Mdina... the Silent City

Transcription

1 The Voice of the Maltese Issue 159 (driven by the voice of its readers of its readers) Fortnightly magazine for t he Diaspo ra July 18, 2017 Fortnightly magazine for the Diaspora Mdina... the Silent City The first few steps inside Malta s silent city, Mdina, The Main Gate and Standard Tower Photo: Alessio Alcini

2 2 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday July 18, 2017 Rebuilding the Chalet at G ar id-dud a possibility The government would be looking at the possibility of a public-private partnership that would see that the former Chalet in Sliema, that between 1926 and 1959 served the Maltese entertainment scene, and which had been left in a bad state, is converted into fullyfledged public beach. Speaking in Parliament during the financial estimates for the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA), Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi said he would like to see a concerted effort to develop beaches in various localities around the island and the rebuilding of the Chalet at Ghar id-dud in Sliema could fit into the plan. Outlining his plans for the Tourism industry, the Minister said it was essential for Malta to increase its attractions, in order to make it a more appealing tourist destination, and localities such as Pembroke would also be considered. Work would soon start on the regeneration of Marsaxlokk s promenade. The government also has similar The Chalet Then... The Chalet at Ghar id-dud in Sliema, a popular entertainment venue for people of all ages in the first half of the last century. It was constructed in 1926 to the design of the British architect BW Cordwell. The structure was hit by enemy fire in an air raid in 1942 and suffered substantial damage. It was repaired, and opened again until July 1959 when it was officially declared structurally unsafe and permanently closed down in In 2006, the concrete columns and platforms that were still standing were completely demolished. All there is still standing is the original concrete base today used by bathers and rod fishing enthusiasts. The Minister of Tourism said that the Government has its sights set on regenerating the area plans for Birzebbuga, and that better parking facilities at other beaches like Wied iz-zurrieq. He explained how more attractions would lead to tourists increasing the length of their stay in Malta, as such; the government would be welcoming suggestions by hotel operators, and other stakeholders. He said that food festivals and other niche music events were projects that are worth organising, and that there was the need for systems that allowed hotels and different types of operators to share facilities. Minister Mizzi said the MTA would be working towards increased growth in tourist numbers during the low seasons, on continued development of routes to Malta, growth in innovative segments, strengthening undeveloped markets and improving Malta s touristic planning in general for it to be better able to distinguish itself from competing tourist destinations. He said the MTA is working on a number of marketing initiatives,...and now... what remains of it Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi aimed at developing a brand strategy that works for Malta, as well as a diversification of its touristic product, and would also like to work on an increased supply of human resources and more youths entering the tourism sector. He highlighted the need for further collaboration between the Malta International Airport and the MTA, and insisted there was a lot of room for growth in the German, French, Portuguese, Israeli, Irish and the Nordic countries. In his view, while family holidays would remain central to the tourism sector, more needed to be done with respect to English language tourism. He also mentioned there was significant private sector interest in investment in active holidays, sports holidays, diving and underwater activities, movie trails and LGBTI packages. The Minister also reiterated Air Malta s importance, insisting there was room for a niche carrier based in Malta that serviced Europe and North Africa and offered the right connections. He said that Air Malta had been losing money for a decade and has been slowly moving towards a natural death. In order to halt this downward trend the Minister said there was the need for aggressive growth, and rebuilding, rather than restructuring, in order for it to be fit for purpose for this century.

3 Tuesday July 18, 2017 The Voice of the Maltese 3 President named UN Special Ambassador of World Tourism T he United Nations World Tourism Organisation has appointed President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca a United Nations Special Ambassador for the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. It follows another recognition for her efforts by the UN in September last year in New York, of the Agent of Change Award. The latest award was made at the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) headquarters in Madrid where the President had a meeting with secretary general Taleb Rifai and officials of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation while leading a delegation from the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, (MHRA), representatives from the Mediterranean Tourism Foundation (MTF), of which she is patron; and the director for strategy and planning within the Tourism Ministry. As patron of MTF President Marie-Louise We are all stakeholders, with so much to gain A t a High-Level Conference titled UNESCO's Soft Power Today: Fostering Women's Empowerment and Leadership in Paris, France, highlighting gender equity and equality President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca said she believed that through UNESCO s mandate to address culture, science, and education, real progress to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals that bind the international community could be made, but to do so, we must be courageous and determined, she said. The President added that one must confront the underlying discrimination and injustice that are undermining the dignity of women and girls around the world, and thereby, restricting women and girls from equal participation in society. She said first and foremost, one must take a critical look at the sources of oppression, which circulate even through our nations, and our international systems, to the detriment of half of the world s population. We must be very clear in our objectives. We must be very determined about implementing policies and strategies for the empowerment and leadership of women, the President said. President Marie-Louie Coleiro Preca addressing the UNESCO Conference Coleiro Preca formally asked the UNWTO to accept MTF s affiliation within this global organisation. Her request was accepted in principle, so it would now be in a position to share the good practices and initiatives it is spearheading to other regions of the world. On receiving the award, the President conveyed the message to the world organisation and members of the Spanish Diplomatic Corps that, The Tourism Sector has the unique ability to effect substantial social and economic changes, by sustaining dialogue, by building peace, and by creating prosperity. She said that that tourism could be a competent means for diplomacy; since it shows President MLCP tells UNESCO Conference on Fostering Women s Empowerment, Leadership In her opinion the only pathway to achieve the sustainable and meaningful wellbeing of women and girls is by confronting the patriarchy, which is a global perspective, as like all forms of oppression, it has a way of normalising its abuses, such as the unacceptable injustices faced by so many women and girls. She urged everybody to address all unjust systems of power, and to use all the platforms The President receiving the award from UN secretary general ambassador Taleb Rifai that positive experiences in new destinations can transform people s perceptions, and give them a new understanding of different cultures. at one s disposal to affirm that there is, indeed, another way of life. In order to open our minds to the limitless potential of women, the Presidnet said that one cannot continue, explicitly or implicitly, to promote damaging attitudes, but instead replace attitudes that privilege power, coercion, control, and extreme competitiveness, with stronger attributes, such as compassion, relational connection, and the ability to nurture humanity. It is intrinsically part of UNESCO s mandate, to open the minds and hearts of all people, as it gives us hope, in our ability to create a more peace-affirming, inclusive, and dignified culture, which should be of benefit to all humanity, she said. She said the realities of the gender pay gap cannot be ignored, nor fact that careers that are historically associated with women, such as education and childcare, have a disproportionately lower salary. She said that we must take note of urgent indicators from the World Economic Forum s Global Gender Gap Report, that it will take 170 years for us to achieve economic gender equality, and also address the fact that men often occupy the vast majority of visible roles of influence, within political and economic sectors. The President of Malta said that the inclusion of women in positions of authority and governance is essential, and that if we are serious about valuing the voices of people of all genders, and one important contribution that must be made in response to these concerns, is to create safe and respectful spaces for dialogue to help to expand the participation of women, and all the oppressed and marginalised communities in society. Women s leadership should not be measured by any standard, except a woman s intrinsic qualities to lead, and in order to achieve this, institutions need to do more, to encourage men to be vocal, and to speak out against patriarchal ideas and actions. Men cannot be silent partners in the work we must do, to achieve the meaningful empowerment of women. We are all stakeholders, with so much to gain, by addressing the tremendous challenges that patriarchy, normalised violence, and deep-rooted oppression are having, at every level of our societies, she said. I believe that, in order to ensure that women and girls are empowered, and able to exercise active leadership within society, we must, first of all, work with media stakeholders in our nations. Concluding, the President quoted the inspiring words of activist and academic Bell Hooks; The soul of feminist politics is the commitment to ending patriarchal domination of women and men, girls and boys. Love cannot exist in any relationship that is based on domination and coercion A genuine feminist politics always brings us from bondage to freedom, from lovelessness to loving.

4 4 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday July 18, 2017 Something magical happens each time you enter these city walls. Architectural excellence captivates your visual senses, as every step leads to a landmark of historical value. Walls and pavements that line the grid of narrow streets whisper secrets and mystic tales to passersby, whilst the air fills up with modern art, live music, and an array of celebrations. The Unesco World Heritage Site could perhaps best be described as a place where history meets the present; where every explorer can find something they love. How will your Valletta story unfold?

5 Tuesday July 18, 2017 The Voice of the Maltese 5 A woman for all seasons PERSONALITY OF THE MONTH OF THE MONTH Josephine Borg To raise money for charity is always commendable. To raise a quarter of a million for the Cancer Council reflects considerable ability and determination. Josephine Borg, an Australian-born mother from Horsely Park NSW, makes the Personality of the Month because she has worked tirelessly not just for the Maltese but the general community at large. Josephine was born at Parramatta on October 1957, the daughter of Horatius and Rosaria Bezzina both from Mgarr Malta. She attended Our Lady of Mt Carmen at Wentworthville, Catherine McAuley at Westmead and St Patrick s Business College in Sydney. In 1978 she married John Borg, and have three sons, Michael, Damien, Patrick. They are also grandparents to Zane, Aidan and Marco. Josephine, who works part time as a doctor s receptionist, told The Voice of the Maltese that her mother was a forward thinker and had stressed to her and her two brothers to integrate into the community and to be active in sports; hence her participation in swimming, netball and athletics. The Catholic faith was an important part of their upbringing. Josephine became an Extraordinary Minister of Communion and ministered Eucharistic celebrations as well as to the sick. Her children were altar boys In 1984 Josephine moved her family to Horsley Park and started working as a housekeeper for Fr Philip Gambin MSSP. Because of her secretarial background she got very involved in the community of Horsley Park. The community and the Maltese community, in particular, became my extended family. I felt that I had come home. Josephine said. My Maltese was very limited. While Mum and Dad spoke Maltese we answered ithem n English. My parent-in-law did not speak Maltese, so I decided to do something about it. I enrolled in the Maltese Language School and in 2005 passed my Higher School Certificate in Maltese. I also served as the secretary of the Maltese Community Council of NSW and became a volunteer presenter on the Maltese Radio Programme on 2GLF FM. In 2000 along with Theresa Quattromani, they formed the Horsley Park Community Social Group organising outings and events for all members of the community. Their social group has also supported the Missions in the Philippines, and Putinu Cares in Malta. Fourteen years ago, again with Theresa Josephine began fundraising for the Cancer Council by holding the first Biggest Morning Tea and raised $1, Each year since then, this event has grown to become the annual community fundraiser that it is today attracting hundreds of people. All areas of the community - business and private, the Local Council and also the Parish and two local schools support it. Theresa and Josephine began holding morning teas at Horsley Homestead, and then due to rain they tried the local Fire Station before moving to the Marion School Hall. Finally in the last three years this event has been held at Mandavilla Event Centre. As part of the fundraising for the Cancer Council they began holding a Lejla Mgarrija Dinner Dance (Theresa s family also comes from Mgarr) featuring entertainment from Mgarrin and displaying antique farming implements, clothing, ghonnella (the faldetta) and even a wedding gown worn 84 years ago, all donated by James Galea who is also a member of the Horsley Park community. These evenings have become popular among the Mgarrin within the local community. Last year they also took up an extra collection to help support the community of Mgarr Malta in the start-up of their local band. During the night of the dinner dance, the image of the patron saint of Mgarr, Santa Marija along with the local flag of Mgarr that was presented to us by the community of Mgarr in recognition of our donation are displayed, concluded Josephine Borg. To date with the generous support of the local and Maltese community, $250, have been raised for the Cancer Council. For her contribution, in the Australian Day Celebration Josephine was awarded an Australian Day Achievement Medallion from Fairfield Council.

6 6 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday July 18, 2017 Il-Lunzjata: Fejn il-karmelitani kellhom l-ewwel Knisja u kunvent Wa da mill-passi ati qosra u interessanti ftit il barra mir-rabat te odna lejn il-lunzjata. Din tibda ftit wara li t alli d-da la ta G ar Barka. In-natura li ΩΩejjen din il-mixja tpaxxi lil kull min jag milha. It-triq dejqa twasslek g all-knisja antika tal- Lunzjata tal-patrijiet Karmelitani tal-imdina fejn jing ad li kellhom l-ewwel knisja u kunvent tag hom. Hi knisja miωmuma fi stat tajjeb afna u fiha g adu jsir ilquddies sal-lum. Fil-ktejjeb tieg u L-Ewwel Karmelitani f Malta IL-LUNZ- JATA L-QADIMA ( ), Patri Serafin Abela O.Carm jikteb li g alkemm skont it-tradizzjoni diversi huma d- dati tal-mi ja tal-ewwel Karmelitani f Malta, l-ewwel dokument li niltaqg u mieg u u li jipprova indirettament il-mi ja tal-karmelitani f Malta huwa t-testment tas-sinjura Margerita d Aragona di Pellegrino. Din kienet mara twajba, eneruωa, nobbli u armla li ftit jiem qabel mietet kienet g amlet testment li fih, fost affarijiet o ra, alliet il-knisja ta Santa Marija Annunzjata lill-patrijiet jew lil dawk li jaççettaw li jg idu kuljum l-uffizzju Divin fl-istess knisja. Is-Sinjura D Aragona mietet f Ìunju tal-1418 u ndifnet fil-katidral. L-eΩekuturi tat-testment tas-sinjura d Aragona g aωlu lill-karmelitani biex ituhom il-knisja tal-lunzjata li naraw illum, u l- beni m ollija lilha fil-post imsejjah Ta San Leonardo. Diffiçli tg id meta sar dan ittrasferiment g ax il-markiω del Carretto di Monferrato, ir-ra el ta Leonora, it-tifla l- o ra ta Margerita d Aragona, ikkontesta t-testment li kienet g amlet omm il-mara tieg u. Ta min jinnota li din kienet l-ewwel kawωa li l-maltin ma kellhomx g alfejn i allu Malta biex jidhru quddiem il-qorti ta Palermo fi Sqallija. Jidher li xi Gran Mastri tal-ordni kellhom ibda speçjali lejn din il-knisja tal-lunzjata: fil-fatt insibu li l-gran Mastru Claude De la Sengle xtaq li qalbu tindifen fil- Knisja tal-lunzjata, u hekk sar. Sa anke saret lapida b kitba li g adha hemm sal-lum. Ta min jg id ukoll li l-gran Mastru Jean Parisot de Valette (dak li bena l-belt Valletta) kien g adda lejl mal- Patrijiet Karmelitani tal-lunzjata biex l-g ada filg odu jiltlaq lejn San Pawl il-ba ar alli minn hemm jaqbad il- ifen g all-birgu. Din kienet l-a ar Ωjara tal-gran Mastrulil dawn il-patrijiet g ax ftit wara miet. Mhix a a kbira li f dan il-lejl, il-patrijiet Karmelitani Il-Knisja tal-lunzjata fir- Rabat li serviet ukoll ta Kunvent g all-karmelitani wrew ix-xewqa mal-gran Mastru li jibnu kunvent fil- Belt kif fil-fatt se ftit tassnin wara. Kien hemm Gran Mastru ie or, Martin Garces li fit-testment tieg u alla somma flus li g al dak iω-ωmien kienet somma mhux aωin lill- Kunvent tal-lunzjata. Anke l-gran Mastru Alof De Wignacourt kien mid la ta dil-knisja tal-lunzjata g ax meta l-majjistru tal- Karmelitani, Patri Salv Vinci g amel il-viωta Kanonika lill-kunvent u l-knisja tal-lunzjata, kien hemm preωenti wkoll l-istess Gran Mastru. Ma dawn ta min iωid aktar persona i importanti li g amlu Ωjara lil din il-knisja u lil dan il-kunvent, fosthom Sir Basil Spence, perit ta fama internazzjonali. Importanti jing ad ukoll lil fl-1659, il-patrijiet Karmelitani allew din il-knisja tal-lunzjata, limiti tar-rabat, biex jid lu l-imdina. Fl-a arnett, fattur ie or ta min isemmi hu li fit-tieni Gwerra Dinjija din il-knisja tal-lunzjata serviet ta messroom lill-militar. PeterPaulCiantar A proud sponsor of The Voice of the Maltese website: Breakaway Travel 94 corner of Main & Campbell Streets, Blacktown NSW... for all your travel needs. Tel (02) blacktown@breakawaytravel.com.au

7 Tuesday July 18, 2017 The Voice of the Maltese 7 Another service offered by The Voice of the Maltese providing legal information to our readers New Duties and Taxes when Buying and Selling Property by PaulSant As of 1 July 2017, new measures have been introduced by the NSW Government in the hope of assisting first home buyers to enter the property market in NSW, and clamping down on tax recovery from foreign residents. The new measures are compressive and varied. They look to reducing the taxation costs of buying property for Australian resident first home buyers, increasing the rate of taxation for foreign residents, and lowering the price threshold for withholding of capital gains tax by the purchaser when the property is sold. If you are an Australian resident first home buyer, as of 1 July 2017, the NSW government has: 1. abolished stamp duty on all homes up to $650,000; 2. given stamp duty relief in the form of a concession for homes valued between $650,000 and $800,000; 3. abolished insurance duty on lenders mortgage insurance; and 4. no longer allow investors to defer paying stamp duty on off-the-plan purchases Foreign residents are now required to pay: 1. an increased surcharge on stamp duty, doubled from 4% to 8%; 2. a surcharge on land tax, from 0.75% to 2%. Stamp Duty Changes For those that are first home buyers, the savings on stamp duty have been summarised in the following table, prepared by the ATO: First Home Purchase Price Ordinary Stamp Duty Savings for first home of existing dwellings $500,000 $17,990 $18,768 $550,000 $20,240 $21,451 $600,000 $22,490 $24,361 $650,000 $24,740 $26,857 $700,000 $26,990 $18,786 $750,000 $29,240 $10,950 $800,000 $31,490 $2,896 The above figures include savings on abolition of Lender s Mortgage Insurance duty. First Home Owners Grant (New Home) First home buyers building a new property will be entitled to a $10,000 grant on homes worth up to $750,000. First home buyers purchasing a new property worth up to $600,000 will be entitled to a $10,000 grant. This measure is designed to provide assistance to first home buyers and encourage the construction of new homes.. However, these new measures have resulted in the closure of the previous $5,000 New Home Grant Scheme, which was available to other buyers including investors. Buyers who are not first home buyers will not be eligible for any assistance. Land Tax Changes Land tax is a tax levied on the owners of land in New South Wales as at midnight on 31 December of each year. However, you will not be liable for land tax if the property is your principal place of residence. You may have to pay land tax on, vacant land (including vacant rural land), land with a house, apartment or other dwelling on it; investment properties and commercial properties, such as factories, shops and warehouses. Land tax is levied at a rate against the PAUL SANT (SOLICITOR) PARTNER AT LONGTON LEGAL For All Your Legal Needs Now at: 21 George Street Parramatta Phone: Also at: Level 4, 370 Pitt Street, Sydney. Ph: paul.sant@longtonlegal.com.au Maltese Spoken value of the land as determined by the Valuer General. This means it does not include the value of any buildings on the property. It is solely the unimproved value of the land. In the 2017 tax year, land owners will only pay land tax if the total value of their unimproved land is over $549, If you have exceeded this threshold, you will be liable to pay Land Tax at a rate of 1.6% of the value, plus a flat fee of $100. Foreign persons who own residential land in NSW, must pay an additional surcharge of 0.75 per cent, which will now be increased to 2%. Capital Gains Tax Withholding Regime On 9 May 2017, the Government announced changes to the foreign resident capital gains withholding (FRCGW) rate and threshold. The changes will apply to contracts for the sale of land entered into on or after 1 July 2017: 1. for real property disposals where the contract price is $750,000 and above; and 2. the withholding tax rate will be 12.5%. The requirement to withhold will apply to all purchasers, unless the vendor can produce a Clearance Certificate. Therefore, if you are an Australian resident, you will have 12.5% of the sale price of your property withheld from you unless you apply to the ATO for a Clearance certificate and provide this to the purchaser prior to settlement. If you are an Australia resident, you will be provided with a Clearance Certificate. But, where a foreign resident disposes of certain taxable Australian property, the purchaser is required to withhold an amo-unt from the purchase price and pay that amount to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). The purposes of the withholding regime is to ensure that the ATO is able to collect tax liabilities from foreign residents efficiently. Therefore, if you are thinking about selling your property and the value of the property is more than $750,000 you should apply for a Clearance Certificate as soon as possible to avoid delays.

8 8 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday July 18, 2017 Have your say/xi trid tghid? The Voice of the Maltese for r t n ig i gh ht t l y ma m a ga g az z ini ne e is is a bi-lingual (in English and Maltese) fortnightly magazine that specifically targets all Maltese living abroad with emphasis on the Australian and Maltese scenes. e magazine can also be read in flipbook format online. A pdf copy is also sent via on request. If you require a printed copy we can also oblige. Editors: Malta: Joseph Cutajar Australia: Lawrence Dimech: MOM, OAM, JP address: maltesevoice@gmail.com Letters for publication in The Voice magazine, either in Maltese or English should include name and address of the writer and be ed to: maltesevoice@gmail.com. Now you can also join us on facebook: com/groups/thevoiceofthemaltese Your letters/ L-ittri tag kom... The Maltese language in Australia William Gatt from Williamstown Victoria writes: Whichever way you look at it, we are not able to provide a consistent number of students to sit for the Maltese language exams as required to keep our language a subject in the education system in Australia. I would think that this alone demands from us something special. There may be many arguments or excuses, but the interest is not there. Perhaps it's the way we go about trying to teach the Maltese language. Are we obsessed with teaching it so that students have to sit for exams? The persons I come across are those wanting just to learn conversational Maltese so they can talk to their nanna/nannu or their husband/wife. They do not want to sit for exams. Learning Maltese is not easy, and many just give the language away after a few boring lessons. I am not against teaching Dun Karm s Maltese but the proof of the pudding is in the eating. I know there are many dedicated teachers that give their time voluntarily to reach out Where you can read The Voice Josephine Saliba from Melton, Victoria, writes: To my surprise, I walked into the Melton City Council Library at McKenzie Street Melton Victoria, and discovered that I could read the latest copies of The Voice of the Maltese in Australia. In fact, they have most of the past copies as well. Congratulations to this Council library for giving the Maltese such excellent service. Editor s comment: Request your local Library to provide you with a copy of The Voice magazine. Hard copies of the magazine are also being sold at the La Valette Centre at Blacktown and at the MCC Centre at Franklin Street Parramatta West. You can order your copy from these outlets. to those requesting it, but then there are others who have tried to make it a business out of it. For example, I cannot understand why there should be so many divisions in those conducting schools/classes. When the students are shrinking why spread the few resources we have. Do we really want to promote the Maltese language? Iridu jifirduna Mario Zammit minn Melbourne jikteb: Fil-biçça l kbira, dawk fost is-37,613 li skont iç-çensiment twieldu Malta, Ωgur li ew l-awstralja bejn 40 sa 60 sen ilu, jien fosthom. Dan g amilnieh g al g add ta ra unijiet, fosthom biex intejbu l-poωizzjoni u nag tu ejjieni lill-familji li di a` kellna inkella kien be siebna nrabbu. Kien x kien, u ta liema kulur politiku konna, xorta bqajna ng oωωu lil art twelidna. Kull gvern Malti, min b afna u min bi ftit, safejn kien possibbli g inna ntejjbu l-kundizzjonijiet tag na hawnhekk. Min-na a l-o ra, kien min kien imexxi f Malta fejn stajna appogjajnieh, ma naf qatt li ri na ng ajjruh. Mhux hekk issa minn xi sezzjoni fostna li suppost taf a jar, u li jidher li mhix kuntenta bil-gvern ta b alissa. Xi w ud li jriduha ta elitisti qed jag tu l-impressjoni li jridu jda lu feles bejnet il-komunita` u jifirduna f mument meta d-dinja qed tfa ar lil Malta g all-kisbiet tag ha tant li wliedna stess qed jentuωjaωmaw irwie hom iωuru lil Malta. Dan l-a ar iet f idejja n-newsletter tal- MCC ta Victoria. TqaΩΩiΩt b xi kitbiet li kien fiha. B al riedu jg idu li f Malta hemm gvern korrott u kien Ωball li l-poplu re a ta l-fiduçja tieg u lill-gvern ta b alissa u li di a mexxa lil Malta fl-erba snin ta qabel. Safejn naf jien, g aqdiet b all-mccs fiddiversi stati suppost qeg din hemm biex i e u tikber l-g aqda u l-kultura fost il-komunita` Malitja. Ma nafx jekk ukoll jiksbux xi g ajnuna finanzjajra mill-gvern biex ixerrduha l-kultura Maltija. Dan tal-mcc tal- Victoria hu disservizz lill-komunita`. Qed jag mel il-kuntrarju. Five days of silence Gejtu Deguara from Gowanbrae Victoria, writes: It looks like SBS Radio has decided on how many hours the Maltese should be allocated, that is only two hours a week. I would like to make an appeal to SBS Radio. Why do we have one hour on Friday and the other hour the next day on Saturday? Why do we, the Maltese go silent for five whole days? No news from Malta for five days. What is the matter with SBS Radio? It s a shame, and it must be fixed.

9 Tuesday July 18, 2017 The Voice of the Maltese 9 New Consul-General for Malta in Victoria T he Voice of the Maltese understands that a new Consul-General for Malta in Victoria has been appointed. Ms Joanna Pisani will arrive in Melbourne next month to commence her tour of duty. Ms Pisani joined the Civil Service in 1976 and after 12 years working within the Ministry of Agriculture moved to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There, for 15 years she headed the Scholarships Section, during which time she was awarded a Quality Service Charter. In 2003 she was appointed Consul General of Malta in Sydney until Gioconda Schembri s Three Anzacs from Malta The book Three Anzacs from Malta, by Gioconda Schembri that tells the true story of friendship, love, and loss, are now available for purchase by the author herself on gioconda-schembri@ yahoo.com or via the facebook page Three Anzacs from Malta. Printed copies can also be obtained at , ebook for kindle at amazon.com, and ebook for tablet at smashwords.com. For readers who live in Malta or will be visiting Malta the book is also available at the Malta Military bookshop, Castille Place, Valletta, near the Upper Barrakka Gardens On her return to Malta on March1 that year she was appointed Deputy Chief of Protocol within the Protocol and Consular Services Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Consequently, on September 17, 2009 she was appointed Acting Director Protocol and Consular Services, and two years later, on November 24, she was named Director, Protocol and Consular Services. On July 1 two years ago, she was appointed Charge' d Affairs at the Embassy of Malta in Dublin. The Maltese language still in danger The Maltese community in Australia has been warned once again by the education authorities regarding the impact of small candidatures on the provision of the Maltese language at Year 12 level. NESA (NSW Education Standards Authority) and the curriculum and assessment authorities across Australia have decided that three criteria need to be met to ensure the continued provision of a language at HSC level. One of these criteria states that when a national candidature of a nationality assessed language falls below a total of 15 students, for each of three consecutive years, the language subject will be suspended until there is evidence that projected student numbers have risen significantly. The good news is that as the national candidature for Maltese was above 15 in 2016, the CCAFL National Reference Group has agreed that the suspension of the Maltese language will be stopped. Should enrolment in future fall below the total of 15 students nationally there is always the danger that the Maltese language will be suspended. This means that we are consistently struggling to put forward federally more than 15 candidates in the Maltese language. The Voice of the Maltese would like however to acknowledge the efforts made by the various Maltese schools teaching the Maltese language in Australia and the substantial financial assistance provided by the Malta Government to ensure that the Maltese language continues to be part of the Australian curriculum.

10 10 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday July 18, 2017 version of this series in English may be found in the author's blog at: blogspot.com A Perspettiva IΩ-Ωwie bejn l-omosesswali kitba ta IVAN CAUCHI Meta taqraw dan l-artiklu fil-parlament ta Malta jkun ittie ed vot dwar iω-ωwie bejn l-omosesswali. Dan ikun pass ie or wara l-li i ta' tliet snin ilu li tat lill-omosesswali d-dritt li jkollhom g aqda çivili bi drittijiet, responsibbiltajiet u obbligi ugwali daqs kull Ωwie. IΩ-Ωew partiti l-kbar ta' Malta t-tnejn kellhom dan il-pass fil-manifest elettorali tag hom, u ma ppermettewx vot ta' kuxjenza g all-membri eletti tal-parlament. G alhekk kif kien mistenni dan il-vot g adda, iωda mhux unanimament g ax membru wie ed tal-partit Nazzjonalista vvota kontra. Hu pass ie or (wara dak tad-divorzju) li f'- Malta Kattoliçissima qatt ma sibt li se nara f' ajti, u kelli Ωball. Bl-appo mill-poplu Malti rrappurtat li hu ta' 77% favur pass b al dan, 1 anke iktar g oli mill-appo ta' 70% tal-poplu Awstraljan, 2 jidher li l- Maltin g aωlu li jisimg u l-karba ta' minoranza o ra li kienet emar inata u mωebil a g al tant snin, jew a jar g al sekli s a. Din il-preferenza tal-maltin hija minkejja l-katekiωmu tal-knisja Kattolika Rumana, li mhux biss ma taqbilx maω-ωwie bejn l-omosesswali, imma tg id li 'huma msej in biex i arsu l-kastità'. 3 Din il-li i l- dida tmur deçiωament kontra dan it-tag lim, imma mill-banda l-o ra hija konsistenti mat-tag lim tal-katekiωmu fil-paragrafu ta' qabel, fejn dan jg id li 'ma g andux ikun hemm g alihom ebda sinjal ta' diskriminazzjoni mhux usta'. 4 Fi kwestjonijiet kbar morali b al din, spiss nisma ilmenti minn membri tal-knisja, l-iktar dawk li j ossuhom devoti kbar kif ukoll dawk li j ossu l-obbligu li jkunu l-gwardjani li jwasslu l-fidi perfetta li tg allmu huma tale quale lill- enerazzjoni futura, li jg idu li mhumiex qed jing ataw l-ispazju li jsemmg u le inhom, jew li l-fehma tag hom titqies li m'g adhiex tg odd u li ma tiswa xejn. Dan l-argument isir ukoll fl-awstralja. Per eωempju, l-isqfijiet Awstraljani ar u fuljett, imsejja Tmissux LiΩ-Ωwie (Don't Mess with Marriage), li jispiçça bil-konkluωjoni li il-veduta li Ωwie huwa bejn ra el u mara... qieg da ssir verità li ma tistax ti i mitkellma. 5 Jien na seb li dan is-sentiment minnu - iktar ma jg addi Ω-Ωmien il-veduta tradizzjonali taω-ωwie se tkun il-minoranza, speçjalment fil-pajjiωi demokratiçi tad-dinja tal-punent, minkejja storja twila ta' influenza Kristjana. Il-mistoqsija li nistaqsi lili nnifsi hija din - suppost li in oss simpatija li l-veduti tal-knejjes insara, jew il-biçça l-kbira tag hom li jsostnu r-rwol tradizzjonali biss taω-ωwie, qeg din ji u injorati u anke emar inati? Jien inwie eb b'mistoqsija o ra. Il-knisja jinteressaha li s-soluzzjoni tag ha g al min huwa omosesswali hi ç-ça da, g al g omru, ta' dak l-att li jiddefinixxi l-orjentazzjoni sesswali tieg u? Jinteressaha l-knisja li meta l-poplu f'dawn il-pajjiωi kien predominantement Nisrani, in olqot atmosfera soçjali, ispirata minn dan it-tag lim, tant ostili li afna omosesswali kienu jag mlu g omorhom jostru l-orjentazzjoni tag hom? Li w ud spiççaw jiωωew u lil xi add tas-sess oppost min abba l-pressjoni fuqhom, li wasslithom g al problemi ta' sa a mentali u kultant anke g al suwiçidju? Li spiççaw ostraçizzati mill-familji tag hom? Jinteressaha l-knisja li f' afna pajjiωi fejn id-distinzjoni bejn knisja u stat mhix dik li hi llum, kellhom li ijiet li kkriminalizzaw Referenzi Il-komunita` LGBTIQ f Malta tiççelebra d- deçiωjoni tal-parlament Maltin li approva l-li i dwar iω-ωwie indaqs l-omosesswalità? Li nies spiççaw arrestati jew tilfu kull ma kellhom? QabΩet g alihom il-knisja dakinhar? Jew kienet parteçipi? Ng iduha kif inhi, l-attitudni kontra l-omosesswali ma vvintathiex il-knisja - kienet teωisti qabel Ωmien Ìesù u g adha teωisti f'postijiet li qatt ma ntmessu b'mod sinjifikanti mill-kristjaneωmu. Dawn l-attitudnijiet sabu ru hom fil-bibbja, u g alhekk interpretati li ejjin minn Alla. Il-fatt li Ìesù ma tkellimx direttament dwar dan is-su ett ma tte idx b ala opportunità ta' moderazzjoni g all-forzi qawwija omofobiçi fid-dinja. G all-kuntrarju, meta l-knisja kellha influwenza kbira fil-qafas soçjali u legali tal-pajjiω, kienet intransi enti g all-a ar, u assitha, u g adha t ossha, i ustifikata li l-omosesswali ma g andux ikollhom post fis-soçjetà f'kollox b al ma g andhom dawk li mhumiex. Min kien omosesswali, la le en u lanqas influenza ma kellu. L-unika konçessjoni li tag mel il-knisja Kattolika hija li tistqarr li ma g aωluhiex huma l-qag da omosesswali tag hom 6. Meta wie ed jilmenta illum li l-vuçi nisranija qed ting ata fil- enb, jien ng id, x'tistenna wara dan kollu? Wara dik id-diskriminazzjoni kontinwa kontra l-gays, in-nuqqas ta' drittijiet u ta' rispett, g al snin, sekli s a, ta seb li dawk li jiffurmaw parti mirra uni g alfejn id-diskriminazzjoni teωisti, se jing ataw xi çans biex jipperpetwaw id-diskriminazzjoni? DaΩgur li le. Iktar ma l-pendlu kien imxengel na a wa da, iktar illum se jixxengel in-na a l-o ra, u jekk mhux illum, g ada. Lil dawk l-insara li qed jilmentaw min-nuqqas ta' influwenza fissoçjetà tal-lum, f'din id-dinja post-kristjana, ikun f'postu li jg idu, f'isem il-knisja, mea culpa, mea culpa, mea massima culpa. 1. tality_in_favour_of_lgbti_people?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook#.ww L5TSdLfQr, retrieved 10/7/ retrieved 10/7/ Cathechism of the Catholic Church, para Ibid., para Don't Mess With Marriage; Australian Catholic Bishops Conference; Cathechism of the Catholic Church, para 2358

11 Tuesday July 18, 2017 The Voice of the Maltese 11 Leadership and the lack of it Fr CarmeloSciberras OAM, Lt Col Rtd, STL Only once did I win money in a sweepstake on the Melbourne Cup. That was when my horse finished last, and there was a prize for that. Thinking of our Maltese Community associations, I think that like my horse, the one that will be last to vanish will be the one that wins the prize. However, viewing the glass half full rather than half empty, it is the horse that lasts the whole distance, the longest race in the country, which wins the famous cup. Last year I attended a number of the Maltese festivals (festi) with their monotonous sameness of dinner dance, mass, procession with the saint s statue carried aloft on the weary shoulders of aged men and following the Maltese Band playing marches. Then after sunset when the crowd swells with non-maltese spectators the fireworks follow as the finale. After that, the crowds, getting smaller every year, would disappear in the twinkling of an eye. Of course, meeting friends from past parishes where I served was the highlight of the event as it is for others. Listening to friends, generally speaking, I heard the same words repeated. I enjoy these festas because I catch up with my friends but then sadly followed the lament everything will soon finish. (Kollox se jispicca) Why is everything finishing off like this? Can our generation that started these festivals, transporting an important expression of our culture from our islands towns and villages to the suburbs of the main cities of Australia salvage anything? Would our cultural heritage disappear in our country of adoption when these festivals are no more? I can write separate articles to answer every one of these questions. Maybe I would make a more valuable contribution if I were to organise a symposium on the subject and invite together with our senior Maltese those of the second and third generation who inherited our migrant blood. It may prove a valuable exercise for to listen them telling us why they do not participate in our activities yet at the same time profess pride in their roots. I have often wondered whether these younger people, many of whom are now in their forties, see their heritage in the same way we of the first generation of Maltese migrants perceive it. Yet a symposium like this may increase the division rather than cement our separateness. In this article, I wish to highlight only one aspect, the lack of volunteers for leadership. Probably many will disagree with my thinking. I hope that whether others agree or disagree they will exercise their leadership and respond to my thoughts so creating further thinking and correspondence. If my message is not palatable, I hope that it is the message and not the messenger that is shot down. Leadership is neither to be confused with one wanting to be top dog, nor is the lack of Fr Carmelo Sciberras offering oneself to lead be confused with humility. Hiding behind the curtains, priding oneself as working quietly but only in the background is not humility. Still time to diagnose the malady It may be more a sign of selfishness, laziness, emptiness of altruism and imagination, or the possession of an inferiority complex that can only be cured by having a go. Just as the general cannot win a battle if he has no soldiers under him, the soldiers alone cannot win it either. Without a leader they go in every direction. Though there is more than one reason, I think that it is this lack of self-offering for service through leadership by the bigger number of the members of our Maltese migrant community that has brought us to the situation everyone can plainly observe. However, I am also convinced there is still time to reverse it or at least to diagnose the malady and find a cure. I have observed that since our culture is entwined with catholicity, many Maltese of the first generation of migrants have volunteered and continue to volunteer to work in their parish communities. However, with the exception of the ministry to the sick and that of catechetical instruction in the State s schools, these volunteers are always responsible for the menial tasks of keeping the church clean and maintained, setting up the flowers to decorate the altar and washing linen. I do not see many Maltese surnames heading the Parish Pastoral Council even though they have the wisdom and experience instilled from childhood, or the Parish Finance Committee though we have the reputation of knowing how to make a buck. I am not demeaning the work of those who perform the menial tasks, however I am sure that there are many good leaders hiding their talents in the sand and hiding their lighted candles under a bushel. Like all other art forms and sporting abilities leadership is developed by its on-going practice. The more one leads the more one learns how to lead. I think that it is this lack of voluntary service - for leadership is a form of service - over the half-century of Maltese migration to Australia that has brought us to the standstill situation in which we currently find ourselves in. It is true that as migrants beginning from scratch, working many hours and overtime to provide and educate our children, we did not have the time to volunteer to do anything else and much less to inspire others to do so. The consequence to this, without in any way wanting to denigrate their generous contribution, our associations and committees leaders continued to serve in leadership roles far beyond their use by date. This leads to monotonous sameness. It leads to repetition in a new age of rapid change and innovation. It leads to lack of imagination, nostalgia, rear mirror perspectives and discouragement to those of the generations that followed who have now walked away. We may blame them and not ourselves for walking away. If one were to look at the list of Maltese surnames among the higher professions, the courts, the arts, radio and television one would quickly realise how much golden talent could have been available to make our culture flourish further. Leadership is the highest form of service. Once I listened to a talk on leadership presented by our present Governor General, then an army general, Sir Peter Cosgrove. Calling his talk Four Plus One, he pointed out the five qualities of leadership. According to the General, they are integrity, moral courage, compassion and humility. He kept the last one separate, calling it the Plus One. This was Communication. It is true that one has to have all the above qualities, but one must be able to communicate them. I am sure that all upright people within the Maltese Community, reputed for its good citizenship, have these qualities embedded in their genes, only in need of sprouting out. That means that all of us are potential leaders within our community and beyond. This is the mystery I am trying to fathom when I see that soon we will have no leaders and things will finish. Perhaps we who had or still have some leadership positions in our society failed to practice the Plus One. We failed to communicate by example rather than verbally the other qualities, and so we had no followers. After all the responsibility, the onus and the privilege of appointing oneself or being appointed as a leader is only verified when it is endorsed by one s followers. Yet even now there is still hope for those in leadership positions and those who may follow. Since there is no such person as the perfect leader then in the vocation of leadership there is no arrival but only the journey.

12 12 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday July 18, 2017 Roundup of News About Malta Malta legalises same-sex marriage History was made on July 12, as Malta, The European Union s smallest nation joined 25 Western European nations to become the 15th Euroepan country to legalise same-sex marriage. The Marriage Equality Bill passed almost unanimously, by 66-1, with Nationalist Party MP Edwin Vassallo the only lawmaker to defy his party s directive and vote against the bill. This is the first law moved and enacted by the new legislature as promised by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. Both the Government and Opposition had publicly declared their support for the bill. The aim of this law is that of modernising marriage law through the mainstreaming of Malta s population tops 440,000 mark Figures released by the National Statistics Office, NSO, show that by end 2016, the population of the Maltese islands, Malta, Gozo and Comino exceeded the 440,000 mark, 23,000 more than it was five years ago. One in every five persons on the Maltese islands is aged over 65, and 2,600 elderly persons are over 89. During 2016, there were 4,500 births registered, which is 642 more than the previous year; 152 of the babies were born to mothers of over 45 while nine of the children were born to mothers whose husbands are over 60 years. These figures were published on July 11, the day United Nations commemorated World Population Day. On this day, the earth s population reached 7.6 billion. The population of the People s Republic of China totals 1,388, and still growing. The next largest country, India, has 120 million fewer, for a population of 1.28 billion. The United States, the third largest country has a much smaller population, of 323 million. The figure quoted for China doesn t include the island of Taiwan, which the PRC claims as a part of China. Nor does it include the former British and Portuguese colonies of Hong Kong and Macau, which are governed as special administrative regions. China has an estimated population density of 145 people per square kilometre, to rank 81st despite the country itself being one of the largest in terms of size and the largest in terms of population. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat (centre) and Minister Helena Dalli (on his right) join the LGBTIQ community in their celebration equality for all, meaning that the institution of marriage is now fully gender neutral to ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, and gender queer (LGBTIQ) persons are free to contract a marriage with their loved ones, be they of the same or a different sex, and also to parent children without having unnecessary references to their gender or biological make-up on their children s birth certificates. It also means that all discrepancies between husband and wife have now been removed. For example, both are now free to adopt or take on their partner s surname without distinction. Their siblings would then take on the family surname that the couple chooses on their marriage day. In tweets, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Opposition leader Simon Busuttil expressed their satisfaction at the passing of Health Minister Chris Fearne won a very tight race in a second round of voting with Finance Minister Edward Scicluna to become deputy leader for parliamentary affairs of the Labour Party. The position also gives him the mantle of Deputy Prime Minister under Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. He eventually beat Scicluna in the second round by getting 51% of the votes, translated into 367 of the votes cast. Scicluna polled 348, or 49% of the votes cast by the 715 LP delegates at the extraordinary general meeting called up for the purpose. The two ministers faced off after a first round contest gave them the majority of votes against third contestant Equality Minister Helena Dalli who was eliminated with 199 votes. In that round, Fearne with 296 votes and Scicluna with 249, failed to obtain an absolute majority, necessitating the second round on Saturday evening. In his first reaction, Chris Fearne thanked Dr Muscat for encouraging him to run in the contest. He said he wanted to be close the bill. PM Muscat said: Marriage equality is not a reality in Malta. Pledge fulfilled, future sealed. Busuttil said: By voting in favour in tonight's vote on Marriage equality PN Malta was on the right side of history. In comments to the media after the vote, the Prime Minister said the vote represented a historic moment in the country s history, and that despite objections by some, time would eventually show that the decision was the right one. The PN leader expressed his satisfaction at parliament approving the bill. He refused to comment on whether the party would be taking disciplinary action against Vassallo, who defied the Opposition whip. Equality Minister Helena Dalli said the law was intended to modernise the institution of marriage. The LGBTIQ community at Castille Square met the decision with celebrations with Malta Gay Rights Movement spokeswoman thanking all the MPs who voted in favour of the bill, Minister Helena Dalli, her team as well as the Prime Minister for their efforts in creating a fairer society. Describing the day as historic, she said that the new law was important because everyone aspires to one day marry. Minister Chris Fearne elected Labour deputy leader for parliamentary affairs The Labour Party s new Deputy Leader, Dr Chris Fearne to the people and to party delegates to ensure that they were at the heart of party matters. He added: The result has shown the party was a united one as it had been a tight race. The party delegates also reconfirmed Joseph Muscat as party leader with a 99% vote, and Chris Cardona as Deputy Leader for Party Affairs with an 88% vote.

13 Tuesday July 18, 2017 The Voice of the Maltese 13 Roundup of News About Malta New Foreign Minister meets Ambassadors Following the experience it gained during its sixmonth rotating Presidency of the EU Council, and its Presidency of the Commonwealth, Meeting, Malta is now aiming even higher and will be pushing for a seat on the UN Security Council when the election for the non-permanent members takes place in four years time. When he addressed Malta s Ambassadors during the annual meeting, Carmelo Abela, the new Minister for Foreign Affairs, said Malta is now ready to share its experience of institution building, peaceful transitions and the development of strong regional ties and, as an active UN Security Council member for the term He believes that Malta would similarly serve the global community well. Therefore with this in mind during the 2022 election Malta is seeking election to one of the Non- Permanent seats on the Security Council. He pointed out this is a goal towards which the Ambassadors will all need to embark through their contacts in the coming months. As to his added responsibilities, Carmelo Abela said that the Prime Minister s decision to add Trade Promotion to the Foreign Affairs Ministry s portfolio and to highlight this change by amending the Ministry s traditional name was not taken haphazardly. It reflects the Government s engagement to actively support Malta-based enterprises, extend their operations into international markets, and to attract further foreign investment to Malta. Michelle Muscat third charity swim July 22 On Saturday July 22, Michelle Muscat, the Prime Minister s wife (pictured right), will take up her third charity swimming challenge in aid of The Marigold Foundation. After her previous two long distance swims in 2015 and 2016, this year's swim will be her longest to date, a total of 10 kilometres. The North to Port challenge starts from the G allis Tower in St. Paul's Bay, all the way to Marsamxett Harbour in Valletta. Despite the heavy schedule with her husband leading to the June 3 general election Mrs Muscat has been training every day for the last year in order to prepare herself for the swim. The feat will coincide with the Marigold Foun-dation's Annual As Gozo prepares to welcome the annual influx of Maltese tourists during Santa Marija, the National Statistics Office, NSO figures shed light on the domestic tou-rism demand confirming that the sister island has become a Mecca throughout the year and not just during the Santa Marija when companies shut down for their annual holidays. The NSO figures indicate that last year (2016) nearly 54% of all visitors to Gozo were Maltese with total domestic trips made by Gozo Channel amounting to 241,216, an increase of 9.8 per cent when compared to the previous year, Malta residents who visited the Gozo and Comino region for duration of at least one night accounted Fundraising White Party at Fort St. Elmo. Proceeds will go to NGOs that s u p p o r t different c a u s e s such as the 2019 Special Olympics in Abu Dhabi. In 2015 Mrs. Muscat swam the Gozo Channel, and followed that up last year with the South to Port swim. At the meeting that coincided with the conclusion of the Maltese Presidency of the EU Council, the Minister called on the ambassadors and consuls throughout the world that through the international network of embassies and consulates to continue to strive hard to promote Malta as a destination for business, investment, tourism, education, medical services, and much more. He said that one could now look ahead and invest one s energies and the experience gained over the past six months into other projects. There s need to build upon the successes of the Presidency and to focus on emerging realities. 10% increase in tourism to Gozo for slightly more than half of all tourists visiting this region (53.9 per cent of total tourists). Maltese spending more than seven days in Gozo for holidays has gone down, but visitors to Gozo for more frequent and shorter stays has increased. It further indicates that 91.7% of visitors travelled for holiday purposes and that 70% of then chose to stay in private (including rental) accommodation. They put 37 million in the Gozitan economy, which is 27% more than the previous year. Gozitan (and Comino) residents who travelled to Malta amounted to 19,513, an increase of 15.4 % on Gozitans visiting Malta for their holidays rarely stay more than three days. Malta aiming for UN Security Council seat May registers 15.1% increase in tourism Tourism arrivals to Malta in May this year amounted to 220,918, an increase of 15.1 compared to the same month last year. Figures issued by the National Statistics Office, NSO, show that of these, more than 177,527 visited Malta on holiday, while 21,984 were undertaken for business purposes. Also compared to the same period last year, Tourism to Malta in the first five months of this year increased by almost 20%, to , while total nights spent by inbound tourists went up by 12.3 per cent, reaching nearly 5.0 million nights. Total tourist expenditure for the month was estimated at million, an increase of 9.5 per cent over the corresponding month in 2016, and total tourism expenditure from during January-May reached nearly million, 15.0% higher than that recorded for Total expenditure per capita stood at 733, a decrease of 4.2%. The amount of tourists from European Union countries has shown an increase of 12.6%, to 187,315. The largest share of inbound tourists (40.1%) was aged between 25 and 44, followed by those within the age bracket (31.9%).

14 14 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday July 18, 2017 Il-Li i taω-ωwie u l-pn I l-parlament Malti approva l-li i taω- Ωwie li permess tag ha koppji tal-istess sess issa mhux biss jistg u jiωωeww u, iωda wkoll ing ataw l-istess drittijiet b al koppji mag mula minn mara u ra el. Fil- Parlament id-deputati taω-ωew partiti, bleççezzjoni tad-deputat tal-pn Edwin Vassallo, ivvutaw favur. (ara pa na 12). Li ma rajniex fil-midja lokali kien il-fatt li, barra l-vot negattiv ta Vassallo, kien hemm ukoll tliet deputati o ra nazzjonalisti li g al xi ra uni jew o ra ma attendewx g allvotazzjoni. Id-deputat Claudio Grech li filparlament appella g al vot ieles ma kienx fil-kamra biex jivvota, l-istess b al ma kienux id-deputati Carm Mifsud Bonnici u Mario Galea li fil-grupp parlamentari nazzjonalista wkoll ma tkellmux favur. Sintendi l-approvazzjoni ta din il-li i wasslet g al çelebrazzjonijiet kbar minn dawk li stinkaw kemm fel u g al dan id-dritt, fuq quddiem l-g aqdiet LGBT. L-istess a bar ing atat ukoll importanza fil-midja barranija. Min-na a l-o ra kien hemm dawk li xejn ma laqg u dil-li i, tant li sa ansitra lejliet li iet approvata emgha ta madwar 200 ru ipprotestaw kontriha quddiem il-parlament. Biss, il-bog od mir-reli joωita`, din il-li i kellha effett ukoll politiku, prinçipalment fuq il-partit Nazzjonalista. Fl-a ar kitba tieg i kont di a` aççennajt g al dan. IΩda minn dakinhar il-qieg a fi dan il-pn kompliet tis on, l-aktar u l-aktar wara li d-deputat Edwin Vassallo ma mexiex mad-direttiva tal-partit tieg u stess u fit- Tieni qari tag ha ivvota kontra tag ha. Sintendi l-midja ffukat fuq Vassallo. Meta ie ntervistat minn The Malta Independent u mistoqsi kif kien se jivvota fl-a ar qari, minflok ta twe iba çara, g amel diversi allegazzjoni fosthom (nikkwota bl-ingliω biex inωomm eωatt ma kliemu): I will vote with my hands tied behind my back (u allura kien hemm min interpreta dan il-kliem b ala li Vassalo din id-darba kien se jivvota iva ) The predominant logic of Busuttil and Muscat is a totalitarian logic that does not allow any ideas that are different to theirs. ( Dan g all-fatt li ma tawx il-vot ieles liddeputati tag hom) I am oppressed. I have been four years in this prison of silence. This is a fake democracy, Muscat and Busuttil are fake. Attwalment imbag ad, kif ktibt aktar il fuq, Vassallo xorta vvota kontra l-li i tal- Ugwaljanza fiω-ωwie. U l-kobba ssoktat tit abbel bil-kummenti li Waqt iç-çelebrazzjoni tal-komunita` LGBT Kastilja t abbar id-deçiωjoni b ala storika saru minn esponenti distinti tal-pn, fosthom l-eks-ministru tal-finanzi Tonio Fenech li kien iebes afna fil-kitbiet tieg u tieg u filmidja lokali fejn wera biç-çar ir-rabja tieg u g all-mod kif il-pn mexa f din il-kwestjoni. Dak li j oss Fenech kompla are bera meta f e.mail ta xi erba faççati li bag at lill-mexxej Nazzjonalista, u li wara li xi add g adda kopja, iet ippubblikata fil-portal tal- One News (tal-partit Laburista). Immedjatament il-midja l-o ra kkwotat din l-ittra b The Times tg id: Till gay marriage do us part... Tonio Fenech hits out at PN leadership ( ), biex il-kwestjoni, issa marret lil hinn mil-li i taω-ωwie, min abba li Fenech attakka t-tmexxija tal-partit Nazzjonalista. Fenech sa ansitra allega li f dawn l-a ar erba snin it-tmexxija nazzjonalista kienet fin fin issikket lil dawk li kellhom fehma differenti (had acquired an art of silencing those who had differing opinions...) u li l- p r o - g r a m m elettorali ma iex d i s k u s s qabel ie ppreωentat lill- K u n s i l l enerali tal-partit. Sostna li jekk l-appell tattmexxija t a l - P N, Ma kienux fil-kamra biex jivvutaw (mix-xellug): Mario Galea, Claudio Grech u Carm Mifsud Bonnici biex ma jkunx hemm firda fil-partit huwa enwin, l-unika triq hi dik tal-kompromess u mhux l-impoωizzjoni (If we are genuine about the appeal not to split the only road is compromise and not imposition...) Fil-Malta Independent, ( ) Simon Mercieca, wie ed milli fl-2013 ntalab mill- PN jeωamina t-telfa tal-pn, ta t it titlu Gay marriage and the end of the PN sa ansitra sostna li l-pn tilef il-prinçipji tieg u: The PN has no more principles to fight back, since under the leadership of Simon Busuttil, all the PN principles were thrown to the wolves. Many among the rank and file of the party are considering the stand taken by Simon Busuttil as a betrayal of the party statutes, where it is explicitly stated that the PN should follow a Christian Democratic policy. Quddiem dan kollu kien hemm min allega li t-tressiq tal-li i taω-ωwie b daqshekk g a la fil-parlament kienet manuvra minna a tal-mexxej Laburista, Joseph Muscat, biex jo loq firda fil-pn billi kien jaf dak li kien qed ji ri fi dan dan il-partit dwar ilkwestjoni. Fuq kollox dawn sostnew li l-li i setg et tistenna. Biss naqbel mal-artikolista tal-malta Today, Josanne Cassar ( ) li g allmistqosija, Should Muscat be blamed for the rift inside the PN? wie bet hekk: Surely Muscat is capable of mapping out Machiavellian chess moves, but the signs of a serious rift within the PN have been visible for a long time: you d know it just by talking to ordinary people. Dan billi hu fatt mag ruf li fi dan il-partit Nazzjonalista hemm il-grupp konservattiv, u dak li huwa aktar liberali. Biss dak li na seb li ara permezz tat-tressiq ta din il-li i, kien, li dak li kien mo bi are fil-bera, g ax kien meta bdiet ti i diskussa dil-li i li fil-midja bdew jo or u sinjali ta firda fil-partit Nazzjonalista. (Kif ta sibha l-knisja... fil-pa na 15)

15 Tuesday July 18, 2017 The Voice of the Maltese 15 Skont il-knisja wara li g addiet il-li i taω-ωwie L-g ada li g addiet il-li i taω- Ωwie, il-knisja, permezz tal- Arçisqof Charles Scicluna, u l-isqof t G awdex Mario Grech, sostniet li minkejja dak li ie approvat mill- Parlament, IΩ-Ωwie jibqa dejjem ir-rabta esklussiva bejn ra el u mara, li hu miftu g at-tnissil talulied. IΩ-Ωwie bejn ra el u mara hu l- mudell li dejjem addnet l-umanità u mhux biss il-viωjoni Nisranija taω- Ωwie. Sostnew li din il-li i qed tqis l-istess dak li mhuwiex l-istess. Ûiedu jg idu li fl-emendi li ew introdotti twarrbet id-differenza u r- reçiproçità naturali bejn ra el u mara, u g aldaqstant tqaççtet il-baωi antropolo ika tal-familja. Is-soçjetà tiftaqar meta minflok taççetta d-diversità, timponi uniformità fil-mod kif kienu espressi r-relazzjonijiet. L-istqarrija tissokta tg id li fl-istess waqt, il-knisja tirrispetta biss i id-dinjità ta kull persuna, ikunu xi jkunu l-g aωliet li tag mel f ajjitha u r-relazzjonijiet li t addan. U biex jenfasizza li wie ed ma jistax iqis l-istess dak li mhux l-istess, l-arçisqof Scicluna fuq twitter gab din l-karikatura ta hawn ta t: Aktar biç-çivil milli bil-knisja Skont l-a ar statistika ma ru a mill-uffiççju Nazzjonali tal-istatistika (NSO), g all-ewwel darba, aktar minn nofs dawk li dawk li ddeçidew li jiωωew u fil-gωejjer Maltin (f Malta u G awdex), g aωlu li jag mlu dan bir-rit çivil u mhux dak tal-knisja. B kollox kien hemm 3,034 Ωwie rre istrati fil-gωejjer Maltin. Minnhom, 1,628 (53.7%) saru bir-rit çivili, u l-bqija b dak reli juω. Din kienet Ωieda ta 9.9% fiω- Ωwi ijiet çivili fuq is-sena l-o ra. Sintendi, f dawn il-figuri hemm g add ta Ωwi ijiet bejn barranin u wkoll bejn Maltin u barranin li kienu rre istrati f Malta. Interessanti l-fatt li fost l-ir iel, l-eta` l- aktar popolari taω-ωwie hija ta bejn 25 u 29 sena. Infatti 30.5% tal-ir iel iωωeww u ta dik l-eta. G alkemm il-perçentwal ta dawk li ΩΩeww u fl-eta ta bejn 30 u 34 kien qrib sewwa 29.9 %. Fil-kaΩ tan-nisa 38.8% kellhom bejn 25 u 29 sena filwaqt li 23.9% kellhom bejn it-30 u l-34 sena meta ΩΩeww u. Jidher li bil-mod il-mod anke x-xbejbiet qed i allu aktar tard milli kienu jag mlu dawk ta snin ilu biex jintrabtu fiω-ωwie. Aktar MPs nisa Il-mexxej Laburista u Prim Ministru, Joseph Muscat, baqa jsostni x-xewqa tieg u li jara aktar nisa fil-parlament. G al dan l-iskop, f laqg a straordinarja tal-partit Laburista li fost kollox, b 99% ikkonfermatu b ala l-mexxej tal-partit, abbar il-viωjoni tal-partit g all-10 snin li ejjin permezz ta pjan imfassal fuq erba faωijiet, bl-g an a ari jkun li salelezzjoni enerali tal-2027 nofs il-kandidati tal-partit Laburista jkunu nisa. Il-Partit Laburista qed jimmira li sal-elezzjoni tal- Parlament Ewropew u Kunsilli Lokali, fl-2019, ikun hemm 40% u 35% tal-kandidati nisa, rispettivament, filwaqt li fl-elezzjoni enerali li jmiss il-partit Laburista qed jimmira g al minimu ta 35% kandidatura femminili. Fl-istess laqg a, id-delegati g aωlu lil Dr Chris Fearne b ala d-deputat mexxej Laburista g all-affarijiet Parlamentari (ara pa na 12). Suççess fl-impjiegi Filwaqt li pajjiωi irien ta Malta g adhom jissieltu mal-problema tal-qag ad u n-nuqqas ta mpjiegi, jidher li fil-gωejjer Maltin din ma hi problema xejn, billi t-tkattir tax-xog ol qed ikompli jikber minn xahar g all-ie or. BiΩΩejjed wie ed jg id li r-rata tat-tkabbir tax-xog ol issa la qet il-5.5%. Skont listatistika, f Jannar ta din is-sena l-ir iel u n-nisa ja dmu Ωdiedu. Dan se kemm fuq baωi fulltime, (xog ol primarju) u wkoll dawk part-time, biex wie ed ida hal xi a a barranija. Fil-fatt, imqabbel mal-istess xahar tas-sena ta qabel, ix-xog ol g al tal-ewwel Ωdied b 5.8%, u tal-part-time b 5.7% Meta mqabbel ma Jannar tas-sena l-o ra, f Jannar tal-2017 l-impjiegi full-time Ωdiedu b 10,133 u dawk part-time b 1,857. Nies li ja dmu ja dmu full time kien hanw 185,563. Fl-istess Ωmien, l-g add ta nies li ja dmu g al rashom Ωdied b 713. Min pajjiz li biex isostni lil niesu kien i e hom imorru ja dmu barra l-pajjiω, Malta saret pajjiω li qed t addem g add aktar minn 30,000 barranin. Our Lady of Victories Parish Family Dinner Dance Date: Saturday 26th August 2017 Time: 7.00 pm Venue: Mandavilla Event Centre 1788 The Horsley Drive, Horsley Park Cost: Adults: $65.00 Children between 3 and 10 years: $30.00 All-inclusive three course meal, antipasto pltters, pastzzi, wine, beer, softdrinks, tea/coffee Entertainment: Charlie Muscat, Joe Xuereb & Dj Shannon Fenech Dress: Semi-Formal Contact: Vicky D Emanuele: Mary Xuereb: Parish Office:

16 16 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday July 18, 2017 The Church will not foot the bill Amid a growing clamour over who would pay the legal bills, Archbishop Anthony Fisher assured Sydney Catholics they would not foot the legal bills for embattled Cardinal George Pell who was charged with sexual assault by the Victorian Police and has returned home to face charges. It was reported that the head of the Institute of Public Affairs, John Roskam, a product of a Jesuit education at Melbourne's most expensive Catholic boys school, Xavier College, had confirmed that a private bank account had been set up to help with the cardinal's legal costs. While the Archdiocese will assist with the Cardinal's accommodation and support, as it would for any of its bishops or priests, it is not responsible for the Cardinal's legal bills arising from these matters, Archbishop Fisher said. The Sydney Archbishop has come out in strong support for his embattled predecessor Cardinal George Pell, saying no one should be prejudged because of their elite social status or positions on social issues. The George Pell I know is a man of integrity in his dealings with others, a man of faith and high ideals, a thoroughly decent man, he said during Mass at St Mary's Cathedral. After Cardinal Pell was charged with sexual assault by Victorian police Pope Francis said that he had always appreciated the Australian churchman's honesty in the three years they had worked together at the Vatican. Having known him for the best part of three decades myself, I can only support that judgment, Archbishop Fisher said. Meanwhile, 76 years old Cardinal George Pell is now back in Australia and is due to face Melbourne Magistrates Court on July 26 for a filing hearing. A quick glimpse at Australia G20 fails to reach consensus Leaders of the world s biggest economies left the G20 summit held in Humburg Messee Germany having failed to reach consensus on a range of issues, including climate change. Malcolm Turnbull the Prime Minister of Australia said the failure of the conference to include a statement on North Korea was particularly disappointing. This was the twelfth meeting of the group consisting of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States and the European Union. Guest invitees were: Guinea, Netherlands, Norway, Senegal, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland and Vietnam In an unprecedented move, the group failed to reach unanimity in its final communiqué, splitting off the US position on climate change from that of the other members following the Trump administration s decision to pull out of the Paris climate change agreement. Although we secured a historic statement on counter-terrorism, there was While visiting Malta Stay at: The Diplomat Hotel, 173 Tower Road Sliema sales@diplomat.com.mt Tel: (00356) unanimous condemnation of the North Korean regime, but my sense was it was a little late to reach a consensus from all the nations on a particular statement to go into the communiqué, I would have preferred to have seen a unanimous statement. It could not be achieved. There was nobody around that table defending the North Koreans in relations to their conduct. PM Turnbull said. The G20 also stepped back from an unequivocal commitment to free trade for the first time since its inaugural summit in Instead, it recognised the need for defensive measures in pursuit of balanced trade. The next G20 is to be held in Buenos Aires in Most popular Cars could cost $5000 more under new carbon tax A ccording to a leading automobile industry body, the government is considering new hardline carbon-emission rules so tough it may cause the price of Australia's most popular cars to soar by thousands of dollars. Under standards slammed by car sellers as "unrealistic and ill-considered", the government proposes to dramatically increase within eight years the cost of selling high- CO2 emitting petrol vehicles to help Australia meet its Paris climate change commitments. If the changes proposed by the government go ahead, widely popular car models including the Toyota Hilux, Corolla, Hyundai i30 and Ford Ranger would fall well afoul of the rules, which aim to slash the average national fleet emissions, the lobby group says. Preliminary estimates by automobile industry experts forecasted popular models of cars could increase by more than $5000.

17 Tuesday July 18, 2017 The Voice of the Maltese 17 A quick glimpse at Australia Vote in Parliament or a plebiscite The latest Newspoll shows that more Australians now support a popular vote on same-sex marriage than holding a free vote in Parliament in a surprise reversal of the views expressed just ten months ago. The Newspoll reveals that 46 per cent of voters prefer a plebiscite while 39 per cent want politicians to decide the outcome, with 15 per cent undecided. The results show a fall in support for a parliamentary vote since the height of the debate last September when 48 per cent of voters wanted politicians to decide, and 39 per cent backed a plebiscite. Meanwhile, the Sydney Morning Herald reports that Liberal MPs are seriously considering taking the extraordinary step of crossing the floor to legalise same-sex marriage before Christmas if the Coalition maintains its position that a plebiscite must be held on the issue. The preference for moderate MPs is to use a private members' bill drafted by Liberal senator Dean Smith as a trigger for the Liberal party room to drop its election commitment to a plebiscite and allow a free vote in parliament. But, the Herald says there is a growing expectation in the Coalition that if this fails, moderate MPs will take advantage of the close numbers in the House of Representatives to bring on a vote on same-sex marriage. Senator Smith yesterday said it was time for parliament to rise above petty politics and deal with same-sex marriage. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said: We support a plebiscite where all Australians will be given a vote on the matter. Gonski 2.0 passes the Senate The federal government's $23.5 billion school funding package has passed the Senate, in a significant victory for the Coalition ahead of the long parliamentary break, After a marathon debate extending into the early hours, the Gonski 2.0 plan passed 34 votes to 31 with the support of Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party, the Nick Xenophon Team and crossbench senators Derryn Hinch, Jacqui Lambie and Lucy Gichuhi. In a bid to win over the crossbench, Education Minister Simon Birmingham agreed to spend an extra $5 billion, on top of the additional $18.6 already announced, rolling out the funding over six years instead of 10. He also agreed to set up an independent body to monitor the way the money was spent. In settling on the needs-based funding model, the biggest loser was the Catholic school system, which says it will be billions of dollars worse off. The National Catholic Education Commission believes there has been a breach of faith by the Urgent appeal for foster carers Over the past decade, the number of children in out-of-home care in NSW has increased by almost 60 per cent from 11,843 to 18,659. More than 11,000 of them are older children, between the ages of eight and 17. Marist180 is appealing to the Catholic community to lend a helping hand to young people in need by becoming a foster carer. Not everyone is suited to foster caring for a young child, but foster care for teens really opens the door to a variety of other people, including empty-nesters and singles," said Foster care manager from the not-for-profit Marist180 organisation, Hayley Clisby. This year is the 200th Anniversary of the Marist Brothers and in this tradition we are calling on the community to show their support for young people in need, said Ms Clisby. Marist180 is inspired by the spirit of St Marcellin Champagnat, the founder of the Marist Community. He went out into the world to give hope, education and love to young people in need without judgement, conditions and limits. Inspired by Mary, we are calling on Marist alumni and other Catholics to join us in the Spirit of Family and consider foster caring for a teenager in need. Catholics come from many different ethnic backgrounds, and often our families are multicultural, Ms Clisby said. So we are putting the call out there and hoping to get 20 additional teenagers in caring homes by Christmas. Malcolm Turnbull and Theresa May in London government because it claims it was not properly consulted about the changes. It has vowed to campaign against the Coalition all the way to the next election and, in a foretaste of that, it launched a robo-call campaign in four marginal Liberal seats in Victoria. While in London after the G20 meeting and speaking after meeting with UK Prime Minister Theresa May, Malcolm Turnbull said national security is by no means a set and forget issue and he was always interested in learning about the British experience. He has refused to rule out a shake-up of government departments into a UKstyle Home Office to cover security and intelligence as part of the fight against terrorism. We have to be dynamic, agile, constantly asking can we improve the way our agencies are keeping Australians safe and we will always continue to seek to improve them and I ve demonstrated that with our cybersecurity strategy [and] counter-terrorism laws, he said The meeting between May and Turnbull who sparred in debates at Oxford University together covered trade, intelligence co-operation, counter-terrorism and the North Korean threat and came following the G20 in Hamburg. Mr Turnbull said the two countries are committed to fighting end-to-end encryption and making tech giants more accountable for content shared online. We cannot allow the internet to be used as a means to create dark places where terrorists cannot be found, he said.

18 18 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday July 18, 2017 Maltese couple quits jobs to ride from Malta to Australia by bike Two 26-year-olds, Daryl, a photographer who has been riding motorcycles since the age of 18, and Deborah, who first met in the summer of 2016 are embarking on an adventure of epic proportions. Come September, they are travelling from Malta to Australia on a bike. The young couple will travel 30,000 kilometres across three continents and 16-countrieson a journey that will take them anywhere between 8 to 12 months, and will see them visiting Sicily, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia and end up in Australia. Their biggest headache was to fill out the travelling documents for the 16 countries they would be passing through. Many of them are in Asia. Daryl and Deborah met at a party last year. Daryl soon started talking about a dream he had, that was actually born at a local pub over a few beers with a good friend of his back in Deborah had never been on a bike before she met Daryl, however, the day he told her about his idea, she texted him. "I told him that if he had to ask me to leave with him on that trip, I would pack and do it there and then." Two months after their first meeting the couple started planning their grand adventure and recently even started Wild Feathers, a blog where they've been sharing preparations for their journey and on which they'll be detailing the entire trip when they leave later this year. Explaining how he wanted to turn his "dreams into memories", Daryl said, I finally chose to let go of what I believed to be my 'secure life' and decided to take a leap out of my comfort zone and go on an adventure". Through various overland trips around Europe, Daryl has discovered that riding is one of those things that he doesn t think he would ever get tired of, Giving me a sense of freedom that I cannot compare to anything else to date. He goes on to say: Over the years I ve grown to understand that the greatest things I love come down to adventure, challenges, experiencing different cultures and riding on two wheels. So, the next big thing was dreaming about riding off the beaten track where the world is still somewhat raw without an overdose of all the technology and consumerism that surrounds us. As for the grand idea of riding east all the way to Australia well that was actually born at a local pub over a few beers with Ryan, a good friend of mine, back in Daryl says it has been his dream for a long time. I started thinking about it in 2012, looking at magazine and thinking that one day I want to do it. My father used to laugh at me but now he is helping me to equip the motorcycle with the things we need, Cause as they say No great stories were ever created over a salad. Eventually he finally chose to let go of what he believed to be his secure life and decided to take a leap out of his comfort zone and go on an adventure hopefully turning his dreams into memories. Both Daryl and Deborah have quit their jobs. They intend combining their journey with voluntary work. "Apart from travelling and experiencing the diverse cultures, we wanted to volunteer with kids," the couple said. We chose Right2Smile, an NGO founded in our own little island because we believe in their projects and their approach towards bettering environments; both in Malta and abroad. Their projects work on three pillars - Education, Health and Sustainability. Our route will allow us to volunteer at their schools in both India and Cambodia." Daryl and Deborah will be raising funds for new uniforms, with every 10 providing a student with one full uniform at a school in India. Besides fundraising the couple are also planning to visit schools from the different countries along their route (starting with Malta), as they want to get an insight and raise awareness on how education looks like in different countries and environments. We would like to promote the idea that every child around the world has the right to smile and to learn in a Daryl and Deborah... to embark on an adventure of epic proportions world without prejudice towards different cultures or beliefs", they said. Their first stop was the primary school at St. Paul's Bay, where they met the first 120 of what they've adorably dubbed The Young Feathers. Logistically, Daryl and Deborah are both well prepared for the trip and seem to have planned their bike ride across half the world to a tee. They've shared their entire packing list (which includes everything from medical prescriptions to "fake wedding rings"!) and the full specifications of the bike they'll be using (a 2012 Suzuki V-Strom) on their blog, just in case anyone would be interested in following in their footsteps. Through various overland trips around Europe, Daryl has discovered that riding is one of those things that he doesn t think he would ever get tired of, Giving me a sense of freedom that I cannot compare to anything else to date. He add: Over the years I ve grown to understand that the greatest things I love come down to adventure, challenges, experiencing different cultures and riding on two wheels. So, the next big thing was dreaming about riding off the beaten track where the world is still somewhat raw without an overdose of all the technology and consumerism that surrounds us. As for the grand idea of riding east all the way to Australia well that was actually born at a local pub over a few beers with Ryan, a good friend of mine, back in Cause as they say No great stories were ever created over a salad. Eventually he finally chose to let go of what he believed to be his secure life and decided to take a leap out of his comfort zone and go on an adventure hopefully turning his dreams into memories.

19 Tuesday July 18, 2017 The Voice of the Maltese 19 The right to a castle This year marks the 20th anniversary of one of Australia s iconic feature films: The Castle. It s a comedy with a message. The government attempts to compulsorily acquire the house of the working class Kerrigan family to make way for an airport extension but the Kerrigans fight the decision all the way to the High Court. The Kerrigans house is much more than just a place of shelter; it is a real home, based on bonds DrBarryYork of affection, love and generosity and idiosyncrasies. To the Kerrigans, it is, indeed, a castle. The film s message is two-fold: a home is something precious, the basis for security, neighbourliness and social reciprocity, not just real estate. The other message is that an individual, or group, should always be willing to stand up to authority when they feel they are being treated unjustly. If you don t fight, you lose. The Castle promotes the Great Australian Dream of home ownership. But as the film demonstrates, no-one has an absolute right to their property. Peoples homes can be compulsorily acquired by governments to make way for major projects that serve the wider social good, such as freeways, hospitals, railways and, yes, airports. Section 51 (xxxi) of the Australian On June 29, Ms Denise Demicoli, Charge D Affaires at the Maltese High Commission in Canberra hosted Ambassadors, High Commissioners and Deputy Heads of Mission representing the EU Delegation and EU Member States in Canberra at a reception marking the conclusion of the first term of Malta as President of the Council of the EU. The occasion was attended by Heads of Mission of Estonia, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ireland and Cyprus, Charge` d Affaires, and Deputy Heads of Mission from EU Member Constitution stipulates that any seizure of property must be on just terms. When the Kerrigans bumbling lawyer appears before the Federal Court, the judge asks him to specify which section of the Constitution has been breached. In one of the funniest and most memorable lines in the film, he replies: Section what section? There is no one section it s just the vibe of the thing. The vibe can be traced back to the Magna Carta of the thirteenth century. Magna Carta set parameters on how far the monarch the state can intrude into our lives. Chapter 39 provides that no freeman will be seized, dispossessed of his property, or harmed except by the law of the Malta HC hosts completion of EU Presidency reception States in Canberra. The EU Delegation in Canberra was represented by Mr Bruno Scholl, Charge` d Affaires. Ms Denise Demicoli welcomed the guests on behalf of the HC, HE Mr. Charles Muscat, and debriefed them with Malta s achievements during its EU Presidency, with far-reaching advancement in the fields of migration, security, digital single market, trade, taxation, financial services and banking, maritime, EU enlargement policy, et al. She also extended best wishes to the Estonian counterparts in view of their forthcoming EU Presidency. Ms Denise Demicoli (right) welcomes guests at Canberra Chancery Barry York and his parents outside their 'castle' in Shamrock Street, West Brunswick, Melbourne in land. The various State laws that cover compulsory acquisition of property take just terms to mean fair compensation, including payment for the inconvenience of relocation. The question arises as to whether there is a right to housing anyway. Is it a human right, like the right to free speech, the vote, religious belief, and assembly? In terms of various international treaties and conventions to which Australia is signatory, the answer is: yes. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recognise the right to housing as part of the right to an adequate standard of living. If housing is a human right, then that right is denied to more than 105,000 Australians who are homeless. The Australian Human Rights Commission regards the right to housing as more than just a right to shelter. Other factors include legal security of tenure, availability of services, materials, facilities and infrastructure, affordability, accessibility, habitability, location and cultural adequacy. Affordability is a major issue, with house prices soaring in the major cities. It is unlikely the low-income Kerrigans could have purchased their Melbourne house so easily, if at all, today. *Dr Barry York worked on the museum s Oral History Program for many years before retiring in May Barry was awarded a PhD in History by the University of New South Wales in He has authored and co-authored several books of political history and immigration history. He was awarded the Order of Australia in 2005 for his services to the recording of immigration history.

20 20 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday July 18, 2017 Tag rif dwar il-kitba Maltija Aktar regoli u tag rif uffiçjali dwar kif wie ed g andu jikteb il-malti. Dan skont kif ma ru mill-kummissjoni fi dan l-akkademja tal-ilsien Malti f Malta. IL-PARTIÇIPJU JEW AÌÌETTIV (ikompli REGOLA 26 (tkompli) Il-verbi ewlenin ta tliet konsonanti jnisslu l-partiçipju prehemm sura ta a ettivi mnisslin biçça minn verbi, biçça minn nomi u o rajn minn partiçelli. Dawn huma: (1) A ettivi mnisslin minn verbi li jfissru s-sbu ija, ilkruha, il-lewn u l-g ada, u jag mlu l- ens ra el biω-ωieda tal-vokali a, i jew o fil-bidu tal-kelma ewlenija. Ara: minn dar, k al, bjad, swied nag mlu a dar, ik al, abjad, iswed. Hekk ukoll a rax, artab, o xon, iblah, i har, iωraq u ag ma (li g alhekk tinkiteb ag ma u mhux g âma u inqas g áma) li l-femminil tag hom jag mel: arxa, ratba, oxna, belha, ahra, Ωerqa, g amja. (2) A ettivi li ma tarf is-sura ewlenija jωidu âni jew -ieni b al amrâni, ka lâni, adrâni, belhieni u mag hom millpartiçelli: ewwa, isfel, fuq: ewwieni, saflieni, fuqâni. Ilfemminil ta dawn: amranija, ka lanija, adranija, belhenija; ewwenija, saflenija, fuqanija. Fuqani u fuqanija ng iduhom aωin faqqani, faqqanija. (3) A ettivi mnisslin minn nomi u minn a ettivi o ra biω- Ωieda tal-vokali i f tarf ilkelma. Ara: minn ra al, tewm, ba ar, g aqal, qawwa nag mlu ra li, tewmi, ba ri, g aqli, qawwi. Hekk ukoll g asli minn g asel, g asri minn g asar u afna o ra b al otbi, xitwi, sajfi, qam i. Kif ukoll minn xag ra, sag tra (jew sag tar) nag mlu u niktbu xag ri, sag tri bilg wara l-vokali a u mhux qabel. Il-femminil ta dawn isir biω-ωieda ta -ja fl-a ar: ra lija, tewmija, ba rija, g aqlija, g aslija, xag rija, eçç. Mill-a ettivi a mar, amra; iωraq, Minbarra l-festi reli juzi li ji u ççelebrati f kull belt u ra al Malti, u li fil-biçça l kbira jsiru fil-jiem tas-sajf, hemm o rajn, kemm reli juωi u/jew nazzjonali. Fost il-festi pubbliçi reli juωi nsibu dawk marbutin ma xi qaddis partikolari li jkunu saru mit-tradizzjoni tal-pajjiω. Fost dawn il-festi g andna n-nawfra ju ta San Pawl (10 ta Frar) u San ÌuΩepp (19 ta Marzu). Hemm ukoll festi reli juωi u/jew parrokkjali li jkunu fost il-kmandati (li jobbligaw lill-fidili g all-quddies. Insibu pere- Ωempju l-ìimg a l-kbira u l-g id il-kbir, l-imnarja (29 ta Ìunju), Santa Marija (15 ta Awwissu), il-vittorja (8 ta Settembru), il-kunçizzjoni (8 ta Diçembru) u l-milied. Imma hemm ukoll fosthom dawk li huma btajjel pubbliçi u li jfakkru xi rajja nazzjonali. Mill- amsa tal-a ar g andna tlieta li jitfakkru fil-jiem s an ta qabel jew waqt is-sajf. Wara li fit-13 ta Marzu nfakkru Jum il- Óelsien, fil-jiem s an niççelebraw is-7 ta Ìunju, l-imnarja (29 ta Ìunju), Jum il-vitorja (8 ta Settembru) u Jum l-indipendenza (21 ta Settembru). L-a ar wa da tkun fil- arifa, Jum ir-repubblika (13 ta Diçembru). Imma wara li fil- argiet l-o ra semmejna l- festi parrokkjali tas-sajf, ng addu issa g alla ar parti u naraw x festi l-poplu Malti jonqsu jiççelebra bejn Awwissu u Ottubru. Nibdew fis-6 ta Awwissu b erbg a. Dawn huma, Óal- Lija (Is-Salvatur), BirΩebbu a (San Pietru) Qala, G awdex (San ÌuΩepp), San Ìwann (Madonna ta Lourdes) u Valletta (San Duminku). Fl-10 tax-xahar hemm festa wa da, fil-birgu (San Lawrenz), filwaqt li fit-13 ikollna l-festa tal- Óamrun (San Gejtanu), biex fil-15 ta bat Santa Marija b festi f seba parroççi. Dawn ikunu, f Ó Attard, Óal-G axaq, Gudja, Mosta, Mqabba, Qrendi, u r-rabat G awdex. Fl-20 jkollna tlieta o ra ta Santa Marija, f Óad-Dingli, fl-im arr u f ÓaΩ-Ûebbu. Flistess jum ikollna festi f Birkirkara (Santa Liena), Óal Kirkop (San Leonardu), Ra al Ìdid (Madonna ta Lourdes), u Tas-Sliema (Stella Maris). Fis-27 fil-birgu ssir il-festa ta San Duminku, Óal-G arg ur (San Bert), Marsa (Maria Re ina), Manikata (San ÌuΩepp), Óal Safi (KonverΩjoni ta San Pawl), San Ìiljan (San Ìiljan) u G ajnsielem (Madonna ta Loretu). Ωerqa; ik al, ka la nag mlu amri, Ωerqi, ka li. 27. Il-Verbi ewlenin ta tliet konsonanti jnisslu l-a ettiv jew partiçipju passat biω-ωieda tal-ittra m mehmuωa fil-bidu tassura tal-verb fl Imperattiv u bil-vokali û twila mdeffsa bejn it-tieni u l-a ar konsonanti. T.ç. Il-grammatiçi kollha, sew tal-ilsien G arbi kemm talilsien Malti, dejjem nisslu dawn ix-xorta ta Partiçipji jew A ettivi (imsej in mimmati) mis-sura tal-mamma tal-verb ewlieni biω-ωieda ta m b vokali warajha mehmuωa fil-bidu tal-kelma. EΩ. minn qatel, ataf innisslu maqtul, ma tuf. Hekk ukoll millmamma ta verbi neqsin u mnisslin b al Ωamm (Ωamam), ieb, fixkel, da al biω-ωieda ta m b vokali (jew ming ajrha fil-verbi mnisslin) g andna l-partiçipji miωmum, mi jub, mfixkel, mda al. Ter a minn dawwar, qawwas nag mlu mdawwar, mqawwas li fil-g arbi jmur iktar mar-regola u jsir mudawwar, muqawwas. It-tnissila ta dawn ix-xorta ta ismijiet mimmati, kif mog tija f din ir-regola u l-o rajn ta quddiem, timxi iktar ma dak li trodd fil-kitba t-tiswira tal-partiçipju jew a ettiv Malti. Ara: minn aqbad, aqta(g ), iret, iωen nag mlu maqbûd, maqtûg, mirût, miωûn. Hekk ukoll minn ag Ωel, ag mel, ilg ab, ixg of, ing al (ilg an), irhan, ag sar, ag der nag mlu u niktbu mag Ωûl, mag mûl, milg ûb, mixg ûf, ming ûl (milg ûn), mirhûn, mag sûr, mag dûr. Minn iωra(g ), aqla(g ), ibla(g ) g andna miωrûg, maqlûg, miblûg. Aktar regoli u tifsir fil- ar a li jmiss Fil-kumplament tal-festi reli juωi jispikkaw il-popolari Santa Marija u l-bambina Il-purçissjoni ta Santa Marija fl-imqabba Ni u g al Settembru u nsibu 11. Nibdew fit-3 b festi fil-qawra (San Fran isk), Tas- Sliema (San Girgor) u Ûurrieq (Sant Katarina), u nsegwu fit-8 ta Settembru b erbg a ta Marija Bambina, fl-isla, il-mellie a, in- Naxxar u x-xag ra G awdex. Fl-10 jkun imiss lil HaΩ-Ûabbar (Madonna tal-grazzja) u G ajnsielem (Sant Antnin). L- a ar tnejn ikunu, fl-24 fl-imqabba (Madonna tal-ìilju) u fid-29, fil-valletta SW (Madonna taç-çintura). F Ottubru hemm biss tlieta, wa da fl-1 fi- Gudja (Madonna tar-ruωarju), fit-8 f Tas- Sliema (San Fran isk ta Assisi) u fid-29 fil-gudja (Madonna taç-çintura). L-a ar festa tkun fit-8 ta Diçembru f Bormla, il-kunçizzjoni.

21 Tuesday July 18, 2017 The Voice of the Maltese 21 Community News Attention Maltese Community & members of the Maltese Association of WA The Deputy High Commissioner, Denise Demicoli has informed the WA Honorary Consul, Mr Paul Calleja that she is to replace Victor Grech as the Counsel on the Move, and that if there was enough interest in WA, then she would be happy to visit the Maltese Association office to process documents, passports, etc. Anybody interested in having this service provided by the Counsel on the Move, should inform the Club office by or phone by Monday July 31. Albert Morris (Club Secretary) AVVIÛ L-g aqdiet tal-maltin li ridu juωaw isservizzi tag na billi jippubblikaw xi avviω fil-magazine jew jirreklamaw xi attivita` huma m e ga ja sbu kmieni u ma j allux g all-a ar, anzi g andhom jibag tu l-avviωi tag hom mill-inqas tmint ijiem qabel il- ar a li jixtiequ l-avviω fiha. Jekk ma jsirx hekk ma nistg ux niggarantixxu li tali avviω se ji i ppubblikat fil- ar a li jixtiequ. THE MALTESE CULTURAL ASSOCIATION OF NSW is Celebrating A Maltese Folkloric Festival on Sunday, July 23 (from am to 4.00 pm) RED GUM Centre, 8-14 Lane Street, Wentworthville Starting with: Exhibition of Traditional Arts & Crafts Maltese Folkloric Music - songs by the MCA Choir Maltese food & drinks will be available to purchase. Chocolate Wheel, Raffels and lots of Prizes Entrance FREE (All under cover. Everyone is welcome). For more information or for anyone wishing to be an exhibitor or stall holder contact the co-ordinator, Marisa Previtera on MB: This event is part of the LOCALE Festival Program of Cumberland Council St arri mir-radju 89.32GLF L-istazzjon tar-radju GLF, li minn fuqu l-kunsill Malti ta NSW jittrasmetti programm bil-malti ta sieg a kull nhar ta Óadd fil am, qed iservi lill-komunita` ta Liverpool, Fairfield u l madwar. Biex jissokta jis-sa a, jixtiequ jkunu jafu kif ja sbuha s-semmieg a, g alhekk qed jistiednu l-l-kummenti u l-ideat tag hom. G al dan il-g an qed jitolbu lis-semmieg a jie du sehem fi st arri online biex isiru jafu lis-semmieg a a jar. Ir-riΩultat talist arri jg inhom jissoktaw ikunu l-aqwa stazzjon fil-qadi talkomunita`. Biex wie ed jag ti l-kummenti tieg u jid ol fuq il-website u jimla l-is arri. L-amministrazzjoni talistazzjon qed tirringrazzja lil dawk li jie du sehem fl-ist arri. ST HELENA MALTESE/AUSTRALIAN S.C. Events: August- December 2017 Aug. 25 Fri. Feast Mass at Croatian Church Ardeer. Aug. 26 Sat.: Dinner Dance at Melrose Tullamarene. Aug. 27 Sun.: Feast at Croatian Church/Hall Ardeer. Sept. 9 Sat.: BYO Function at Errington Hall, St Albans. Sept. 23 Fri.: Family function at Klabb G annejja Maltin St Albans. Oct. 14 Sat.: GM meeting at Albion (2.p.m). Oct. 22 Sun.: BYO Function at Errington Hall, St Albans. Nov. 12 Sun.: BYO Function at Errington Hall, St Albans. Dec. 16 Sat.: Xmas Function at Melrose Tullamarene. Saint Nicholas Festa Committee Main events for 2017 Sunday October 15: Fete Saturday Nov. 11: Dinner Dance Sunday December 3: St Nicholas Feast For more information: Joe Fenech or PRO Emm. Vella The best family gathering of the year: The 30th Annual Dinner Dance Saturday, 14th October 2017 Mandavilla Function Centre 1788, The Horsley Drive Horsley Park NSW From 7.30 pm: Music by Joe Apap Book early. Donation $65 Contact: Marlene on Organised by the Past Pupils & Friends of Don Bosco (NSW) All proceeds to the Don Bosco Missions. For issues concerning: Ageing and disability - community services - education - environment - health - housing - planning - Police - transport - water

22 22 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday July 18, 2017 Community News Maltese Radio Programmes MELBOURNE, on 3ZZZ 92.3FM or on Mondays 5-6 pm, Fridays 5-6 pm and Saturdays 10-11am. MELBOURNE on 98.9 North West FM, every Friday p.m. and Mondays 7.00 to 8.00pm. Presenter: Emmanuel Brincat. MELBOURNE: STEREO 974 ( ): 97.4FM Wed (Maltese Magazine) & Thursday (Mer ba): 6.00pm to 8.00 pm Co-ordinator Ray Anastasi In SYDNEY, listen to the MCC radio programmes on 2GLF FM Thursdays 2-4p.m: Martese Caruana presents Golden Mix. Available on demand. Follow same procedure as for MCC programmes, except select programe in reference. In BRISBANE listen to the Maltese Programme on 4EB on Tuesdays am; Sundays 4.15pm to 5.15pm Listen to John Borg & Ronnie Borg every Saturday at 1.00 p.m. on RADIO 2RRR 88.5FM or on the Internet - www2rrr.org.au ON DeMAND The SBS MALTESE NEWS Tune In to Radio and Television Isma l-programm tar-radju bil- Malti mill-kunsill Malti ta NSW minn fuq l-istazzjon 2GLF 89.3FM. Jista wkoll jinstema On Demand minn fuq l-internet (On Demand >Ethnic >Maltese Council 11am) Il-programm tal-óadd am: l-a ar a barijiet minn Malta, muωika, tag rif, kultura, avviωi u su etti ta interess. UNCLE SAM DJ (Maltese Radio) tune in to link: On SBS Radio Day Time Analogue and Digital Friday: 12:00-13: fm SBS Radio 2 Saturday: 14:00-15:00: 97.7fm SBS Radio 2 To tune into digital radio you need a receiver or device with a DAB+ chip. Tuning in is by station name not frequency. Digital radio can also be heard via digital TV. SBS Radio 2 is on Channel 38. The radio programmes can be accessed online (live or catch up) at sbs.com.au/maltese and via mobile phone, using the SBS Radio app. For television news from Malta - SBS 2 TV on Thursdays and Sundays at 8am. VIVA MALTA on COAST FM 96.3 Community Radio in Gosford Central NSW. Aired on Thursdays every fortnight from 6 pm -7 pm. Presenter: Nathalie Gatt. Web streaming on: L-A barijiet on SBS TV twice a week nationwide Sunday at 8.00 am on SBS2 (Chan. 32); Thursdays at 8.00 am on SBS2 IL-MALTESE BOWLERS SOCIAL GROUP TA NSW Jistiednu nisa u r iel Maltin li j obbu l-lawn bowls biex jing aqdu mag hom, jie du sehem fil-log ob u jag mlu bieb odda. Jilqg u wkoll lil dawk li jridu jitg allmu jilag bu dan l-isport, li jing ataw lezzjonijiet b xejn. Jilag bu log ba darba fix-xahar fir-rosehill Bowling Club u klabbs o ra. G al aktar tag rif çemplu lis-segretarju, Tony Pace-Feraud ( ) jew lil: maltesebowlersnsw@hotmail.com Il-logħba li jmiss se ssir nhar il- Ħadd 13 ta Awwissu fis-1:00 pm fir-rosehill Bowling Club. Australian High Commission on facebook; HC on twitter The Australian High Commission s in Malta now has a new Facebook page, and the High Commissioner a Twitter account that could both be accessed by the readers. The High Commission s Facebook: ushcmalta/ The Commissioner s Twitter handle is: Maltese Seniors Social Welfare Day Groups Fairfield Active Maltese Seniors Meets on the last Tuesday of the Month. Group meets in Parish Hall, cnr of Stella Street & The Boulevard, Fairfield Heights. Maltese Seniors Central Coast Have to contact our Welfare Officer for an appointment. For all information and referral matters call Censina Cefai: or Daceyville Maltese Seniors Meets on the last Wednesday of the month in the Meeting Room One, No. 3 General Bridges Crescent, Daceyville. Note: The Groups also arrange regular Bus Trips Join us and make new friends. Merrylands Social Maltese Seniors Meets every second Friday of the month: Miller Room, Memorial Avenue Merrylands from 10.30am to am Llandilo Maltese Seniors Meets on the first Wednesday of each month at the Llandilo Community Hall, Seventh Avenue, from 11am to 1 pm. Maltese of Bankstown Group meet 3rd Wednesday of the month at New BCRG offices 15 Kitchner Parade, Bankstown NSW (opposite RSL Club). Every other 3rd Thursday they have an outing. For enquiries call Sam Greystanes Maltese Seniors Meets on the second Monday of each month at the George Preca Centre of OLQP Church, 198 Old Prospect Road, Greystanes from 10 am to 12 noon The Sutherland & St George Maltese Group Meets every First Wednesday of the Month from 10:00am-1:00pm. Meetings/Get Togethers are interesting, informative & entertaining, so come Join us and make new Friends For more information contact our Coordinator: Charles Mifsud J.P.Phone (02) mobile *(All Groups are co-ordinated by The Maltese Community Council of NSW) with a sponsorship from Multicultural NSW. Please contact the MCC Welfare Officer: Marisa Previtera JP on The MCC offices are at 59b Franklin Street (corner with Young St) Parramatta West NSW (next to West Parramatta Primary School).

23 Tuesday July 18, 2017 The Voice of the Maltese 23 S p o r t s o n t wo pages a s Gozo hosts finish of prestigious International classic yacht race For the first time, the finish of the sixteenth edition of the Trophée Bailli du Suffren, that is described as the Mediterranean s most renowned classic yacht race was positioned at Mgarr Harbour in Gozo with ten yachts completing the 580-nautical mile race that started in Saint Tropez, France with stopovers in Porto Rotondo, Trapani, and finally the Maltese islands. The crews of this prestigious event were hosted at a press conference by the Mġarr Marina and the Minister Justyn Caruana (first left) at thepress conference Minister for Gozo, Dr Justyn Caruana and given the chance to savour Gozo s unique character, history, and culinary delights. The Minister said she was glad at the fact that the organisers of this event, together with the guidance of Yachting Malta, chose Gozo as the final destination. She said that, Gozo s idyllic features go part and parcel with Malta s overall prestige for sailing and yachting. The Minister congratulated all the organisers involved for their pro-active approach in luring one of the best competitions to Gozo and Malta, saying that an event such as the Bailli de Suffren to choose GOZO as part of their route fitted well with the Government s strategy for high level activities to also include Gozo. The Minister congratulated all the organisers involved for their pro-active approach in luring one of the best competitions to Gozo and Malta. The crews were also given the chance to savour Gozo s unique character, history, and culinary delights. It is the first year that Yachting Malta was involved in the event. The plan is to spearhead its potential growth. Conveying Yachting Malta s pride at being part of this ISIS held boy named after Messi captive for 2 Years Athree-year-old Kurdish Yazidi boy (pictured right) was reportedly kidnapped and held hostage for two years by ISIS because he was named after Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi. According to Iraq Today and Mohamed Mostafa of Iraqi News, the young boy was abducted in 2014 along with his mother and sister. The family was later rescued after ISIS demanded a ransom and that his name be changed to Hassan. His father told the Kurdistan 24 website (h/t Kitching) that his name was deemed "infidel" by the terrorist group. Now five years old, the youngster is back with his father, mother and sister at a refugee camp in Dohuk, Iraqi Kurdistan, but he has been left traumatised by the ordeal: The kidnap took place when ISIS invaded Sinjar, Iraq, in late event, the club s CEO Wilfrid Buttigieg explained that one of their roles was to enhance Malta s leading name and tradition as a yachting events destination in the Mediterranean. He said, Yachting Malta is proud to be part of this prestigious event. We are confident that Maltese hospitality blended with French humour and elegance will see crews return and also attract new participants for future races, he said. The founder of the race, Henri-Christian Schroeder, explained what was behind the inception of this race, saying it was an idea only made possible with the support of his friend Christian Benoit. The event was launched together to create what was to become the longest race for classic yachts in the Mediterranean a rally of special friends, old and new. It was named after Pierre Andre de Suffren, who was Vice Admiral of the French fleet and a Knight of Malta. The title of Bailli was given by the Order of Malta. De Suffren was known by his sailors and his enemies as Admiral Satan. This cruising race, which is open to classic yachts of over eleven metres, is also a gentleman s race that requires friendly competition, courage, and spirit between the competing yachts. Competing yachts were divided into three categories Vintage, Classic, and Spirit of Tradition. The Trophée Bailli de Suffren fleet later left Gozo for a Parade of Sail towards the Royal Malta Yacht Club at the Manoel Island in Malta, the selected venue for the Prize Giving Evening in the presence of crews, dignitaries and guests.

24 24 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday July 18, 2017 S p o r t s o n t wo pages s Not much hope for progress in Europe This week could be the end of the road for Maltese football clubs in UEFA club competitions. After winning through to the second qualifying round of the respective UEFA competitions following - as expected - victories over two legs in the first qualifying round, the chances of Hibernians in the Champions League, and Valletta in the UEFA Europa League to venture even further are close to nought. It was good while it lasted. At the end of the first qualifying round of both competitions, local football supporters were happy to note that Malta s clubs were not the weakest links in European football. Following is a round up of the results After winning 2-0 in the first leg on home soil, Hibernians also managed to beat Estonia s champions FCI Tallinn away, with an 88th minute goal by Jorginho to win with a 3-0 aggregate score and book a place in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League against Austria s FC Salzburg. But this is as far as they can go. They now face certain elimination after the return tie in Austria on July 19 following a 3-0 first tie loss in Malta. Salzburg paved the way for victory with two goals in three minutes, the first on 32 minutes from a penalty by Valon Berisha, the second from Hee-Chan on 35. Takumi Munamino clinched a third on 54 minutes. In the UEFA Europa League, Valletta had secured a place in the second qualifying round by virtue of a 3-0 aggregate win over San Marino s SS Folgore. They had won the first leg in Malta 2-0 and then also registered a 1-0 away success at the San Marino Stadium in Serravalle with a 65th minute goal from a freekick by Santiago Malano that hit the crossbar before bounced At Lambert Park, APIA Leichhardt Tigers returned to dominant form in the PS4 NPL NSW by demolishing Parramatta FC 6-0 on Sunday. They started the rout with an own goal by Marcus Plataniotis on 11 minutes, and within 29 minutes they had already built a six-goal lead that also included a hattrick by thanks to Murray. The second half was one-way traffic again but Apia failed to add any more goals. In his reaction Parramatta coach Marshall Soper said: We are playing under extreme Valletta s Maxi Velasco (27) comes close to giving Valletta the lead but is foiled by the Utrecht goalkeeper David Jensen in off the goalkeeper. In the in the first leg of the next round last Thursday at the Hibernians Stadium Valletta held Dutch side FC Utrecht to a goalless draw. They also had their chances in a disappointing match, but hopes for progress after the return in Utrecht on Thursday 20th are minimal. The other two Maltese contenders in the Europa League, Balzan and Floriana were eliminated at the end of the first qualifying round. After both losing their first leg ties away (Balzan 2-0 against Videoton FC of Hungary) and Floriana 3-0 in Serbia against Rd Star), few entertained hopes of them making any progress despite return ties yet to come in Malta. However, Balzan s chances improved tremendously when Bojan Kaljevic put them ahead after only three minutes in the second leg. But then defensive errors proved their downfall. Videoton first levelled after 15 minutes from Krisztian Geresi and then got a second from Marko Scepovic (23). Twelve minutes into the second half, Balzan were back on level terms with a goal by Alfred Effiong who managed to lob the ball over the Hungarian goalkeeper from the edge of the area. But Roland Juhasz again put the visitors ahead (81), only for Bojan Kaljevic to convert a penalty (85) for Parramatta hit for six: work in progress? conditions with a very thin squad and generally very young players. It s a case of young boys learning to play in a man s game so it s a case of a work-in-progress. We need to stabilise the club. There are a lot of good things that are happening around the club, so it s about building for next year by giving the young players a chance. DAY 18 APIA v Parramatta Blacktown v Sydney O Rockdale v Manly U Sydney U v Sydney FC Hakoah v Wollongong Sutherland v Bonnyrigg a 3-3 score. In the end, Balzan were eliminated with a 5-3 aggregate score. Floriana came back from two goals down to draw their tie in Malta against Red Star 3-3 but lost overall by 6-3. Red Star drew ahead on 12 minutes through Richmond Boakye. They levelled from a penalty by Steve Pisani two minutes into first half added time, but found themselves back in arrears when Red Star scored twice, through Boakye (70) and Nenad Milijas (77). Floriana started a comeback two minutes later with a goal by Maurizio Vella and then got an equaliser from Ignacio Varela (84). Sunshine George Cross celebrate 70th year with a victory NPL2 (Rd 22): Sunshine GC 1 Richmond 1 Rd 23: Sunshine GC 2 Melbourne V 1 After a slight reversal by dropping points in a 1-1 draw at home at Chaplain Reserve against Richmond, a result that ended their three-match winning sequence, on Saturday, a few days after celebrating their 70th anniversary, Sunshine George Cross returned to winning ways by beating Melbourne Victoria 2-1 after coming from behind to win with goals by Souheil Azagane (53) and Dean Brotherston (67). Melbourne had taken the lead on 49 minutes. *Against Richmond George Cross had taken the lead on 55 minutes through Yosuke Saito goal, but Richmond laevelled a minute later. The points helped George Cross to preserve their fourth-placing in the league ladder. NPL 1 (Rd 21): Oakleigh 1 Green Gully 1 Rd 22: Green Gully 4 St Albans 0 Green Gully saved themselves from defeat at the death in Rd 21 against Oakleigh at Jack Edwards Reserve. Daniel Jones, Bosnjak had given Oakleigh a third-minute lead. *In Round 22 on Saturday Green Gully used their home advantage to the full and completely dominated their opponents, St Albans to beat them 4-0. Green Gully paved the lead with a Wade Dekker first minute goal, the only one at half time. The scorer then went on to help himself to a hat-trick with two more tallies on 46 and 71 minutes. Luke Walker got a fourth four minutes from time. Green Gully are now fifth.