The Greek ambassador Mr Charalampos Dafaranos has ruled out any immediate cuts to Greek consulates in Australia, telling Neos Kosmos that he is aware of no plans to reduce their resources.
“There is nothing which changes the situation, and I see our consular presence in Australia unchanged for the foreseeable future,” Mr Dafaranos said.
The ambassador’s words come as the Italian government signalled its intent to close consulates in Adelaide and Brisbane in March 2014.
Speculation over the past year suggested that cutbacks in Greece’s diplomatic resources worldwide could affect Australia, and that the WA consulate in Perth was particularly vulnerable.
Meanwhile, the Italian government’s move has sparked outrage in Queensland and South Australia.
SA president of the Committee of Italians Abroad (COMITES), Mr Vincenzo Papandrea, told media the Italian communities in both states were devastated.
“There are around 90,000 Australians from an Italian background in Adelaide, and many are elderly who can’t travel to Melbourne if they need help with documents or passports,” he said.
Mr Papandrea added that many older Italo-Australians are unable use the internet and find it difficult to access information online, and that the closure would make contact over trade harder.
Vittorio Petriconi, Australia’s national COMITES coordinator, has called for a new model of Italian consular support to be developed.
“Employ more local staff – that’s cheaper than sending consular staff over from Italy,” he said.
“There are plenty of local Australians with the language skills.”
A petition with 8,000 signatures was sent to Rome last week asking the Italian foreign ministry to reconsider its plan through the office of Melbourne-based Marco Fedi, a lower-house representative of the Italian parliament for the seat of Asia, Oceania and Antarctica.
Fears that Greece’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) would look for similar cutbacks appear to be unfounded, though cannot be ruled out.
MFA has been required – like all branches of Greece’s public service – to find savings, with diplomatic staff having to bear sweeping reductions in salaries.
The Perth consulate was seen as the most likely target if closures in Australia were required.
It now seems that a moratorium has been called by the Greek government on the matter of closing diplomatic missions and consulates worldwide – probably as a result of more favourable budget outcomes in 2013 than originally predicted.
Ms Sofia Choli, the Greek Consul in Perth, told Neos Kosmos that it was “business as usual”, and that the consulate would continue to provide “full services to our citizens. In fact, we are pleased to say that the circle of citizens who seek our assistance keeps increasing.
Ms Choli described the Greek Australian community in Perth as vibrant, and said that an additional factor was greater representation of the community in the WA Parliament following state elections in March.
“The consulate staff work hard to provide the best possible services to our citizens and minimise the cost of maintaining this post for Greek tax payers,” she said.
State MP Eleni Evangel, who ousted the ALP’s John Hyde at the WA election in March, told Neos Kosmos it was imperative the consulate remains in Perth.
“It’s great news that we are keeping it, and a great relief to the community.
“The consulate develops and promotes business relations, and we’re very excited about the possibilities for increasing relations between WA and Greece. It makes us feel connected,” said the Liberal member for Perth.