The Coalition have promised Melbourne’s Greek Community, if elected, nearly half a million dollars to fund the new Cultural Centre. In a meeting held in Melbourne this week – between NSW Senator Arthur Sinodinos, who is expected to be the next finance Minister of Australia if the Coalition is elected, Bill Papastergiadis, President of the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria (GOCMV) and Treasurer of GOCMV Nick Parthimos, Senator Sinodinos revealed that his party was willing to allocate $455,000 over three years for an archivist and a curator at the GOCMV.
The announcement came after a briefing with the Senator about the progress of the Community’s building and new Greek Cultural Centre currently under construction at the corner of Lonsdale and Russell Street, Melbourne.
Senator Sinodinos was also briefed about the program of events which the Greek Community of Melbourne and Victoria (GOCMV) runs annually, including the Antipodes Street Festival, Film Festival, Food Festival, Writers Festival, the Seminar Series and its education activities for 1,500 students through Alphington Grammar and the six afternoon schools.
“I am excited by this new building and the hard work undertaken by the Board led by Bill Papastergiadis,” said Mr Sinodinos.
“The Board has unified the Community in Melbourne and it is pleasing to note that any Government can now comfortably deal with an organisation like the GOCMV which is truly representative. It isimportant that the Liberal Party seeks to support this initiative. It is a truly remarkable project which deserves our support”.
He then went on to announce that a Coalition Government (if elected) would fund the new Greek Community Cultural centre to the value of $455,000 for the two positions of archivist and a curator over a period of three years.
“This Centre has enormous implications for Greeks in Australia and for the wider society,” said Mr Papastergiadis.
“We aim to develop strong relationships through the Center with the broader society and to partner with the leading Arts organisations like The State Library of Victoria, Federation Square and The National Gallery of Victoria. The GOCMV aims to play a major role in multiculturalism in Australia by making the new Center the focal point for exchange of views, conferences and seminars.”
Following the offer of support, Mr Papastergiadis thanked Senator Sinodinos and the Liberal Party led by Tony Abbott and quoted that:
“It is encouraging that the Greek Community of Melbourne has bipartisan support on key projects and we welcome the time we had to explain our project in detail to Senator Sinodinos. The Senator was attentive to the issues confronting Greeks in Victoria and was interested in finding a way forward in future dealings with one another”.
Senator Sinodinos speaking to Neos Kosmos described the initiatives of the Greek Community of Melbourne and Victoria as an example of what can be achieved by other Greek communities in Australia