Victoria is having elections soon and it seems that both the government and the opposition are keen to promote their multicultural credentials.
Unlike their federal counterparts Victorian politicians are proud of the state’s culturasdiversity and should be commended on it.
Both government and opposition have committed moneys to cultural maintenance, festivals and languages.
There is no hiding behind Hansonisms like, “I don’t want a large Australia” which our prime minister said during the federal elections trying to woo marginal seats in Western Sydney.
Nor is there shrill announcements about keeping our borders safe which the leader of the opposition kept harping on as a minuscule number of refugees hit our shores in leaky boats.
Yet, while some say that state elections are about ‘cranes and drains’ there are issues which the Greek community needs to be aware of particularly in terms Modern Greek.
Wales St Primary School in Northcote recently dumped Modern Greek. Regardless of efforts made by Greek parents it was not reinstated.
The Victoria state government, as John Pandazopoulos MP points out, has scholarships for people wishing to become Greek language teachers.
On the other side of politics, Nicholas Kotsiras from the opposition benches has made noises about new Languages Other Than English (LOTE) again highlighting their desire to promote cultural diversity.
The real challenge is what will the Greek community do? It is not enough to have leaders promoting multiculturalism and LOTE.
To secure the future of Modern Greek we need to have a far more engaged community and one which has a sense of what it one and how it will support the maintenance of Modern Greek as a thriving, living language.
For too long we have played politics and expected the politicians to pull the irons out of the fire.
It is now time we ‘bite the corrugated iron’ and ask what we can do which amount to more than word; which amount to practical, decisive and forward thinking initiatives.
We need actions which demonstrate to all that we are capable of taking the bull by the horns.
