A spike in arrivals from Greece has motivated Labor MP Jenny Mikakos to urge the Australian Government to provide more financial support to organisations such as the Australian Greek Welfare Society who, she says, will feel the financial strain.
The increase of arrivals of Greek nationals – some who are previous Australian residents – in Victoria has put a “great deal of strain on the financial resources of our Greek community organisations”.
The MP acknowledged that many of these arrivals are “well educated, hardworking and very motivated young people who [she] believes will make an excellent contribution to Australia”, however, she is concerned on the financial strain this may put on the long-standing and ageing Greek population in Victoria.
Ms Mikakos told parliament this week that “the Australian Greek Welfare Society, which is a highly regarded organisation, plays an important role in supporting Victoria’s ageing Greek community in education, health, welfare and child-care and language services, but it has recently been using its own internal resources and fundraising efforts to fund social workers to assist these recent arrivals with settlement issues such as housing, employment and legal matters”.
Ms Mikakos has written to the Federal Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Chris Bowen, seeking support from the federal government in these matters.
