese Community Positions • Secretary of the Maltese Community Council of NSWInc. uninterruptedly from 1974 to 1996. Currently he heldthe position of President. Life Member.• Secretary of the Maltese Guild from 1971 to 1978 thenPresident from 1979 to 1995.• Secretary of the Phoenician Club from 1982 to 1989.• Co-founder of the Salesian Old Boys in 1972, currentlythe Maltese Past Pupils & Friends of Don Bosco NSWAssociation• Started the Maltese Community Council of NSW radioprogramme on station 2 SER FM in 1982 and was its co-ordinator till 2004.• Founded the Maltese-Australian Society whose mainaim was to work with university students of Maltese ori-gin.Highlights of Work in the Communty • Strove to develop a united Community under the um-brella of the NSW Maltese Community Council thatgreatly enhanced the name of the community in thegreater Australian society.• Developed various services for the Community includ-ing a welfare service funded by grants from the EthnicAffairs Commission of NSW (now Community RelationsCommission).• In the1970's, he started the campaign for Dual Citizen-ship that was granted by the Malta Parliament in 1990.• Actively promoted Maltese culture and social activities.In 1975 he held a variety concert at Bankstown TownHall using local talent that gave rise to various performersand performing groups. In 1976 started the Maltese Car-nival, which continued till 1995.• Acted as the main community coordinator in NSW forthe visits of VIPs from Malta including the President, thePrime Minister, the Archbishop and various ministers.• In 1991, Alfred started a Malta Youth Day to encouragethe young people of Maltese origin to appreciate theirMaltese heritage.• With the assistance of Mr. Paul Zammit, MP, then Min-ister Assisting the Premier on Ethnic Affairs, opened thefirst respite care centre in Leichhardt.• Made many submissions to governments on various is-sues affecting the Maltese community including immi-gration reviews, the Reciprocal Social SecurityAgreement, the teaching of the Maltese Language in gov-ernment schools, Maltese programs on SBS radio andSBS TV and many other issues.• Foundation Member of the Ethnic Communities Coun-cil of NSW; Member of the subcommittee that drew upthe constitution of the Council; Executive member foreight years; Member of Media sub-committee for manyyears.• Member of Addison Road Community Centre for sevenyears. Vice chairperson for twelve months. Life member.

As one can easily conclude, Alfred’scontribution has been many and variedin a number of fields, both with the Mal-tese community and mainstream Aus-tralians. He will leave a huge void inour community. May he rest in peace.

Continued from page 4

• In March 1997, he was appointedpart-time Executive Officer of theAutralian-Maltese Chamber of Com-merce.He resigned in 2004. Major activitiescarried out in this position included:the official launch of the Chamber inMay 1977 by the Minister for Trade,the Hon Tim Fischer and a businessbreakfast with the visiting DeputyPrime Minister & Minister of ForeignAffairs and the Environment of Malta,Dr George Vella, in August 1997.

Other achievements included thehosting of a trade delegation fromMalta consisting of 13 business peo-ple representing eight companies andAustrade Malta in May 1998; a busi-

ness meeting with Dr Edward deBono, the world authority on creativethinking in June 1998; organising atrade delegation to Malta consistingof six companies but representingnine other companies in Septem-ber/October 1999 and a repeat trademission to Malta in 2000 and 2004.• On Feb. 2, 1998, Alfred was ap-pointed Honorary Consul (Commer-cial) for Malta in NSW. In this periodmany useful contacts were made todevelop trade and investment byAustralian companies in Malta usingMalta as a base for the Mediterraneanregion. Resigned in 2003.

The passing of Alfred Fenech is a sadday for all who knew him. Always

helpful, always pleasant, always seek-ing to do his best, always helping oth-ers. Freddie was one of those peoplewho you expect to always be there, al-ways helping and going on forever.How vulnerable we are.There is no person I know who better

epitomises the attributes of leadershipby service. Freddie was always willingto help and always gathering people to-gether and reminding others of the sig-nificance of occasions. His commitment to the Maltese com-

munity and to Maltese families madehim stand out. He never sought to gainleadership because it was “his turn”. He never sought to disrupt others in

their ambitions and that is why he wastrusted to always do the best thing forthe many organisations in which heserved.His family carries a wonderful her-

itage forward. Not only is there Fred-die’s love of the Maltese culture and allthings Malta but his commitment tofamilies and the community is a shiningexample to all about how unselfishservice can build, and not pull downand how it can create harmony and notdissent.I shall greatly miss Alfred (Freddie)

Fenech. Australia is honoured to havehad a man of this quality give greatservice to our nation. Thank you Freddie for your great ex-

ample.Hon. Alan Cadman OAM

Iwas deeply saddened to receivethe email notices today of the

sad passing away of Alfred(Freddie) Fenech.When I was elected the Mayor

of Blacktown in September 1977he was one of the first MalteseAustralian activists I came toknow.Since then he has been regu-

larly at my doorstep with allkinds of requests, invitations,suggestions and items of informa-tion. One could not help liking and

admiring Freddie for many rea-sons.There was his tenacious,single-minded pursuit of the wel-fare of Maltese Australians.There was his devoted commit-

ment to all things Maltese andAustralian.There was the friendliness of his

smile and unbound generosity ofspirit.We are all hugely in debt to

Freddie.He has been at the forefront in

forging for all of us a proud iden-tity and heritage as Maltese Aus-tralians.He has touched and changed for-ever all our lives for the better ina big, big way.Dear Freddie, Requiescant in

Pace.H.E. Hon John Aquilina A.M., U.O.M.

High Commissioner of Malta to India

Freddie will leave a huge void in

Paying tribute to Alfred Fenech

our community

An online memory book for Alfred Fenech has beencreated. It could be useful for people who cannotattend his funeral on Tuesday or who are interstateor overseas. Anybody who can contribute or cannotattend for the fauneral is requested to use thelink:http://www.heavenaddress.com/Alfred-John-Carmel-Fenech-OAM/480979//

Online memory book

6 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday July 8, 2014

Nhar it-Tnejn li g˙addat˙abbret il-mewt ta’Anton Cassar, il-bnie-

dem li waqqaf u kien l-ewweleditur tal-gazzetta bil-Malti l-aktar popolari u mag˙rufaf’Malta, ‘l-orizzont’. Huwakellu 90 sena. Il-funeraltieg˙u sar nhar l-Erbg˙a ukien xhieda tal-popolarita’ ta’dan il-©entlom, li g˙ex ˙ajtumindu twieled fi Frar tal-1924,il-Marsa.

Anton Casssar jibqa’ mag˙-ruf ukoll b˙ala wie˙ed mill-pi-junieri u fost l-aqwa ©urnalistifil-gzejjer Maltin li ta kontributsiewi lil-letteratura Maltija in©enenerali. Fost kollox kien©urnalist xellugi li kien ir-rispettat minn kull na˙a.Anton jew “is-Sur Cassar” kif

˙afna kienu jsibuh, studja fis-seminarju t’G˙awdex u qabelbeda l-karriera tieg˙u fil-©ur-naliΩmu mal-gazzetta tal-Progress Press, Il-Berqa, fl-1946,kien anke serva matul it-Tieni Gw-erra Dinjija b˙ala suldat.

Fl-1960 beda ja˙dem fil-pubblikaz-zjonijiet tal-General Workers Union,l-ewwel fost l-istaff ta’ ‘It-Torca’, usentejn wara b˙ala l-ewwel editur ta’‘l-orizzont’. Fl-Union Press anke ng˙ata l-kariga

ta’ Kap tal-Pubblikazzjonijiet u ˙a-mes snin wara, sal-1988, serva b˙alaSegretarju Amministrativ tal-istessaΩjenda.

Kien ma˙bub minn dawk kollha likienu jafuh. Anton qatta’ ˙ajtumhux biss fil-kitba u jg˙allemΩg˙aΩag˙ ikunu ©urnalisti ta’ stoffa,imma wkoll kien involut f’g˙add ta’g˙aqdiet, kemm soçjali u kulturali,speçjalment fil-kumitati tal-baned, uwkoll sportivi, fosthom tar-Regatta

Nazzjonali, l-aktar fil-Marsa, immaanke nazzjonali.

Huwa kien ukoll g˙al ˙afna snin,kemm president tal-klabb tal-PartitLaburista fil-Marsa imma wkollmembru tal-kumitat eΩekuttiv tal-ist-ess partit. Fl-1966 ng˙ata l-Midaljag˙all-Qadi tar-Repubblika.

Huwa baqa’ dejjem imfittex g˙all-kitbiet tieg˙u, u l-kotba tieg˙u,kemm jekk storiçi u mhumiex, ukollkienu fost l-aktar popolari. Kien kittieb prolifiku, u wie˙ed mill-

a˙˙ar xog˙lijiet tieg˙u kienet l-aw-tobijografija: “Óajti – Mhux KollhaWard u Ûahar”, li ippubblika ˙amessnin ilu. G˙al ˙afna snin kien ukolljifforma parti mill-bord editorjali tal-kotba tal-Partit Laburist, l-SKS.

Wara li rtira baqa’ attiv u sar ukoll

mag˙ruf g˙all-mixjiet tie-g˙u fil-kampanja Maltija.Kiteb ˙afna artiklu dwardawn il-mixjiet fil-©urnali ug˙al xi snin kien ukoll ie˙usehem fi programmi tele-vizivi dwar is-su©©ett.

Sa ftit tax-xhur ilu kieng˙adu jqatta’ afna in fil-mixi u kien i©ib l-g˙ira ta’˙afna bl-ener©ija li baqa’juri fil-mixi fit-tul.

Bil-kitba tieg˙u g˙in biexin©ustizzji ji©u rran©ati, fil-waqt li kien baqa’ ji©i mfit-tex biex jag˙ti l-fehmietbilançjati tieg˙u dwarg˙add ta’ materji nazzjon-ali. Il-pariri siewja tieg˙u fiprogrammi tar-radju u t-televiΩjoni kienu mill-aktarsegwiti u milqug˙a. Ir-rispett li kien igawdi fost

il-©urnalisti wassal li b˙alag˙arfien g˙all-kontribut le-jn din il-professjoni, fl-1999l-Istitut tal-Ìurnalisti Malt-in, l-IÌM, onorah bl-IGM

Gold Award.L-a˙˙ar unur li rçeva kien dak tas-

sena l-o˙ra, l-hekk mag˙ruf b˙alalifetime achievement award mill-Kun-sill Nazzjonali tal-Ktieb.Kienu afna li esprimew id-dispjaçir

tag˙hom g˙all-mewt ta’ Anton Cas-sar, wasslu l-kondoljanzi lill-familjatieg˙u u fa˙˙ru ˙idmietu biex il-Maltin ma jibqg˙ux ankrati mal-passat. Óafna minna li g˙addejna ukbirna fil-©urnaliΩmu minn ta˙tidej˙, in˙ossuna onorati li mhux bisskonna nafuh imma wkoll bqajnasal-a˙har ni©u meqjusa minnub˙ala membri tal-familja kbiratieg˙u.

- Joseph Cutajar

ANTON CASSAR: ©urnalist xellugi imma rrispettat minn kull na˙a

Imut il-bniedem li “welled” l-aktar ©urnal popolari bil-Malti

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website: www.breakawaytravel.com.aublacktown@breakaway-travel.com.au

Tel (02) 9622 7799

Il-Prim Ministru Dr JosephMuscat jippreΩenta lil An-ton Cassar (lemin), il-life-time achievement award tal-Kunsill Nazzjonali tal-Ktieb

Dan l-a˙˙ar Clemente Zammit, li g˙alg˙add ta’ snin serva b˙ala Konslu Ìen-

erali ta’ Malta f’Victoria ©abar g˙add ta'poeΩiji u tifkiriet tal-mibki imma qatt minsi,Laurie Armato, fi ktejjeb elettroniku.

Óafna jiftakru lil Dr Zammit, minnBirkirkara, li huwa wkoll kittieb ta’ poeΩiji,novelli u rumanzi, g˙al ˙afna snin qabel ir-tira b˙ala kantant u kien jie˙u sehemb'kanzunetti tieg˙u f'festivals nazzjonali.Huwa ass il-˙tie©a li jxandar dan il-ktejjebbiex ma ji©rix li Laurie Armato jintesa u l-kitba tieg˙u tibqa' midfuna f'xi kexxun.

Laurie Armato kien wie˙ed minn g˙addta’ a˙wa li qabel ma emigraw lejn l-Aw-stralja kienu jg˙ixu f’Birkirkara. Kellu s-seng˙a ta' barbier u Ωgur li g˙ad hemmmin jiftakru fil-˙anut ma' ˙utu fil-pjazzata' Santa Liena. F’Melbourne, ˙afna jafulil Laurie b˙ala barbier fil-˙anut li g˙al˙afna snin kellu qrib Victoria Market.Huwa miet fit-3 ta’ Mejju tas-sena l-o˙ra.

B˙al ˙utu Baldass u Vanni, Laurie kienukoll kittieb ta’ ˙afna poeΩiji u xi novelli,imma kien aktar jinqala' g˙ad-daqq tal-mandulina u l-kompoΩizzjoni ta' innijiet umarċi popolari.

Huwa kien attiv ˙afna fi ˙dan g˙add ta'g˙aqdiet Maltin, u dejjem ta l-appo©©tieg˙u g˙al dak kollu li hu Malti. Fuqquddiemnett kien hemm il-Grupp Letter-atura Maltija (GLM) ta’ Victoria, g˙ax l-ilsien Malti kien l-g˙axqa tieg˙u. Kitebg˙add ta’ poeΩiji mexxejja, u˙ud minn-hom b’xejra umoristika. Óafna mix-xog˙-lijiet tieg˙u qrahom jew ©ew pubblikatimatul is-snin, l-aktar fil-ktieb tal-Pro-gramm MuΩiko-Letterarju li l-GLM jorga-nizza kull sena.

B˙ala dilettant tal-muΩika kiteb ˙afnakompoΩizzjonijiet,

fosthom il-“Març tar-Ra˙al”, li l-kollegatieg˙i fuq ir-radju 3ZZZ, Mario Sammut,ilu juΩah g˙al ˙afna snin b˙ala s-sigla tal-programm tieg˙u, “Ejjew Oqg˙odu”. Kitebukoll xog˙ol g˙all-G˙aqda ta’ Santa Liena,li tag˙ha kien ukoll membru, u l-muΩika ta’l-innu tar-Reskeon Maltese Association uReskeon Seniors Group, li tieg˙u kien ukollmembru, fuq versi ta’ Clemente Zammit.

Mill-pinna tieg˙u ˙ar©u g˙add ta’kanzunetti sbie˙ Maltin li ©ew kantatiminn diversi kantanti Maltin hawn f’Mel-bourne. Barra minhekk kien jinqala' ˙afnag˙ad- daqq tal-mandulina, u kien iferra˙lil ˙afna bid-daqq tieg˙u kemm fil-pro-gramm MuΩiko-Letterarju kif ukoll fil-Festin tal-Milied, flimkien ma’ s˙abuManuel Casha, Joe Gauci, Fredu Cachia,Joe Camilleri u Alfie Xuereb.

Tuesday July 8, 2014 The Voice of the Maltese 7

Ma’ tlug˙ ix-xemx, int tlellex qiesek ©awhraMatul il-jum, tkun tixba˙ lir-rubinFi skiet il-lejl, int tqajjem lill-g˙annejjaBil-kwiekeb jiddu, fuqek mixg˙ulin.

Dawk li jΩuruk kemm jammiraw sbu˙itekG˙ax int l-isba˙ mill-fjur fost l-isba˙ ©nienX’˙in tiΩfen inti f’wiçç il-ba˙ar rieqedDlonk jiΩfnu mieg˙ek il-Maltin flimkien.

Il-©nus il-kbar jifta˙ru bi qlubitekG˙ax fik jaraw dik l-g˙axqa ta’ ˙olqienFil-gwerer kbar int dejjem ˙ri©t rebbie˙aIssa l-hemm mar, g˙ax irba˙t il-˙elsien.

Issa t-turiΩmu kiber tant hu mΩewwaqEluf ta’ nies ji©u minn kullimkienInti tilqag˙hom g˙ax veru g˙aqlijaU l-klima tieg˙ek b˙ala m’hemm imkien.

Kien ˙sieb meqjus ting˙aqad ma’ l-EwropaDak kien il-˙sieb illi bih kont intba˙tU b’hekk illum mag˙rufa ©ejt mad-dinjaG˙ax fuq saqajk lil ©ismek int sa˙˙a˙t,

Nifta˙ar bik, O ˙elwa art twelidiX’˙in narak tfur, ©o qalbi n˙oss mistrie˙Mill-bog˙od fejn jien, nibg˙atlek miljun bewsaMill-bog˙od fejn jien, nibg˙atlek xewqat sbie˙.

Laurie Armato (Airport West)Frar 2011

Meta t˙ossok tavviçinalejn ix-xifer tal-irdum;meta tasal fi xju˙itek,toqg˙od tg˙odd il-jiem kuljum.

Hawn jibdewlek ftit ilmenti;xi kultant bin-nifs maqtug˙.X˙in l-artrite tibda tg˙akksek,tibda tkun ta’spiss mi©ug˙.

B’daqqa ˙a©a u b’daqqa o˙ra,issib ru˙ek g˙and tabib,dlonk jimliek bil-mediçina, tieg˙u int issir ˙abib.

It-tabib ji©bdek mix-xiferli kont ˙sibt qed javviçinau b’hekk itawwallek ˙ajtek,b’dik l-imbierka mediçina!

Jg˙addu s-snin u t-tkemmix jikberkulma tmur tkompli tixjie˙,xorta wa˙da ma tkunx tafmeta g˙al dejjem ser tistrie˙.

F’daqqa wa˙da bla ma tobsorxi attakk jag˙tik bla ˙sieb,dan iwasslek f’tarf ix-xifertal-irdum li kont ˙lomt bih.

G˙alhekk jaqbel li tillesti u li tibda tipprepara,g˙ax jekk tittraskura ru˙ekhemm min jaqbdek bis-sunnara.

Laurie Armato (Airport West)

Jannar 2011

Lil Malta tif˙ir mill-bog˙odMad-daqq tal-MandulinaÌabra ta’ xog˙ol utifkiriet ta’ Laurie Armato

Ix-xifertal-irdum

Clemente Zammit jg˙arrafna li l-ktejjebMad-daqq ta' Mandulina jista’ jitniΩΩelbiex jinqara permezz tal-kompjuter mil-link: http://online.fliphtml5.com/bxaj/vdfy/

Il-ktejjeb jinstab ukoll fuq Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/clemente.zam-mit.

- Paul Vella (Melbourne)

Clemente Zammit (lemin) f’wa˙da mil-laqg˙at ma’ li kien ikollu ma’ Laurie Armato qabel miet

Have your say/Xi trid tghid?8 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday July 8, 2014

Your letters/ L-ittri tag˙kom ...

Mela Ftehim mhux bejn tnejn isir?Rajna ftit kbir fil-BraΩil!

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,

OAM, JPemail address:

maltesevoice@gmail.com

Anglu Farrugia, Speaker of the MalteseParliament writes from Valletta:Sincere condoliances to all the family of mygood friend Alfred whom I last met and dis-cussed, always in the interest of Malta lastJanuary when we were together with thecommittee of the feast of Saint Nicholas inSydney.

Thanks for everything Fred on behalf ofthe Maltese Parliament.

onl ine magazineonl ine magazine

F. Catania minn Melbourne West jikteb:

Qrajt b’interess it-twe©iba tal-Gvern Maltig˙all-kwestjoni li qamet dwar kemm

suppost g˙andhom ikunu ilhom jg˙ixu l-Aw-stralja l-Maltin qabel ikunu jistg˙u ji©u inti-tolati li jie˙du mag˙hom il-pensjoni Malta.

Ma nistax nifhem lil min qieg˙ed jg˙id lima nbidlux ir-regoli meta bl-abjad u l-iswedhemm li minn 25 sena, l-working life saret35, imma wkoll li jekk ti©i lura lejn l-Aw-

stralja u ddum hawn iktar minn 26 ©img˙ajibdlulek ir-regulament.

Ara x’wiçç tost: meta kif qal jew qalet fl-ittra tag˙ha V. Borg din/dak g˙andhom çit-tadinanza Awstraljana u skont il-ftehimreçiproku jistg˙u jie˙du l-pensjoni fejn iridu,u anke jdumu kemm iridu. Jekk hemm ftehim reçiproku, il-Gvern Malti

kif jista’ jg˙id li m’g˙andux kontroll fuq it-tibdiliet?

Mela ftehim mhux bejn tnejn isir?

T. Mifsud minn Condell Park, NSW, jik-teb:

Imsomma, din it-Tazza tad-Dinjatelg˙atilna g˙al rasna lilna l-kanga-

roos. Ósibna, li sejrin il-BraΩil u se n˙all-tuha mal-kbar. Kien hemm ˙afna fta˙irΩejjed u fl-a˙˙ar Spanja wrewna kemmg˙adna lura fejn tid˙ol il-log˙ba tal-fut-bol dinjija.

Min-na˙a l-o˙ra veru li mal-Olanda uç-Çili` morna tajjeb, iΩda fil-futbol tirba˙trid. Li tmur tajjeb biss ma tasal imkien.Issa nistennew l-Asian Cup u hawn al-lura Ωgur g˙andna mmorru tajjeb g˙ax senilag˙bu “home”.

Aktar mistoqsijiet dwar il-working life

With Freddie’s death NSW MalteseCommunity Suffers loss of leadership Victor Vella is from Baulkham Hills NSW

With the passing of Alfred Fenech, or ‘ Fred’ as he was more commonly known, theMaltese Community of NSW has suffered a significant loss, a loss of leadership. Inthe last fifty years, even more so with the adoption of a Multicultural Policy in Australia. Alfred, through the different positions of president and long-term secretary of the Mal-

tese Community Council of NSW did his utmost to prepare and present the Maltesecommunity as a culture, which would and could make a contribution to the Multiculturalweb in a nation in the making.

Alfred offered a strong but humble sense of leadership for the Maltese Community.He was a source of strength and support for the many clubs and committees spread overthe distances of the state of NSW. He used to take it as his duty to be present for festas,for elections and for committee meetings, especially when clouds of divisions werebrewing.

He was the pacifier and the unifier and his presence became a significant factor thatmanaged to present the Maltese Community as a force through which the Maltese andthe Australian communities could reap benefits. I remember so well the meeting wehad many years ago with the then Manager of SBS (Mr. Gyngell) in its infancy howstrongly he presented the case for a better allocation of time on SBS television for Mal-tese content.

What I admired mostly was his style: listening to and weighing suggestions and pro-posals, without taking over the discussion or the whole meeting. That was the majorfactor in his success of keeping together a divided community.

He was more a ‘behind the scenes’ force, who avoided publicity and kept away fromcameras and headlines. He had no hidden or personal agendas: his sole aim was to assistthe Maltese community enjoy the fruits of migration. Not an easy task when the processof migration itself was considered a minus rather than a plus. Through his efforts of keeping up to date with what was on offer from the Australian

government side to the migrant communities, through his establishing welfare groups,and Maltese language classes in the Metropolitan area of Sydney, and the network ofcommunity radio stations, Alfred was a leader who will be missed. He earned this po-sition, by his hard work and self-sacrifice, not to mention his personal expense, and hisability of seeing the job to be done, and mustering his energy to do it.

Letters for publication in The Voice ei-ther in Maltese or English should be em-ailed to: maltesevoice@gmail.com.

Thank you Alfred!

Alfred Fenech.... an Eulogy

Tuesday July 8, 2014 The Voice of the Maltese 9

Carmen Grima from Sydney writes:

Thank you again for such a fine magazine, it is excellent and whilst Iread Maltese very slowly I love the English articles and am also im-

proving my Maltese reading! I love the fact that the magazine covers so much territory and seems to

be so unbiased. Keep up the great work. Another friend of mine wouldlike to be on the mailing list please. Thank you again and congratulationsto you and Joseph for such a fine publication.

John Cachia from New-port, Melbourne, writes:

The spin never ceases.John Howard blindly fol-lowed George W. Bushinto the Iraq invasion onthe pretence that SaddamHussein had weapons ofmass destruction andnow Julie Bishop wantsus to believe that she andBarak Obama are deeplyconcerned about thethreat of some Australianjihadists travelling to

these war zones and pos-ing danger on their returnhome.

Remember all the TVadverts telling us to bealert but not alarmed.They scared the livingdaylight out of us. I amsure that Abbott andBishop know who thehandful of Australianpeople travelling to Syriaor Iraq are, so please donot give us this as anotherexcuse to send our chil-dren to Iraq.

P.Callus from Blakstown, NSW writes:

Thank you for your extensive reportson the June 7 commemoration at

Civic Park Pendle Hill. I was presentwith my Australian wife and was some-what disappointed that the main speechwas delivered in Maltese especiallywhen so many dignitaries were present.

Nowadays these functions are also at-tracting many non-Maltese. Perhaps theorganisers can consider this fact for thefuture.Editors’ Note: Point taken. Although themain speech was in Maltese however allintroductions were in the English lan-guage as well as the speech by the Pres-ident of Malta. The well-presentedprinted programme outlining the 1919historical event was also in English.

Have your say/Xi trid tghid? /2

The Voice is helping me to improve my Maltese reading

Suggestion to organisers of

June 7 activityIf you want to join this

group of friends you can do so by contacting us at:

This space is being sponsored

by the NSW friends

of “The Voice”

The war in Iraq- stop the spin

Manwel Muscat jikteb minn South Wharf, Victoria:

G˙alkemm m’inix tal-iskola, imma kapaçi nikteb u naqra, kemm bl-IngliΩu wkoll bil-Malti. Jien ilni l-Awstralja mill-1951. Kont ©ejt biex

nag˙mel futur g˙alija g˙ax f’Malta kont ©ej minn familja kbira, b’missierijbati biex itina l-iskola u l-g˙ajxien deçenti li wie˙ed jixtieq g˙al uliedu.

Jien ©ejt l-Awstralja ta’ 17-il sena u issa die˙el g˙all-81. Meta kont id-deçidejt li nemigra g˙amilt dan bil-barka tal-©enituri, imma qatt ma mbut-tawni g˙ax missieri kien jg˙id u jemmen li l-Bambin ma j˙alli lil ˙add imutbil-©u˙. Kien jistinka biex jag˙mlilna tfulitna kuntenta. Imma dejjem xtaqli jara lilna t-tfal nikbru b’inqas tbatija milli kiber hu.

Meta ©ejt l-Awstralja batejt mhux ftit imma wara li qrajt l-artiklu ta’ PaulVella fl-a˙˙ar The Voice dwar dak li g˙adda minnu Joe Galea tani l-biki.Naf o˙rajn li messithom listss xorti tieg˙u. Nizzihajr lil Alla li mqabbel ma’dawn jien kont ixxurtjat. Hawn nixtieq nuri solidarjeta’ ma’ Joe. Ng˙idlujag˙mel kura©© u nawguralu li jikseb dak li jist˙oqqlu.Stejjer b˙al dawn iΩidu jag˙mlu lil dan il-magazine mill-aktar interessanti

u flimkien mal-a˙barijiet minn Malta u artikli o˙ra jwassalna nag˙tikom˙ajr li qed to˙or©uh. Çertament li bih imlejtulna l-vojt li n˙oloq bil-waqfiental-Maltese Herald.

maltesevoice@gmail.comfor more information.

If you really want TheVoice to grow and pros-per join our group and

start similar groupselsewhere.

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Solidali ma’ Joe Galea

Josepine Zammit Cordina from Óamrun

Please allow me to express my sincere sorrow and thatof Harry on the passing away of our dear friend Alfred

Fenech. We were aware that he was not in good health buteven so his demise was a great shock.

As you may be aware during my long attachment to theMaltese Community in Australia I had various meetingswith Alfred, the last being in 2010 when he attended theConvention of the Maltese Living Abroad.

Our condolences on this sad and great loss to Alfred'sfamily.

Condolences to Alfred’s family

Most of you will be aware of a recent significant developmentin the Middle East. The Sunniorganisation Islamic State of

Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) has just proclaimed a caliphate in terri-tory captured in Shia-leaning Syria and Iraq. Moreso, it has pro-claimed the chief of the organisation, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, as thenew caliph, the leader for Muslims everywhere1.A caliph is the religious and political leader for an Islamic state(caliphate). He or she governs guided by Sharia (law based on prin-ciples in the Quran and the example set by the prophet Mo-hammed), and the Constitution of Medina (a peace agreementsigned in Medina, part of modern Saudi Arabia, between theprophet Mohammed and other groups (including Christians), es-tablishing a single nation - the Ummah, with rights and obligationsof all communities spelt out).

Malta has had two main brushes with a caliphate in its history.The first came when the islands were ruled from 870AD by theAghlabids during the Abbasid caliphate period, and later by the Fa-timid caliphate, with Arab rule lasting until the Norman invasionin 1091. Then during the time of the Knights of St John came a number of

attacks by naval commanders including Dragut from the TurkishOttoman caliphates, culminating in the Great Siege of Malta in1565, which to Malta's pride and Christian Europe's relief resultedin a comprehensive victory to the locals.The main point of the caliphate, is that the temporal rule of the state

is based on principles established by Islam. This approach to the fab-ric of the state is not unique to Islam. In Europe, the Church was thestate in much of what is today Italy, even up to very recently. Indeed, the Maltese constitution still states that Roman Catholicism

is the religion of the state, that its religious authorities have the rightto teach about which principles are right and wrong, and that RomanCatholic religious teaching at school is compulsory2.

It is however clear even in Malta that principles of secular liber-alism are becoming widely accepted by the populace. For example,it would have been unthinkable at the time the Maltese constitutionwas drafted that Malta would eventually legislate to allow divorceand renegotiate the precedence of the Church courts over civilcourts on marriage matters3.

The constitution of Australia goes further, preventing the Com-monwealth from passing a law establishing a religion, or imposingreligious observance, prohibiting the free exercise of any religionor requiring a religious test as a qualification for a Commonwealthoffice4.

Turkey was the country that had abolished the last caliphate thatof the Ottomans, in 1924, and since then has been a secular state.However as a general rule, countries with Islam as the main prac-ticed religion have a higher proportion than in the West of citizensthat call for political rule to be based on the (Islamic) religion.

The Arab Spring has seen a tension between those who crave formore and those who crave for less religion entrenched in the state.This may be seen very clearly in places such as Egypt.In the post-Christian Western tradition I come from, I think it may

be said that people have realised that while it is fine to be inspiredby the principles of their erstwhile religion when constructing thefabric of the state, it is wise to separate the religious institution fromthe state to retain social harmony. Common ground can be more easily found in universally accept-

able, secular, values and declarations such as the UN UniversalDeclaration on Human Rights, adopted in 19485. It remains to beseen whether other nations coming from a Muslim tradition willeventually come to the same conclusion.

Óafna minnkom aktarx jafu bi Ωvilupp sinjifikanti fil-LvantNofsani. L-organizzazzjoni Sunni msej˙a l-Istat Islamiku tal-

Iraq u l-Lvant (ISIS) g˙adu kif iddikjara kalifat f'territorju maqbudfis-Sirja u l-Iraq li jxaqilbu lejn ix-Xiti. Iktar minn hekk, ipprokla-mat ukoll il-mexxej tal-organizzazzjoni, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,b˙ala l-kalif, il-mexxej g˙all-Musulmani kullimkien1.Kalif huwa mexxej reli©juΩ u politiku g˙al stat IΩlamiku (kali-

fat). Hu/hi jiggverna/tiggverna immexxi/ja mix-Xarija (li©ibbaΩata fuq il-prinçipji tal-Koran u l-eΩempju tal-profetaMu˙ammed) u l-Kostituzzjoni ta' Medina (ftehim ta' paçi iffir-mat fil-Medina, parti mis-Sawdi Arabja tal-lum, bejn il-profetaMu˙ammed u gruppi o˙ra (b˙all-Insara), li stabbiliet nazzjonwie˙ed - l-Umma˙, bid-drittijiet u d-dmirijiet tal-komunitajietkollha mniΩΩlin).

Malta messet ma' kalifat darbtejn fl-istorja tag˙ha. L-ewweldarba kien meta l-gΩejjer kienu mmexxija mis-sena 870 w.K.mill-Aglabidi fil-perjodu tal-kalifat Abbasid, u wara mill-kalifatFatimid, bil-˙akma G˙arbija tintemm mal-invaΩjoni Normannatal-1091 w.K.

Imbag˙ad fi Ωmien il-Kavallieri ta' San Ìwann kien hemmg˙add ta' attakki minn kmandanti navali inkluΩ Dragut mill-kali-fat Ottoman tat-Torok, li la˙qu l-quççata tag˙hom fl-Assedju l-Kbir ta' Malta tal-1565 w.K., li l-Maltin kburin li wassal g˙alreb˙a s˙i˙a g˙alihom u ser˙an il-mo˙˙ g˙all-Ewropa Nisranija.

Il-punt ewlieni tal-kalifat hu li it-tmexxija sekulari tal-istathuwa bbaΩat fuq prinçipji stabbiliti tal-Islam. Dan il-mudell ta'tmexxija mhux uniku g˙all-Islam. Fl-Ewropa, il-Knisja kienetl-istat f'parti kbira ta' dak li llum hija l-Italja, anke se mhux ˙afnailu. Tassew, il-kostituzzjoni Malti anke llum tg˙id li il-KattoliçiΩmu

Ruman huwa r-reli©jon tal-istat, li l-awtoritajiet reli©juΩi g˙and-hom id-dritt li jg˙allmu liemu prinçipji huma tajba u ˙Ωiena, u litag˙lim reli©juΩ Kattoliku Ruman irid isir fl-iskejjel2.

Madankollu huwa çar anke f'Malta li l-prinçipji sekulari lib-erali qed ji©u aççettati mill-poplu. Per eΩempju, ˙add ma kienjobsor meta l-kostituzzjoni Maltija kienet qed tinkiteb li Maltaeventwalment kienet tg˙addi li©i li tippermetti d-divorzju u tir-rinegozja l-preçedenza tal-qrati tal-Knisja fuq dawk tal-istat fuqkwistjonijiet ta' Ωwie©3.Il-kostituzzjoni tal-Awstralja tmur iktar minn hekk, ma t˙allix lill-Commonwealth li tg˙addi li©i li tistabbilixxi xi reli©jon, li timponili reli©jon, li ma t˙allix li ssegwi xi reli©jon jew li jkun hemm xitest reli©juz b˙ala kwalifika g˙al impjieg tal-Commonwealth4.

It-Turkija kien il-pajjiΩ li abolixxa l-a˙˙ar kalifat, dak tal-Ot-tomani, fl-1924, u minn dakinhar kien stat sekulari. Però b˙alaregola ©enerali, pajjiΩi predomantament Islamiçi g˙andhom pro-porzjoni iktar g˙oli minn pajjiΩi tal-Punent ta' çittadini li jridutmexxija politika li tkun ibbaΩata fuq ir-reli©jon (Islamika).

Ir-Rebbieg˙a G˙arbija kixfet tensjoni bejn dawk li jridu iktaru dawk li jridu inqas reli©jon imda˙˙al fl-istat. Dan jidher çarf'postijiet b˙all-E©ittu.

Fit-tradizzjoni post-Kristjana tal-Punent li jien ni©i minnu,na˙seb li jista' jing˙ad li n-nies t'hemm fehmu li g˙alkemmhuwa tajjeb li tkun ispirat mill-prinçipji tar-reli©jon li kellhommeta tibni l-qafas tal-istat, ikun g˙aqli li tifred l-istituzzjonireli©juΩa mill-istat sabiex tinΩamm l-armonija soçjali. Huwa iktar façli li ssib qbil universali f'valuri u dikjarazzjoni-

jiet sekulari b˙al dawk tad-Dikjarazzjoni Universali fuq id-Drit-tijiet tal-Bniedem tan-Nazzjonijiet Uniti, li ©iet adottatafl-19485. Wie˙ed irid jara jekk pajjiΩi o˙ra li ji©u minn tradiz-zjoni Musulmana eventwalment jaslux g˙all-istess konkluΩjoni.

10 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday July 8, 2014

Religion and State Ir-Reliġjon u l-Istat

The two-language format of this series by IVAN CAUCHI is an experiment to aid our readers. We'd welcome feedbackon whether it is seen to be interesting and/or useful. If not, please let us know which language would be preferred.Ivan currently teaches Maltese with the Maltese Language School of NSW, on Wednesday evenings at Seven Hills.

Perspective Perspettiva

[1] http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/con-tent/2014/s4035818.htm, retrieved 1/7/2014[2] Constitution of Malta, Article 2

[3]http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140222/local/Church-State-separation-is-un-questionable-.507768, retrieved 1/7/2014

[4] Constitution of Australia, Chapter 5, Section 115[5] http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/indexshtml, retrieved 1/7/2014.

Tuesday July 8, 2014 The Voice of the Maltese 11

Malta’s much-loved tenor JosephCalleja, on July 18 will be per-

forming live at his now annualsummer concert on the Granaries inFloriana, in a show that would alsobe shown on SBS TV in Australiaamong other TV stations worldwide.This year 11-year-old singer Feder-ica Falzon, Malta’s representative inthis year’s Junior Eurovision songcontest to be hosted in Malta willjoin him on stage.

At a news conference at which heannounced what he described as“one of the best line-ups” he hasever had at such concerts, Josephmentioned a starry range of fellowmusicians that include Bryn Terfelfrom the opera world.

The Welsh bass-baritone reuniteswith Joseph after the pair’s recentlyacclaimed Faust at the Royal OperaHouse in London.

Italian pop star and songwriterClaudio Baglioni will also make areturn to the stage with the Maltesetenor after having sung with him inthe 2010 summer concert. The castalso includes multi-million record-ing artist and Welsh X Factor win-ner Leona Lewis.

Paul Bateman willbe directing the Na-tional Orchestra.

Joseph Calleja saidthat young FedericaFalzon would make acameo, singing oneor two numbers atthe concert.

The Maltese tenorsaid he was thrilled tohave managed toshow this concert to aworldwide audience,excluding the US,and believes that thepotential for this yearwould be the largest.He did not excludethe fact that it couldalso end up on DVD.

Joseph Calleja spe-nds most of the year touring theworld and singing in the most im-portant operatic venues. However,this annual concert in Malta is hisfavourite as Malta is his home, andhis country. “I am truly in love withthis island, with the Maltese peopleand I want to give the Maltese aunique show.”

He explained that an event such asthe one he would be giving it prettymuch extinct around the world, be-cause nowadays, large countries,like Italy, Germany, France the US,these are one-offs, and they don’thave such events in their calendarlike in Malta, where for the ninthyear running this type of event.

“That we in Malta manage to dothis, is pretty much extraordinarythat we manage to attract the talentof Leona Lewis, Brian Telfel, Clau-dio Baglioni; that we also manageto give the standing area (at theevent) completely free to anyonewho wants to attend, is unique.”

At the news conference JosephCalleja also appealed to the govern-ment to invest more in culture asMalta has the opportunity and theability to hold such events not at aloss but also to make them evenprofitable from the financial sidewith the right planning.

He went on to say that Malta’s in-frastructure, size, the weather is al-ready geared for tourism, and not toexploit it to the full would indeed bea pity, because cultural tourismdoes not leave any bad side effects. There is no peripheral damage and

as studies have shown, culturaltourism leaves the most profit forthe country with least impact of in-frastructure. “It’s just a matter of co-ordinating it,” Joseph Caleja said.Standing-room locations to Joseph

Calleja’s concert, which has alsobeen described as one of the out-standing shows on the island thatattracts tourists from all over, arefree. Seated tickets are also avail-able. They can be purchased by at-tendees wishing to watch theconcert comfortably seated.

Tenor Joseph Calleja’s July Malta concert on SBSTV

A look-back: Maltese tenor Joseph Callejaduring last year’s successful concert

A crowd of about 50,000 filled the gran-aries in Floriana for the annual – and free-of-charge – Isle of MTV concert, Malta'sbiggest music event, hosted by the MaltaTourism Authority and organised for theninth year on June 26th. It was filmed bythe Music TV channel, MTV, to be trans-mitted on its channel on August 1.Nicole Scherzinger, Dizzee Rascal,Kiesza, Enrique Iglesias and DJ Hardwellwere the main foreign guests, with Igle-sias performing in Malta for the thirdtime. Spanish-born singer Iglesias whohad also appeared in the 2007 and 2008editions of the concert also performedin a duet with F1 driver Lewis Hamil-ton's girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger,

who had previously performed at the con-cert while she was still a member of thePussycat Dolls.An innovation to the event this year was

the inclusion of a local act, chosen onlineby popular vote. Funk Initiative, head-lined by former Eurovision hopeful Gi-anluca Bezzina, got to be the openingband at this year’s concert. Among the audience were a large num-

ber of youngtourists whomake the trip toMalta each yearfor the sole pur-pose of attend-ing the concert.Also presentwas a good-sized contingentof Maltese-Aus-tralian youths

who told TheVoice they made itsure that their hol-idays in Malta co-incided with thisevent, and are nowalso eagerly await-ing Joseph Cal-leja’s concert onJuly 18.

IOMTV again attracts the crowds

Maltese wherever they live celebrate oneof the oldest feasts, known as l-iMnarja,in Maltese religious lore, the feast of StPeter and St Paul. It falls on June 29. InNSW we know of at least two such cele-brations one at the La Valette Social Cen-tre and the other at Plumpton.

L-iMnarja at La Valette was a great day,beginning with mass in the meeting hall.We were treated by live music from theOur Lady Queen of Peace Greystaneschurch band and also a round of għana.Għana is Maltese folk music, where themusicians sing to each other, like a musi-

cal conversation! We had two men playingguitar, and two men singing to each otherin this style.The Maltese-Australians' Youth Commit-

tee (MAYC) ran a stall promoting their of-ficial launch on July 6 at this very Centre.Alongside our stall were replicas of Mal-tese children's toys, heraldry of Maltesesurnames, farm animals and fresh producedisplays

MAYC also had the opportunity to tellthe wider Maltesecommunity of ouraspirations, and

had an interview with DJ Uncle Sam. Tolisten to the interview visit www.uncle-samdj.com.

Members of our youth group had thebeautiful opportunity to listen to the sto-ries of some of the nanniet (grandfathersand grandmothers) of our community,sharing how things have changed in ourcurrent generation, and how they used tokeep themselves entertained when theywere children.

It was a precious time of story telling,amidst selling raffle tickets and chocolatesto support our upcoming trip to representthe youths of the Maltese community inValetta in 2015!Thank you for everyone's support!

12 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday July 8, 2014

MALTESE FOOD in BRISBANEPastizzi, Ravjul, Kunserva & Kinnie etc.

Call Joyce 0407 398001

info@maltesefoods.com.au

www.maltesefoods.com.au

L-iMnarja at La Valette CentreBy Shannon Said

Members of the MAYC. (From left): Kylie Pollard,Charmaine Cassar, Carol Camilleri and Shannon Said

Besides being the feast of St Peter and St Paul, the Maltse Mnarja folk festival isalso associated with agriculture. As the photos show, the commemoration at La

Valette Centre did just that

Lippmann Memorial Lecture at theWheeler Centre. She called on the Aus-tralian Government to close offshore pro-cessing centres in Nauru and ManusIsland, and focus on what she calls the“real menace” – climate change.“Throwing more money at ‘border patrols’

or ‘border protection’ will not save us froma changing climate,” Ms Naidoo said.

“When we only talk about our world interms of borders, and countries, and na-tionalities, cultures and religions, all we’redoing is creating damaging divisions whenwe should be strengthening our shared hu-manity.”

Ms Naidoo said Australia’s treatment ofrefugees and asylum seekers has taken usinto our darkest days since the White Aus-tralia Policy: “The Australia I see reflectedin the media, on the floor of our NationalParliament, on the world-stage looks moreforeign to me every day.”

Ms Naidoo addressed the fourth annualWalter Lippmann Memorial Lecture, nam-ed in honour of the Ethnic Communities’Council of Victoria’s (ECCV) foundingchairperson.Lippmann had fled Nazi Germany before

World War Two andwas horrified by thedestruction of theHolocaust and the suf-fering of his fellowJews and other vic-tims, ECCV chairper-son Eddie Micallefsaid.“Seeking to improve

the representation ofmigrants in Australianworkplace, welfareand policy discus-sions, Lippmann help-ed establish theECCV as a forum todevelop lobbying andpolicymaking skillsand was a significantcontributor to the development of Aus-tralia’s multicultural policy overall.”

In 2010, the Victorian Government pro-vided support to establish the Walter Lipp-mann Memorial Lectures as a fittingtribute to his legacy. “As well as recognising the contribution

of a remarkable man, these lectures pro-

vide a new generation of visionary indi-viduals with an opportunity to share theirknowledge and thoughts on multicultural-ism to a wide audience,” Mr Micallef said.

The 2014 Walter Lippmann MemorialLecture is supported by The Pratt Founda-tion and presented in partnership with theWheeler Centre.

Mandatory detention is an inhumane and expensivepolicy that must end, said one of Australia’s most

respected and popular broadcasters, Journalist IndiraNaidoo as she recently addressed the annual Walter

Tuesday July 8, 2014 The Voice of the Maltese 13

Turn back climate change- Not the boats

Principles of MulticulturalismDiverse and accepting

The people of Australia are of different linguistics, religious,racial and ethnic background who, either individually or in com-munity with other members of their respective groups, are freeto profess, practice and maintain their own linguistic, religious,racial and ethnic heritage.

Shared values

All individuals, irrespective of their linguistic, religious, racialand ethnic backgrounds, are to demonstrate a unified commit-ment to Australia, its interests and future and should recognisethe importance of shared values governed by the rule of lawwithin a democratic framework.

Participate and contributeThe entire individuals should have the

greatest possible opportunity to contributeto, and participate in all aspects of publiclife in which they may legally participate. Respect diversity

All individuals and institutions should re-spect and make provision for the culture,language and religion of others within anAustralian legal and institutional frame-work where English is the common lan-guage. Access

All individuals should have the greatestpossible opportunity to make use of, andparticipate in, relevant activities and pro-grammes provided or administered by theGovernment. Diversity an asset

All institutions should recognise the lin-guistic and the cultural aspect in the popu-lation as a valuable resource and promotethis resource to maximize the developmentof the State.(Principles of Multiculturalism as appliedto the State of NSW).

Journalist Indira Naidoo

The government has just published a billon party financing with Justice Minister

Dr Owen Bonnici saying that according tothe law that will come into effect as fromJanuary 1 next year, by law, political partiesmust regulate themselves.

The bill is to be moved in Parliament inthe coming days and the government wouldlike to have it debated before thesummer recess.The parties willthen have to present their first ac-counts in 2016.Announcing this historic step, the

minister said, “It paves the way tomore honest and transparent poli-tics.” He added that this bill, to-gether with the removal of the timebarring from cases of corruptioninvolving politicians and the im-plementation of the Whistleblow-ers’ Act were all presented duringthe government’s first legislature.The minister said: “With this bill

we are regulating a minimum levelof standard that we believe is ac-ceptale for Malta and according tointernational practices.”

According to the bill that is based on pro-posals made by Law Commissioner FrancoDebono and refined through the consulta-tion process, a Member of Parliament couldrisk his or her seat if found to have madefalse declarations on the spending of hiselectoral campaign.

Law Commissioner Franco Debono said

that donations to political parties were im-portant, as it was these donors who keep po-litical parties alive, but he added that it isimportant that these are regulated, even fortransparency’s sake, in a democratic coun-try. He said, “It is a historic step because ittook us years to get here.” The capping of donations to political par-

ties has been reduced from €50,000to €40,000. Anonymous donationswould be drastically reduced from€500 to €50.Donations between €50 and €500

will be treated as confidential do-nations while parties will beobliged to give information on do-nations between €500 and €7,000.Donations between €7,000 and€40,000 must be publicly declared.

During this week Malta and China nextweek will be signing a "groundbreaking"memorandum of understanding that wouldserve as the basis of a medium-term fiveyears of cooperation from 2014 to 2019plan between the two countries.

Making the announcement at a businessbreakfast organised by The Malta BusinessWeekly on ‘Malta’s Thriving Economy’,Prime Minister Joseph Muscat termed theplan as a blueprint for multifaceted coop-eration between the two countries that willlead to a number of initiatives over thecoming five years. He said He said theagreement has been in the making for thelast year and would include investmentsand strategic partnership.

The agreement will encapsulate varioussectors including energy, health, infrastruc-ture, air services, tourism, sport and others.

Dr Muscat also spoke about the Chinesedecision-makers’ fascination about the Mal-tese people. "Having met a number of Chi-nese decision-makers, I can tell you thateven they are impressed with our people.There is potential for strong collaboration."

He also announced that government issetting up a joint venture with private in-dustry to promote Maltese exports andhelp Maltese businesses obtain a presenceat international events, conduct research,assist in trade finance and create and de-velop new platforms on which to compete

internationally.It would also as-

sist in the devel-opment of tradeclusters, under-take research onnew market op-portunities, assistin the facilitationof Trade Finance,and create anddevelop new plat-forms to aid inthe internationali-sation of Maltesebusinesses.

The PM citedthree factors thatbode well for Ma-lta and its econ-omy, namely, itshuman capital,which he descri-bed as "definitelyabove average",its geo-strategic position, "at home in bothEurope and Africa", and its legislative fa-cility.He further pointed out the importance of

Government investment not only withMalta’s natural partner Europe, but alsowith countries in other continents by beingpro-active. He said Malta is in a position

not to follow trends but rather to lead theway to attract high-quality investment.The PM also referred to the Individual In-

vestment Programme (IIP) – an initiativeahead of its time for a new Malta – whichis proving very successful not only for cit-izenship purposes but also by individuals“falling in love with our island.”

14 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday July 8, 2014

Party financing bill officially launched

Malta to sign important MoM withChina involving number of sectors

Roundup of News About Malta

Justice Minister Dr Owen Bonnici(left) addressing the press duringthe launching of the political par-ties financing bill intended for par-tis to regulate themselves. Right isLaw Commissioner Dr FrancoDebono

Prime Minister JosephMuscat addressing thebusiness breakfast

For the first time, a brand new cruiseship is being based in Valletta as its

homeport. This is the TUI Cruises’ MeinSchiff 3 that is not only offering its guestsmany facilities and adventures, but alsogiving them the experience of a variety ofroutes into the West Mediterranean andalong the Adriatic coast.

Addressing a press conference on boardthe Mein Schiff 3, Minister for TourismDR. Edward Zammt Lewis said that cruiseliners home porting in Malta such as thisgives added value to the tourism industry’.He said that the number of cruise passen-

gers and cruise liners visiting Malta in2014 is on the increase. Cruise passengersin the first three months of 2014 increasedby 68% compared to same period in 2013,an increase of 15,490 passengers and 10extra calls by cruise liners.

This summer will be the fourth year of aTUI cruises home porting operation inMalta, which in itself is regarded as a strongtestament of the excellent business relation-ship that TUI Cruises has built with Maltesepartners, and confirms the positive experi-

ence and professional service the TUI MeinSchiff management, crew and their clientsare enjoying in Malta.

The Mein Schiff 3, now registered inMalta, was completed and delivered fromSTX Finland Turku shipyard on May 22this year. It cost €360 million to buildThe minister said that Malta’s cruise sec-

tor has been evolving from one that wasexclusively port-of-call, to one which nowincludes home porting. It would bringmany benefits for the Maltese tourism in-dustry. Cruise passengers who fly to Maltato start a cruise on a home-porting vesselincrease passenger flow at Malta’s airportand assist airlines in operating with higherseat factors, thus contributing to the long-term sustainability of the various airlineroutes into Malta.

He added that cruises are an importantcomponent of Malta’s tourism strategy.

TUI Cruises are on course to have oper-ated cruises for around 250,000 passen-gers out of Valletta between 2011 and theend of the current season.

Tuesday July 8, 2014 The Voice of the Maltese 15

Roundup of News About Malta

This is a part-time job opportunity for the right person to lead andco-ordinate the operations of the Maltese Language School whichruns classes in Maltese as a second language, in Western Sydney.

The applicant will be required to demonstrate organisational andleadership skills, excellent written and verbal communication skillsin English and Maltese, ability to use Word and Excel, drivers licenceand own car. The position involves administration duties that can be performed

from home in addition to weekly on-site visits where the classes areheld. For more information and to apply please contact:Lawrence DimechMaltese Community Council of NSW,lawdimech@optusnet.com.au or call 02 96319295

St John’s Co-Cathedral in the Maltescapital, Valletta, has been awarded

the 2014 Certificate of Excellence - Cel-ebrating Hospitality Excellence aroundthe World, by TripAdvisor.To qualify for this prestigious interna-

tionally acclaimed award a site mustmaintain an overall rating of four orhigher out of a possible five points andis based on the quality of reviews andopinions earned on TripAdvisor overthe past year. This award signifies that St John’s Co-

Cathedral has consistently earned out-standing feedback as an attraction ofexcellence from TripAdvisor travellersthat visited it.

Winners of the Certificate of Excel-lence are located all over the world andrepresent the upper echelon of sites orbusinesses listed on their website. Onlythe top 10 percent receive the presti-gious award.

Minister for Tourism Dr Edward Zam-mit Lewis (left) addressing the press onboard the new cruise liner MeinSchiff 3New Cruise liner bases

Malta as its home port

Language School Coordinator/PrincipalSituation Vacant:

Compared to the corresponding monthslast year, total tourist arrivals and

nights spent in collective accommodationestablishments in April and May this yearhas increased significantly. In April touristarrivals increased by 12.9, and nights by10.0 %. in May by 7% and 6.2%In April, total arrivals numbered 143,637,

while total nights spent amounted to752,685. In May, arrivals to the MalteseIslands reached 128,633. Total nightsspent went were calculated at 690,832.All hotel categories recorded increases in

total nights spent, with the largest share ofguest nights reported in 4-star hotels, ac-counting for 348,166 nights, or 46.3 percent of the total.

Significant increase in Touristarrivals in April and May ‘14

TripAdvisor awards St John’s Co-Cathedral Certificate of Excellence

G˙amilna Ωmien twil kultant naqraw dwar il-qtil ta’ qtates likienu jinstabu msalllba fil-Mosta.

Wara ˙afna st˙arri© il-Pulizija rnexxielhassib li min kien qed joqtol lil dawn il-qtates,iΩda meta dan finalment ittella’ l-Qorti danma nstabx kriminalment ˙ati tar-reatt. Il-psik-jarti li eΩaminaw lil Nicholas Grech, li ©ieakkuΩat bil-qtil ta’ dawn il-qtates sostnew limeta g˙amel dawn ir-reati hu kien fi stat ta’©enn.

Madankollu l-Ma©istrat ordna li Grech,en©inier ta’ 37 sena li ja˙dem mal-korporaz-zjoni Enemalta, xorta g˙andu jinΩamm fl-isp-tar mentali Monte Carmeli biex jing˙atal-kura me˙tie©a. Huwa se jibqa' rikoveratf'dan l-isptar sakemm ikun hemm me˙tie©.

Huwa ©ie mixli li qatel g˙add ta’ qtatesf’perijodu bejn Novembru tal-2011 u Frar tal-2014 u li g˙al g˙add ta’ xhur ˙alla lil ˙afnanies, l-aktar fil-Mosta issummati.

16 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday July 8, 2014

A˙barijiettajbaL-anqas rata ta’ qg˙ad

Xag˙ra Assoc of NSW Inc.Presents: Tal-Vitorja Dinner Dance

Let's celebrate this National Feast together

Guest of Honour: Fr. Joseph Curmi

When: Saturday, September 20Where: Balmoral Function Centre, 47-49 Balmoral Rd, BlackownTime: 6:30pm onwardsFood: 5-Course Meal, beer, wine & soft drinks, tea/coffeeEntertainment: Roc-A-Tac & Giuseppe Verdi Brass Band Contact: Josephine/Ray 9627 4182 or 0439 974 182; M'Anne Theuma 9627 4641

Óafna drabi jing˙ad li l-media tg˙ix permezz ta’a˙barijiet ˙Ωiena. Bill Gates jg˙id: “... bad newsis a headline, and gradual improvement is not.”G˙alhekk nixtieq nibda bi ftit a˙barijiet qosrali huma tassew posittivi.. a˙barijiet tajba.

Bla dubju hija a˙bar tajbag˙all-Malta u l-Maltin li

skont l-istatistika uffiçjalidwar il-qg˙ad ippubblikatamill-Eurostat, ir-rata tal-qg˙ad f'Malta g˙ax-xahar ta'Mejju kienet ta' 5.7%.

Din hija t-tielet l-inqas ratatal-qg˙ad irre©istrata fl-Un-joni Ewropea. Anqas minnMalta hemm biss l-Awstrijau l-Ìermanja.

PajjiΩna g˙andu rata tal-qg˙ad li hija anqas min-nofsta' dik irre©istrata fiΩ-ΩonaEwro.

Din ir-rata hija l-inqaswa˙da li ©iet irre©istrata f'-Malta mindu l-Eurostat bdietti©bor l-istatistika tag˙hadwar pajjiΩna f'Jannar tas-sena 2000.

U barra tnaqqis fir-rata tal-

qg˙ad, qed jonqos ukoll l-g˙add ta’ nies qieg˙da. Skontl- istatistika tal-Korporaz-zjoni g˙ax-Xog˙ol u t-Ta˙ri©l-g˙add ta’ nies fuq ir-re©istru tal-qg˙ad f’Mejjunaqas g˙al 7,141. Dan metasa Jannar l-ammont ta’ niesfuq ir-re©istru kien ta’ 7,789.F’erba’ xhur kellna tnaqqista’ kwaΩi 650 persunajirre©istraw, jew tnaqqis ta’aktar minn ˙amsa kuljum.

JiΩdiedu t-turisti f’MaltaSkont l-a˙˙ar statistika ma˙ru©a mill-Organizzazzjoni Nazzjonali tal-iS-

tatistika, (NSO) meta wie˙ed iqabbel April li g˙adda ma dak tal-2013,isib li kien hemm Ωieda kemm fl-g˙add ta’ Turisti li waslu Malta – Ωieda ta’12.9%, kif ukoll tal-iljieli li dawn it-turisti qattg˙u f’Malta – Ωieda ta’ 10%.

Matul April 2014 waslu f’Malta143, 637 turist li g˙amlu fostna752,685 lejl. Il-lukandi kollha rrap-

purtaw Ωieda fit-turisti, g˙alkemml-aktar li marru tajjeb kienu dawkta’ erba’ stilel.

Qabel ©ejna biex nippubblikawThe Voice, in˙ar©et statistika o˙ra,dik g˙al Mejju, fejn ukoll kienhemm Ωieda fl-g˙add ta’ turisit,ji©ifieri wa˙da ta’ 7% f’wasliet –jew 128,633 - u 6.2% - jew690,832 - f’dawk li huma ljieli.

Interessanti l-fatt li f’Awissu tas-sena l-o˙ra f’Malta kien hawn aktarminn 200,000 turist, ji©ifieri f’dakix-xahar il-popluazzjoni ta’ Maltakibret bin-nofs, ghal aktar minn600,000.

Taqra çertu a˙barijiet iwassalbiex tibda temmen çertu

g˙idut. Óafna jg˙idulek li g˙addta’ nisa mhux kuntenti b’-sidirhom... min i˙oss li sidruhuwa kbir u jixtiequ jΩg˙ar, umin isostni li jkun aktar kuntentkieku jkollu sider akbar. Jidher li dan qed wassal li anke

f’Malta tid˙ol sewwa l-moda li˙akmet f’pajjiΩi o˙ra, dik tat-tk-abbir tas-sider.

Skont tag˙rif li ˙are© dan l-a˙˙ar jidher li f‘dawn l-a˙˙ar

snin kienu qed isiru madwar600 operazzjoni tat-tkabbir tas-sider fis-sena biex f’dawn l-a˙˙ar snin kien hemm aktarminn10,000 tfajliet u nisa li kab-bru sidirhom. U dawk li jag˙mludin l-operazzjoni jvarjaw minntfajliet ta’ 18-il sena sa nisa lida˙lu fis-sittinijiet.

Skont il-©urnal ‘Illum’ li ©abdin l-a˙bar, din l-operazjonisa˙ansitra qed ting˙ata b˙alarigal tal-birthday, taΩ-Ωwie© uanke wara t-twelid ta’ xi tarbija.

Mhumiex kuntenti!!

Il-Qtates tal-Mosta

L-arti viΩwali se tinghata’ importanza fil-kalendarju kulturali Malti meta bejn l-1 u s-7 ta’ Settembru se jsir festival tal-artivirtwali, il-Valletta International VisualArts Festival - jew Viva - iddedikat kollukemm hu g˙all-arti fil-forma tal-fotografija.

Meta d-diskussjoni dwariç-çittadinanza Maltija

kienet fl-aqwa tag˙ha, intqal˙afna li min jikseb il-pass-aport Malti kien se jkun jista’jid˙ol fil-pajjiΩi tal-UnjoniEwropea bla ebda diffikulta`,iΩda jidher li dakinhar ˙addma ©ieh f’mo˙˙u jindaga ftitis-sa˙˙a u l-utilita` tal-pass-aport Malti meta mxebba˙ma dak ta’ pajjiΩi o˙ra.Issa minn studju li sar minn

movehub.com, website litispeçjalizza fl-g˙ajnuna lildawk li jixtiequ jmorru minnpajjiΩ g˙all-ie˙or, instab li l-passaport Malti huwa tassewb’sa˙˙tu.

Meta ng˙id b’sa˙˙tu ji©i-fieri li permezz tieg˙u tista’tid˙ol f’diversi pajjiΩi min-g˙ajr il-˙tie©a ta’ visa.Infatti din il-website po©©iet

il-passaport Malti fis-26 post. Filwaqt li permezz ta’ pass-

aport IngliΩ, ÛvediΩ jew Fin-landiΩ wie˙ed jista’ jid˙olf’173 pajjiΩ, bil-Malti wie˙edjista’ jivvja©©a g˙al 163 post.Fost l-inqas passaporti lig˙andhom sa˙˙a hemm tal-Yemen (42 pajjiΩ) ÇiniΩ (43).

Il-Passaport Malti- Passaport fost l-Aqwa

G˙al pa©na 17

Ówejje© li ji©ru biss f’Malta. Hi xena nor-mali li tg˙addi minn triq u quddiem xi

dar fejn ikun qed isir xi xog˙ol ta’ kostruz-zjoni ssib xi Ωew© ©ebliet, kaxex, si©©ijiet,fuq kull na˙a tal-faççata g˙al ‘no parking’.

Imma bla dubju l-aktar sinjal ori©inali lirajna s’issa kien dak li deher f’The Times,(Lemin) fejn xi ˙add, li joqg˙od f’ForestStreet, San Giljan, ˙are© Ωew© toilets qud-diem id-dar tieg˙u biex jiΩgura li ˙add majipparkja l-karozza quddiem id-dar tieg˙u.

Tuesday July 8, 2014 The Voice of the Maltese 17

Mix-xena tal-˙ajja Maltija 2

Brad Pitt u Angelina Jolie f’film fi M©arr ix-Xini, G˙awdex

Kunjomijiet

B˙al snin o˙ra l-Grupp Festa Santa Marija (Sydney) qed jorganizza l-ballu grandjuΩ tal-festa tieg˙u nhar is-Sibt 9 ta’ Awwissu

fis-7.00 p.m. fil-Balmoral Centre, Blacktown street.Se jkun hemm ukoll l-ikla li tikkonsisti minn erba’ korsi, bis-

Seafood, galletti u l-bigilla, u li tinkludi wkoll il-birra, l-inbid u s-soft drinks, Cassata ice cream, kannoli, pasti tal-lewΩ, te u Kafe, ipprovduti minn Pelopidas Catering.

Se jkun hemm ukoll kant u Ωfin mal-banda ta’ Joe (Avalon) Grimaflimkien ma Vince, Victor u Paul, u brijju mal-OLQP Maltese band.

Issir donazzjoni: $60 g˙all-kbar; tfal ta˙t it-12-il sena $30.L-g˙ada Óadd 10 ta Awwissu ssir il-festa fiç-Çenru ta’ LA VALETTE,

bil-quddiesa mal-kor tal-MCA. Wara ssir il-purçissjoni flimkienmad-daqq tal-banda OLQP. Fit-tmiem jin˙araq il-log˙ob tan-nar

mi©jub minn Malta u jkun hemm aktar brijju mal-Mifsud Brothers.G˙al aktar tag˙rif u biljetti çemplu lil Agnes: 9626 6753, jew lil Theresa: 9604 3679.

GROUP FESTA SANTA MARIJA

Only in Malta!

G˙awdex mistenni li jing˙ata pubbliçita’ kbira permezz ta’ film li sejin˙adem fil-bajja ta' M©arr ix-Xini. Dan il-film mistenni li jikseb popo-larita’ kbira meta jintwera fis-swali tas-çinema min˙abba l-fatt li l-pro-toganisti tieg˙u huma l-koppja mag˙rufa Brad Pitt u martu AngelinaJolie. Dan sintendi barra l-flus li se ji©©enera waqt il-˙dim tal-film.

Minn pa©na 16

L-aktar passaporti b’sa˙˙ithom bl-g˙add ta’pajjiΩi li bihom wie˙ed jista’ jivja©©a:173: Ir-Renju Unit, l-iSvezja u l-Finlandja 172: Stati Uniti, il-Ìermanja, il-Lussem-burgu u d-Danimarka 171: Il-Bel©ju, l-Italja u l-Olanda 170: Il-Kanada, Franza, l-Irlanda, il-Ìappun,in-Norve˙ja, i-Portugall u Spanja. 168: L-Awstrija, New Zealand u l-iSvizzra.167: L-Awstralja, il-Greçja u Singapore166: Il-Korea t’Isfel165: L-Islanda163: Il-Malasja u Malta159: Il-Liechtenstein

Il-Passaport Malti

Iç-çensiment Nazzjonali li sar fl-2011 fih minjiera ta’tag˙rif dwar kull lat tal-˙ajja Maltija, u llum nislet xi

tag˙rif dwar il-kunjomijiet li g˙andna fil-GΩejjer Maltin.Skont iç-çensiment fil-GΩejjer Maltin g˙andna mhux

inqas minn 19,000 kunjom differenti. JirriΩulta wkoll liaktar minn 13,000 persuna jew 3.1 fil-mija tal-popolaz-zjoni totali, kellhom Ωew© kunjomijiet, dawk li ˙afnajsejj˙ulhom ‘double barrel’U jidher li dak li jg˙idu xi w˙ud li din tad-’double bar-rel’ hija marbuta ma çertu sezzjoni ta’ nies huwa minnu,g˙ax l-akbar g˙add ta' residenti b'kunjom doppju nsi-buhom fl-iMdina (15 fil-mija), is-Swieqi (8.2 fil-mija),Tas-Sliema (7.7 fil-mija) u Óal-Balzan (7.2 fil-mija).G˙all-kuntrarju, l-inqas g˙add ta' persuni b'kunjomdoppju kienu rre©istrati f'G˙awdex.

Xi ˙a©a li na˙seb kien jafha kulhadd, l-aktar kunjomkomuni fil-GΩejjer Maltin huwa Borg. B’kollox insibu13,610 persuni (3.3 fil-mija tal-popolazzjoni b'dan il-kunjom). Warajh ji©i l-kunjom Camilleri - 13,109 per-suna - u Vella - bi 12,249 persuna.

Fuq livell lokali, interessanti l-fatt li waqt li l-ma©-©oranza tal-kunjomijiet l-aktar komuni wie˙ed isibhomfl-akbar Ωew© lokalitajiet, ji©ifieri f’Birkirkara u l-Mosta,kunjomijiet o˙ra popolari wie˙ed isibhom l-aktar f'lo-kalitajiet iΩg˙ar.

B˙ala eΩempju l-kunjomijiet Vella, Farrugia, Grech uSpiteri nsibuhom popolari ˙afna fil-Mellie˙a, iΩ-Ûurrieq,ÓaΩ-Ûabbar u Ω-Ûejtun. Min-na˙a l-o˙ra, g˙alkemm Cara-bott huwa t-tielet l-aktar kunjom komuni f'Marsaxlokk,fil-lista nazzjonali dan jikklassifika biss fit-93 post.

Din ix-xejra hija wkoll komuni fost kunjomijiet o˙rainqas popolari, partikolarment f'G˙awdex. B˙ala eΩem-pju, il-kunjom Mintoff, li fil-lista nazzjonali ji©i fil-144post, dan huwa l-aktar wie˙ed komuni fl-G˙asri, waqt liDeBrincat huwa ikkonçentrat l-aktar fil-Munxar.

Aktar ma jg˙addi Ω-Ωmien aktar qed ikun diffiçli liwie˙ed jabbona l-kunjom ma çerti r˙ula: Per eΩempjuVella mal-Mellie˙a u l-Qala G˙awdex fejn imbag˙adwie˙ed kien jorbot ukoll il-kunjom Butti©ie© u Sultanamax-Xag˙ra G˙awdex.Ta’ min jg˙id ukoll li çerti kunjomijiet huma marbuta

ma’ çerti lokalijiet. Per eΩempju jing˙ad li l-kunjom De-Brincat huwa esklussivament G˙awdxi u dawk li j©ibul-kunjom f’Malta attwalment g˙andhom parantelaGhawdxija.

Interessanti wkoll kif jinkiteb il-kunjom Xerri jewScerri. Il-ma©©uranza tal-G˙awdxin li j©ibu dan il-kun-jom jiktbuh bl-‘X’, filwaqt li f’Malta dan popolarmentjinkiteb bl-‘Sc’.

Il-korp tal-pulizija, wie˙ed mill-eqdem korpi fl-Ewropa beda jiççelebra l-200sena mit-twaqqif tieg˙u b’g˙add ta’ attivitajiet fi Pjazza San Ìorg il-belt Val-

letta. Il-korp twaqqaf fit-12 ta’ Lulju tal-1814 mill-Gvernatur ta’ Malta ta’ dakiΩ-Ωmien, Sir Thomas Maitland.Sadanittant, il-Kummissarju tal-Pulizija Peter Paul Zammit se j˙alli postu wara

ftit aktar minn sena u jie˙u l-kariga ta’ kap tal-orgnizzazzjoni tas-sigurta’ g˙alattivitajiet nazzjonali li se jse˙˙u f’Malta dalwaqt, fosthom ic-CHOGM tal-2015.Minfloku b˙ala a©ent kummissarju ng˙ata l-©urament Raymond Zammit.

Il-korp tal-pulizija jag˙laq 200 sena

The Australian Government has a recip-rocal Health Care agreement with

many countries (including Malta) whichprovides their citizens with free “medicallynecessity treatment” in public hospitals.However it appears that many tourists areabusing this system as many are usingemergency facilities at public hospitals asone-stop drop-in service.

NSW Health is therefore drafting new“overseas policy” to clarify and tighten the

agreement saying this is done often.Health authorities are saying that the exist-ing arrangement is too broad; it is being in-creasingly abused so the proposal is todivert patients who don’t need to be at theemergency department to the appropriateGP related service that involves a fee.

At the moment the complains are aimedtowards backpackers however thesechanges, when they are implemented havea habit to include all.

Many football fanatics are rising in thedark of early mornings to watch what

is, no doubt the best World Cup ever. Hereare some, standout statistics from thisamazing tournament:*9.5 metres is the distance the defendingwall must stand from the ball for a freekick. *9.15 Fair Play is the brand name of theshaving foam type substance sprayed onthe ground to mark the distance. *14 is the number of cameras used to de-termine whether a ball has passed the goalline.*$11.7 billion is the conservative estimateof how much Brazil spent to host theWorld Cup. *2.2 million is the number of Australianswho tuned in to watch the Socceroosopener against Chile making it the third-most-watched sporting event of this year.

The top five countries of citizenship for protection visa application in Australia in 2012-13 were: China 1141; India 996; Pakistan 914; Egypt 732 and Iran 571 which accounted

for 52 per cent of all 8308 lodgements. There were 26,427 people seeking Australian pro-tection. Who is a refugee? The United Nations 1951 Convention defines refugees as people who

are outside their own country or nationality and are unable or unwilling to return becauseof a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opin-ion or membership of a particular socialgroup.

Georgina Hope “Gina” Rinehart is onceagain Australia’s richest person with

wealth of $200 billion. She is now also theworld’s richest. The Australian mining heir-ess and Executive Chairman of Hancock Pros-pecting group is still almost three timeswealthier than the second-ranked list memberof the BRW Rich List, Anthony Pratt of Visy-Pratt Industries with $7.64 billion.

Gina Rinehart grows $1 million wealthierevery half hour.

Gina’s $29 billion mining fortune is also $3billion greater than Christy Walton's, thewidow whose inherited wealth springs fromthe US retail giant Wal-Mart.

Third comes James Packer with $7.19 bil-lion, then Frank Lowy of Westfield Groupwith $7.16 billion.

The government believes there are up to150 Australians who have joined extrem-

ist groups including ISIS. The latest are twoteenage boys who have travelled to the MiddleEast without their parents' knowledge and saidto be heading to Iraq to join the fighting.It is believed about 10 Australians have died

in Syria and Iraq, the latest a 22-year-old whoappeared in a recruitment video for the terrorgroup The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant(ISIS) shortly before he was killed in an am-bush in Syria while preparing to go to Iraq.

Some Australians who claimed they weregoing to do humanitarian work have beencaught in the crossfire.

In a statement in answer to requests for in-formation from parents, the Attorney Gen-eral's department said Australia does not havean embassy or consulate in Syria and its ca-pacity to deliver consular assistance is ex-tremely limited. It added that parents withconcerns about the whereabouts of childrenoverseas should direct their inquiries to thepolice or the Department of Foreign Affair.

Swiss-based Ivan Glasenberg, who gainedAustralian citizenship in 1980s, lifted hiswealth by 1.01 billion. Andrew Forrest ofFortescue Metals Group and Sydney apart-ments king, Harry Triguboff are also on therich list.

A quick glimpse at AustraliaA quick glimpse at Australia

18 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday July 8, 2014

World Cup fever 2014

Australia’s Ginais world’s richest

Health agreements

Who is a refuge?

The Abbott Government is offering asy-lum seekers in Manus Island and Nauru de-tentions Centre up to $10,000 to abandontheir hope of resettlement in Australia andvoluntarily return to the country they fledfrom. This is being called “return package”. Some 283 people returned home since

September 2013. It is, the latest tactic beingused by the Abbott Government to cementits hardline stance against asylum seekerswho come to Australia without a visa. The High Court of Australia issued a stun-

ning rebuke to Immigration Minister ScottMorrison, striking down his decision to re-fuse to issue permanent protection visa toboat arrivals found to be refugees.

The number of refugees, asylum seekersand internally displaced people worldwidehas exceeded 50 million for the first time

Manus Island... currently housing asylum seekers

since World War Two. Fewer than 0.3 percent of the 11.7 million refugees under theUNHCR’s mandate live in Australia, plac-ing us 48th out of 187 countries.

Australians fighting withextremists in Syria, Iraq

There are welcome signs of a positive ap-proach to carbon tax and climate change

but it is not coming from the major parties. Clive Palmer the larger than life leader

of the Palmer United Party is in the lime-light again this time appearing at TheGreat Hall of Parliament House press con-ference rubbing shoulders with former USvice President Al Gore demanding thatPrime Minister Abbott create an emissiontrading scheme that will swing into action

when Australia’s major tradingpartners like China, US, theEuropean Union Japan andKorea adopt similar measures.

Al Gore was narrowly de-feated in the US Presidentialelection. He is one of theworld’s most high-profile en-vironmental activists and au-thor of An Inconvenient Truth. He said that Mr. Palmer’s announcement

The next Governor of South Australia, Hieu Van Le (pictured left), arrivedat Darwin as a penniless boat person fleeing Vietnam in 1977. The re-

markable journey of this Adelaide Catholic to Australia is the stuff of legend,and his achievements within Australia almost as extraordinary.

If there was a defining moment that said to the world that Hieu Van Lewould be a leader, it came in a small wooden fishing boat crammed with morethan 50 seasick people three days out to sea from Vietnam in 1977.Ten days after leaving Vietnam, Hieu and his wife Lan found themselves in

a Malaysian refugee camp of 5000 people. It was overcrowded and the con-ditions were appalling; disease was rife and supplies insufficient. And, perhapsworst of all, there seemed little prospect of settlement in another country.

Hieu and Lan were asked to join a group planning to leave for Australia. Ittook more than a month of often-stormy open seas until they reached Darwinon 21 November 1977 and then by plane to Adelaide just over a week later.He has served as Lieutenant-Governor of South Australia since 2007. He is

patron of more than 200 charities and organisations across South Australia,and was made an officer of the Order of Australia, AO, in 2010.

MICHELLE ROWLAND MPFEDERAL MEMBER

FOR GREENWAY

Proudly serving the areas of:

Acacia Gardens, Blacktown*, Girraween,Glenwood, Kellyville Ridge, Kings Langley,

Kings Park, Lalor Park, Parklea, PendleHill, Prospect*, Quakers Hill*, Riverstone,

Rouse Hill*, Schofields, Seven Hills,Stanhope Gardens, The Ponds,

Toongabbie*, Vineyard*Parts of

230 Prospect Hwy, Seven Hills 2147Ph: 9671 4780

Email: Michelle.Rowland.MP@aph.gov.au

Twitter: @mrowlandmp

A quick glimpse at AustraliaA quick glimpse at Australia

Tuesday July 8, 2014 The Voice of the Maltese 19

A refugee asGovernor

www.facebook.com/mrowlandmp

Australia’s largest coal miner, GlencoreCoal International Australia Pty Ltd, a

Swiss multinational paid no tax over the lastthree years, despite income of $15 billionas it radically reduced its tax exposure bytaking large, unnecessarily expensive loansfrom its associates overseas.

Research from Australian Institute identi-fied $176 billion in state government sub-sidies and assistance for the mining in-dustry. As the third largest resources group in this

country after BHP and Rio Tinto, Glencoreis a major beneficiary of this largesse. Asis the trend among the new digital giantssuch as Google and Apple, it appears multi-nationals are increasingly likely to regardthe payment of tax in Australia as an op-tional affair.

Glencore is chaired by Swiss-based IvanGlasenberg, who ranks No 5 on BRW’s richlist, after he lifted his wealth by $1.01 bil-lion on the back of Glencore rising shareprices.

Glencose Australia replied by saying thatin the past three years they paid $3.4 billion

Who pays tax?

Al Gore makes an appearance

in taxes and royalties and that they complywith all the tax rules and regulations. Thehave operated in Australia for 15 years andemploy 19,000 people across industries thatinclude coal, copper, grain, nickel and zinc.

was an “extraordinary moment in whichAustralia, the US and the rest of the worldis finally beginning to confront the climatecrisis in a meaningful way.

Mr. Palmers has promised to move anamendment to ensure, the removal of thecarbon tax as well as all producers of en-ergy in this country to be required by lawto pass on to all consumers of energy thesame savings they will enjoy.

Al Gore (left) with Clive Palmer

20 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday July 8, 2014

Community NewsCommunity News

Is-Soçjeta` San Gejtanu ta’ Melbourne g˙adhom kemm ip-pubblikaw kalendarju bl-attivitajiet li g˙andhom ippjanatig˙al tul is-sena 2014.

Ikun sewwa kienu jkollna iktar g˙aqdiet Maltin li jippub-likaw bil-quddiem l-attivitajiet tag˙hom ˙alli kemm jista’jkun jonqsu l-attivitajiet tal-istess xorta fl-istess jiem

Programm - dak li jmiss: Is-Sibt 19 tal-Lulju: Anniversary Dinner 7.30 pmL-attivitajiet (barra l-bus trips) isiru kollha f’St Martin dePorres Avondale Heights (Melbourne)Ikkuntatjaw lil: Jmmy Chirkop: 0435847173; Rita Hili: 93311430 jew JoeCassar: 93742767.

Meetings of Maltese SeniorsFairfield 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.

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 regularBus Trips.

Come and join us and make new friends.For more information on any of theGroups please contact the Maltese Wel-fare Officer, Marisa Previtera, JP, on:0414 863 123

Greystanes Maltese SeniorsMeets on the second Monday of the

month in the Youth Room of OLQPChurch, 198 Old Prospect Road,Greystanes from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.

Llandillo Maltese SeniorsMeets on the first Wednesday of the

month at the Llandilo Community Hall,Seventh Avenue, from 11am to 1pm.

Ongoing: We meet every First Wednes-day of the Month from 10:00am. to 1:00pm

Our Meetings/Get Togethers are inter-esting, informative & entertaining. We also have regular outings. Come Join us and make new Friends

For more information one should contactour Coordinator: Charles MifsudJ.P.Phone (02) 9501 5525 – mobile 0421662 298*(All Groups are Sponsored by The Mal-tese Community Council, NSW)

The Sutherland & St George Maltese Group

On SBS Radio - Latest scheduleDay Time Analogue Digital

Tuesday: 12:00 - 13:00 SBS Radio 3Thursday: 12:00-13:00 SBS Radio 3Friday: 12:00-13:00 97.7fm SBSRadio 2Saturday: 14:00-15:00: 97.7fm SBSRadio 2To tune into digital radio you will

need a new receiver or device witha DAB+ chip.Tuning in is by station name not

frequency. Digital radio can also beheard on digital TV. SBS Radio 2is on Channel 38 and SBS.

Radio 3 is on Channel 39. Ana-logue is the present FMwavelength.Digital radio can also be accessedby a smart phone and/or by goingonline at HYPERLINK:http://www.sbs.com.au,www.sbs.com.au

VIVA MALTAVIVA MALTA on Central Coast

Radio July 3, 17 and 31 from 6 pm-7 pm on COAST FM 96.3 Com-munity Radio in Gosford. NSW.

Presenter: Nathalie Gatt. Web streaming is also available

on: www.coastfm.org.au.

Tune In to Radio and Television

Maltese Programmes on TV and Web

The GDAY MALTAUSSIE SHOW on TVS is broadcast in Sydney.Every Saturday at 2pm; Repeats on Mondays 5 pm andTuesdays 7.30 amWatch direct via HYPERLINK:http://ww.tvs.org.au;http://ww.tvs.org.au

Maltese Radio ProgrammesIn MELBOURNE, on 3ZZZ 92.3FMor on www.3zzz.com.au. Mondays5pm, Fridays 5pm, Saturdays 10am.;Last Wednesday each month at 1pm.

In MELBOURNE on 98.9 NorthWest FM, each Friday 6.00 - 7.00p.m.Presenter Emmanuel Brincat.

In SYDNEY, listen to the MCC radioprogramme Sunday at 11am 2GLFFM 89.3, or on demand:www.893fm.com.au

In BRISBANE listen to the MalteseProgram on 4EB on Tuesdays 6.00 -8.15am; Sundays 4.15pm to 5.15pm

UNCLE SAM DJ (Maltese Radio)tune in to link: www.unclesamdj.com

The PBS MALTESE NEWS

L-A˙barijiet on SBS TV twice a week na-tionwide Sunday at 8.00 am on SBS2(Chan. 32); Thursdays at 8.05 am on SBS2

Attivitajiet G˙aqda San Gejtanu (Melbourne)

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs had issued a circular last May to launch aninternational Maltese Diaspora Monu-ment Competition open for all Maltese

nationals living abroad.

Ambassador Fiona Formosa, the Per-manent Secretary and Chairperson of

the Organising Committee 4th Conven-tion for the Maltese

Living Abroad 2015 at the Ministry hasnotified The Voice that the deadline for

submissions for maquettes has been extended to noon

on Tuesday, July 15, 2014.

Maquettes received after this date andtime would not be considered.

CONVENTION FOR THE CONVENTION FOR THE

MALTESE LIVING ABROAD MALTESE LIVING ABROAD

2015MALTESE DIASPORA 2015MALTESE DIASPORA

MONUMENT COMPETITIONMONUMENT COMPETITION

Regular subscribers are urged to let us know immediately if they do not receive The Voice of

the Maltese on a regular basis.Also note that The Voice of the Maltese on-line can be accessed anytime by logging to

http://www.maltesewelfare.com.au and clicking on: The Voice sign.

Readers please note

Tuesday July 8, 2014 The Voice of the Maltese 21

din is-sena se ti©i iççelebratanhar il-Óadd 14 ta' Settembru

fil-Katidral ta' St Mary's Sydney. Fis-2.30 pm tibda l-

purcissjoni. Wara jkunhemm quddiesa li tkun

ikkonçelebrata mis-saçerdoti Maltin.

Kul˙add huwa mistieden.Min jixtieq jattendi g˙andu

ja˙seb kmeni ˙alli jil˙aq post.

Jekk hemm xi ˙add lig˙andu xi tfal li jkunu jix-

tiequ jie˙du sehem fil-purçissjoni

Jista’ jçempel lil AntoinetteMascari: 9899 1938.

Il-Fathers Maltinjixtiequ jfakkru lill-kommunita`

Maltija li....

Il-festa tal-Vitorja

Community NewsCommunity News

Sunday July 13:Sunday July 13: OUTINGOUTING to the Central Coast visiting Reptile Park.to the Central Coast visiting Reptile Park.Coach leaves Wenty Leagues Club at 8.30am and returns 4.30pm.Coach leaves Wenty Leagues Club at 8.30am and returns 4.30pm.Cost $40 which includes coach, entry to the Reptile Park morningCost $40 which includes coach, entry to the Reptile Park morning

tea. Lunch at The Entrance at your own cost.tea. Lunch at The Entrance at your own cost.Sunday July 20: Sunday July 20: Golden AnniversaryGolden Anniversary. . Join us in celebrating Fr CarmeloJoin us in celebrating Fr Carmelo

Sciberras, our spiritual director’s 50th anniversary to the priesthood.Sciberras, our spiritual director’s 50th anniversary to the priesthood.Mass at Holy Name Parish, Billyard Ave Wahroonga at 12 noon followedMass at Holy Name Parish, Billyard Ave Wahroonga at 12 noon followedby finger food refreshment afterwards. A bus for Wahroonga is being orby finger food refreshment afterwards. A bus for Wahroonga is being or--

ganised that will leave from the Wenty Leagues Club.ganised that wil l leave from the Wenty Leagues Club.Sunday July 27Sunday July 27: : Spiritual Retreat.Spiritual Retreat. At La Valette Social Centre 175 WalAt La Valette Social Centre 175 Wal--ters Rd, Blacktown. 10 am-1pm. Talk by Dr George Boffa on the Crucifixters Rd, Blacktown. 10 am-1pm. Talk by Dr George Boffa on the Crucifix--ion of Our Lord from a medical perspective and a spiritual reflection byion of Our Lord from a medical perspective and a spiritual reflection byMs Tanya Malik, Head of RI at St Andrew’s College, Marayong. MorningMs Tanya Malik, Head of RI at St Andrew’s College, Marayong. Morning

tea will be served. Retreat concludes with a Mass.tea will be served. Retreat concludes with a Mass.Take a raffle book in aid of Salesian Missions AbroadTake a raffle book in aid of Salesian Missions Abroad at $2 a ticket. at $2 a ticket. Prizes include a voucher to the value of $1500 towards a packagePrizes include a voucher to the value of $1500 towards a packageholiday; gift card valued at $300 and a bottle of Johnnie Walkerholiday; gift card valued at $300 and a bottle of Johnnie Walker

blue label blended Scotch Whiskey 700mlblue label blended Scotch Whiskey 700mlJoin us at our Annual Dinner dance on Saturday 11th October atJoin us at our Annual Dinner dance on Saturday 11th October at

Mandavilla Function Centre, Horsley Park. Tickets $55. Starts 7pm –Mandavilla Function Centre, Horsley Park. Tickets $55. Starts 7pm –11pm. Dress Semi-formal.11pm. Dress Semi-formal.

Contact Sam Gatt, Social Organiser. Phone: 9636 1290Contact Sam Gatt, Social Organiser. Phone: 9636 1290

The Maltese Language School of

NSW is opening a new class to

teach the Maltese language and

culture at the Casula

Public School in De Meyrick

Avenue, Casula.

Lessons to be given on Wednes-

days after school hours

Contact Mary on 9601 2189

This is another initiative of the Maltese Community

Council of NSW

Maltese Language Classes

in Liverpool

Dr Consiglia Azzopardi, a Maltese lace ex-pert, author of the Gozo Lace Book who willbe attending the 16th World OIDFA LaceCongress in Adelaide, South AustraliaNSW, will be at the Maltese CommunityCouncil at 59, Franklin Street Mays HillNSW.

She will be presenting workshops on howto make sun motifs or festuni tax-xemx.Dates:

Monday JULY 28, Tuesday 29 and Thurs-day 31 from 10.00 a.m. to 2.30pm (includ-

ing 30 mins break).Friday AUGUST 1: 12.00 pm to 4.30 pm

(including 30 mins break)Then at 6:30 pm she will deliver a lecture on:Maltese Lace: a Craft, an Industry, an Art

There will also be an exhibition of variousMaltese lace work as exhibited at the Con-gress in Adelaide *Those attending the workshops need haveintermediate skills in lace making. Will caterfor and adept to different needs.*Tea, coffee will be provided. Please bringyour own lunch. * For workshops only reg-istered persons will be allowed in.For any enquiries or to register phone:Josephine Bigeni on (02) 9627 4182 oremail:rjbigeni@yahoo.com.au

Lace Making expert in Sydney

The Maltese Guild of SA Inc cordially invites you toThe Feast of Santa Maria For 2014

Tuesday August 12: Mass at 10.30am at the Guild HallConfession and Mass Celebrated by Fr. Gabriel

Sunday August 17 from 12.15pm: Celebrating the Feast of St. Mary at The Maltese Cultural Centre

6, Jeanes Street Beverley

Free lunch to members. Raviolli followed with dessertNon Members $10, Children $5

There will be TV Flash Backs of Festivities of Santa Maria From Malta

From 2 pm to 4 pm the Maltese Queen of Victories Band will present a Musical Programme of Popular Music And Marches

You Must Book Your Lunch with Joe Briffa on 8254 6988 / 0421 791 327,Mary Craus on 8281 2329 or see anyone from the committee.

Il-Fathers Maltin jixtiequ jfakkru lill-komunita` Maltija li l-Festa tal-Vitorja din is-sena se ti©i iççelebrata nhar il-Óadd 14 ta' Settembru

fil-Katidral ta' St Mary's Sydney. Fis-2.30 pm tibda l-purcissjoni. Wara jkun hemm quddiesa li tkun

ikkonçelebrata mis-saçerdoti Maltin.Kul˙add huwa mistieden. Min jixtieq jattendi g˙andu ja˙seb

kmeni ˙alli jil˙aq post.Jekk hemm xi ˙add li g˙andu xi tfal li jkunu jixtiequ jie˙du

sehem fil-purçissjoni Jista’ jçempel lil Antoinette Mascari: 9899 1938.

Il-festa tal-Vitorja mill-Fathers Maltin

Maltese Past Pupils &Friends ofMaltese Past Pupils &Friends ofDon Bosco NSW Inc.Don Bosco NSW Inc.

Coming activities Coming activities

Id-direzzjoni ta’ The Voicet˙e©©e© lill-qarrejja li j˙os-su li jew g˙andhom talentg˙all-kitba inkella li ja˙s-bu li bi ftit g˙ajnuna jist-g˙u jrabbu l-kunfidenzag˙all-kitba, biex jekk iridujistg˙u jissottomettu x-xo-g˙ol tag˙hom lil The Voicefl-email address: maltese-voice@gmail.com

AvviΩ g˙al min tinteressa˙ il-kitba

22 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday July 8, 2014

FRIENDS OF PROVIDENCE HOUSE NSW(Formed in November 2011)

Founder /Coordinator: Jim BorgStructure: Secretary: Marisa Previtera;

Treasurer: Rita KassasOfficial Bank Account: Commonwealth Bank of Australia:

BSB: 062 416 A/C 10199448Aim of Association: Raising funds for Id-Dar tal-Providenza, Malta

Money raised so far: 2012/2013 - $ 2,500 and 2013/2014 -$35,000.

Method of fund raising: Functions, tours, donations, raffles, sponsors.Percentage of funds raised donated to Id-Dar tal-Providenza, Malta – 100%Future fund raising: Donations direct to the official bank account,

sponsorships, tours, functions and raffles.The Friends of Providence House NSW is the official

Ambassador of Id-Dar tal-Providenza, Malta in AustraliaContact details: Jim Borg, Co-ordinatorPhone: (02) 9636 7767 (Mb) 0418 825 591

Email: foph@bigpond.com

Proudly supported by:

Community NewsCommunity News

Computer Class for the ElderlyThe Maltese Community Council of NSW

is conducting a computer class at the

Maltese Resource Centre59 Franklin Street, Mays Hill 2145 NSW

every Friday between 10.00 a.m. and 12.00

For more information contact Emanuel Camilleri: 0409 744 376

Notice to Former members of ...

Malta Society of New Zealand We now have a Facebook page that we invite you to

join. It is: Mainly-Maltese-in-Auckland.We can be found online at:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mainly-Maltese-in-Auckland/ 396193070527203?ref=hl.

It is open to all have an interest in the Maltese culture.

SANTA ELENA FESTA MELBOURNESANTA ELENA FESTA MELBOURNEIl-Kumitat festa Santa Elena ta’ Melbourne qed jorganizza bus

minn Sydney g˙all-festa ta’ SantaElena f’Melbourne. Il-vja©© ikun

f’coach lussuΩu (5 star)Akkomodazzjoni ta’ tlett iljieli fil-Crest

Hotel St. Kilda (fuq baΩi B&B).Buffet dinner u lunch li jinkludi

seafood, fir-Roxburgh Park Hotel.Il-prezz tad-d˙ul fil-grand ball

huwa wkoll inkluΩ, flimkien mad-dinner, inbid, birra u soft drinks.

Attendenza g˙all-Quddiesa u l-Festa.It-tluq ikun minn Sydney l-Ìimg˙a

22 ta’ Awwissu fis-7.00am. Lura: It-Tnejn 25 ta’ Awwissu.G˙al aktar tag˙rif u booking

ikkuntattjaw lil: Theresa: 0432 646960, inkella 9604 3679

Il-postijiet ji©u ikkonfermati fil-˙in tal-booking

Il-˙las huwa ta’ $100 kull persunaÓajr g˙all-appo©©Viva Santa Elena

Tuesday July 8, 2014 The Voice of the Maltese 23

Maltese Language SchoolsMaltese Language & Cultural Schools

If you wish to learn Maltese in SYDNEY call: 0402 002 454 ormail to: malteselanguageschoolnsw@hotmail.com

In MELBOURNE, contact: Edwidge Borg, MCCV Maltese Language Classes

http://www.mccv.org.au/index.php/language or http://federationof-malteselanguageschoolsaustralia.com; edwidgeborg@excite.com

Also in MELBOURNE, contact Emma Navarro: 0406 215 990 or Hyperlink: learnmaltesevic@gmail.com” learnmaltesevic@gmail.com

Division of the Maltese Community Council of NSW Inc. PO Box5332, Greystanes LPO, NSW 2145

Classes are held at:

HORSLEY PARK

Horsley Park Public School

1759 The Horsley Drive, Horsely Park

SEVEN HILLS

The Meadows Public Sch.

Fuller Street, Seven Hills

SCHOFIELDS - Terra Sancta College. Hambeldon Rd, SchofieldsFor more information and all enquiries call Lawrence Dimech on 0296319295

Learn Maltese!Learn the Maltese language, the culture, lifestyle, cuisine, tra-

ditions and about the amazing history of this magnificentMediterranean island.

Our trained and experienced teachers are qualified in languageteaching and have Maltese study credentials.

Classes available for students from 6 yrs to adults at all levelsof ability in the Maltese language.

Maltese Elderly Thanksgiving Day21st Anniversary Luncheon

on Wednesday October 8

Venue: St Stephen Serbian OrthodoxChurch Hall Corner of Woodstock Ave

& Hyatts Rd Plumpton Between 9:00am - Finish 3:00pm

Starting with morning tea, followed by MassAspecial lunch and dessert will be served

live entertainment provided by well-known Maltese entertainers

Cost: Frail person(s) free ;Carer $25; Senior $45 Call one of the committee below to reserve your seat. Doris Pocock 0419 420 915; Lina Magro 9629 4046

Our Elderly are forever grateful for this very special day

Caring for our Maltese Elderly

Maltese RSL sub branch Call for Affiliate members

If you are interested in joining, please call Doris on mo-bile below so she will send you an application form.

When filled out, the appication should be sent back tothe address below; but you also need to provide:

You can send the completed application form along with the above requirements to:

Mrs Doris PocockAdministration Officer Maltese RSL sub branch,

PO Box 8280, Baulkham Hills NSW 2153Tel: 0419 420 915/

email: rmpocock2@bigpond.com

1. Proof of eligibility that you have a relative(living or deceased) who is or was eligible tobe a Service Member of the Leugue.

A photocopy of the Certificate of Service isall we require, and...

2. Membership application fee ($30) chequemade payable to: Maltese RSL sub branch

You can have access to The Voice of the Maltese online anytime by logging to:

http://www.maltesewelfare.com.au and click on The Voice sign

St John Sydney Xewkija

AssociationPresents:

Annual Feast Programme

Dinner Dance

To be held at 6.30 p.m.

on Saturday August 23

at Balmoral Function Centre

47-49 Balmoral Street, Blacktown

5-COURSE MEAL

(including beer, wine and soft drinks)

Music to be provided by

Charlie Camilleri and Rockin Mus-

tangs, and Our Lady Queen of Peace

Sunday May 24

Mass at St Michael’s Church

Orwell Street South Blacktown.

After mass a procession will be held

with the statue of St John

With Our Lady Queen of Peace

After the procession drinks and

food will be served while the brass

band will be in attendance

For further contact:

Sam: 46841617; mob: 0419781568

Rose: 96285424; Elia: 96226047;

Martin Sciberras: 0417237524

. .Friends of Birzebbugaare organising a get-together on November

14, 2014 at 6.30 p.m. at Merrylands RSLMil-itary Road Merrylands NSW

with buffet and entertainmentFor tickets contact: Emanuel Camilleri:

029822 0228. Mob: 0409 744 376Come along. It will be a fun night

None of the three Malteseclubs in action in the first

legs of the qualifying roundof the UEFA Europa Leaguemanaged a win last week withSliema Wanderers the onlyones to avoid a defeat fromtheir home match. The othertwo, Birkirkara away, and Hi-bernians, home, both lost.

*Sliema hosted Hungary’sFerencvaros in Malta and butfor a missed penalty by, of allpeople, their captain MichaelMifsud, who shot wide fromthe spot after 14 minutes,could have won their tie. Asit turned out they could onlydraw 1-1.However, Nigerian striker

Stanley Oha-wuchi still man-

aged to put Sliema ahead on38 minutes

Ferencvaros levelled thescore in the 76th minutethrough Michal Nalepa afterSliema goalkeeper Zammitdropped a Kukuruzovic shot.Return is Thursday in Hungary.

*Birkirkara, who played with10 men for most of the secondhalf against other Hungarianopponents, VTK Diosgyoraway at the Debrecen Sta-dion, lost by 2-1, but theirhopes are still high, as whenthey play the return tie onThursday in Malta, theywould only need a 1-0 vic-tory to qualify on the awaygoals rule.Diosgyoer drew ahead on 34

minutes through David Bar-czi, but Birkirkara were quickto equalise from a freekick byMatheus Bissi da Silva whothen picked a second yellowcard in the second half andleft his club playing with only10 players.

The game looked set for adraw until three minutes fromtime Patrick Bacsa scored thewinning tally.

*Hibernians. playing with 10men for most of the tie arepractically out of the runningafter losing 4-2 at homeagainst Slovakia’s SpartakTrnava.

Hibernians found them-selves a man and a goal downafter 10 minutes when Pear-son conceded a penalty andgot sent off. The penalty wasconverted by Erik Sabo, whothen added a second goal twominutes later.

Then it was an uphill battlefor the Maltese and whenthey conceded a third on 36minutes scored by Jan Vlas-sko it looked curtains.

But somehow Hibs reactedin the second half scoring twogoals in two minutes to re-duce the deficit, both fromfreekicks, the first after threeminutes by Andrew Cohenand the second two minuteslater by Clayton Failla.

But Spartak retained a two-goal lead to take to Trnava nThursday with the fourth goalscored by Tomas Mikinic twominutes from time.

The current edition of the FIFAWorld Cup in Brazil has re-ached an advanced stage andcome Sunday July 13, at the endof 64 matches involving the wo-rld’s top teams, we would havethe new World Champions. Four teams, three of them past

winners, are still in with achance to claim the title, and itis quite fitting that we have twoeach, from South America, thecontinent hosting the tourna-ment, and another two fromEurope.

As the stakes continue to rise

at Brazil 2014, so too the ten-sion. The pressure being en-dured by the remaining teamswas certainly evident in thequarter-finals, but there couldbe more when the semi-finalsare played Tuesday, with organ-isers Brazil taking on Germany,while Holland meet Argentinaon Wednesday.

It is difficult to pick the win-ners, and although Brazil arefaced with a setback as starplayer Neymar will miss the re-maining matches after beingtaken out with a back injury

during the match with Colom-bia, and they will also be with-out suspended captain ThiagoSilva, they could still rise to theoccasion and perforem at theirbest in front of tehir own fans.

The other three teams don’tappear to have any worries andshould be able to field their bestformations.Hollandare the only of the four

still searching for their firsttitle.

The final will be played Sun-day. The third/fourth placefinal takes place on Saturday.

24 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday July 8, 2014

Spor tsSpor ts

Round 15Parramatta FC v CC MarinersBankstown C. v Mounties W

Supa IGA National Premier League (Div 2)July 12: 7.30 p.m.: Melita Stadium: Macarthur R. v Par-ramatta FC; 7.30 p.m.: Cook Park: Mounties W. v North-ern T. July 19: 3.00 p.m.: Melita Stadium: Parramatta vBankstown B.Hensley: Sydney U. v Mounties W. Victoria NPL Sydney University SFCJuly 12: Green Gully v. Oakleigh. July 19: Goulburn VSv Green Gully. Victoria I DivisionJuly 11: 6.30 p.m.: Whittlesea R. v Sunshine GC; July 19:Sunshine GC v Moreland Z.

Forthcoming matches

Aussie Football Results

NSW: Supa IGA National Prem League Div. 2

World Cup reaches crucial stage

VICTORIA: NPLGreen Gully SC v DandenongSth Melbourne v. Green Gully

VICTORIA: Division IBrunswick v Sunshine GCAvondale v Sunshine GC

ParramattaMacarthur RBankstown CMounties W.Northern T.CC MarinersHills Brum.Sydney Univ.Mt. DruittBankstown B.Spirit FCFraser Park

14 9 3 2 32 17 3015 7 5 3 29 20 2614 6 6 2 30 20 2415 7 3 5 24 20 2415 7 3 5 23 21 2415 5 6 4 23 21 2114 5 3 6 22 27 1814 5 2 7 17 27 17 15 5 2 8 18 30 1715 5 1 9 24 34 1615 4 3 8 22 25 1515 2 4 9 18 31 10

League ladder P W D L F A Pts

The teams in NSW and Victoria Leaguesrelating to the Maltese community en-

countered mixed fortunes. No matches were played in the NSW IGA

Div 2 the past weekend with Parramattatherefore widening the gap at the top to fourpoints over Macarthur their next opponentson July 12..

In Victoria, Green Gully in the NPL areseventh after a draw and a loss, while Sun-shine George Cross in the Div. 1 are fifthafter 4-2 home win over Brunswick, and aloss by an indentical score reversal at Avon-dale to claim 23 points from 15 matches.

2-21-0

2-44-2

3-13-3

Maltese clubs’ commitments in European competitions

Two defeats and a draw

Former Valletta andMalta international stri-

ker Gilbert Agius has wonhis first local trophy as Val-letta coach the Euro Cup,between the four teams rep-resenting Malta in thisyear’s European club com-petitions.It was also the first trophy

won in Malta by Valletta’sformer Perth Glory striker,Adrian Zahra.

They beat Hibernians 2-1in their final game to finishfirst on seven points, aheadof Sliema W., Hiberniansand Birkirkara in that order.

Meanwhile, Valletta play

Qarabag FK of Azerbaijanin the UEFA Champions Le-ague Second QualifyingRound first leg match onTuesday July 15 at the Na-tional Stadium.

Meanwhile, during theMFA Awards 2014, Val-letta’s midfielder, RyanFenech claimed the Foot-baller of the Year Award.The other contenders wereJonathan Caruana (Val-letta), and Paul Fenech, Ed-ward Herrera and RowenMuscat (all Birkirkara

First for Agius and Zahra

Ryan Fenech wins Footballer of Year

Neymar ... just a spectator