Federal Member for Melbourne Adam Bandt visited The Greek Centre last night, in a most productive meeting with members of the board of the Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM). A supporter for many years, he reiterated his congratulations for the GCM’s teaching programme, its cultural festival, and its pastoral care through its churches. He commended the GCM for its contribution to the arts.
He was particularly interested in the GCM’s relationship with Melbourne’s South Sudanese community, as well as its plans to develop a second Greek hub in the city to help both youth and the aged, offering whatever help he could with these projects. He also looked into increasing funding for the teaching of community languages in general and Greek in particular, from kindergarten to university levels.
He also acknowledged to review the aged pension rate, to ensure pensioners maintained a certain standard of living relative to the rest of the population.
With a keen interest in multiculturalism, he supported the GCM’s push for a reduction in parental visa fees. He also indicated he would be advocating for a multicultural bill for the next federal parliament to consider and advised he would be seeking the GCM’s input on this as well as many other issues.