the voice of the maltese no. 107

Issue107

online magazine

(driven by the voice driven by the voice of its readersof its readers)

August 4, 2015

The Voice of the Malteseonline magazine

The Ta’ QaliNationalStadium

Right: Malta captain Joe Cini(left) exchanging banners be-fore the start of the match withEngland captain Alan Mulleryin the European Championshipclash at the Empire Stadiumon February 3, 1971. At thetime it was the biggest event infootball history in Malta.

The ‘old’ EmpireStadium at Gzira

For a few days during the month ofJuly the political agenda in Malta tooksecond place as the other most talkedabout subject on the island, footballstole the limelight. First, Birkirkara’s historic victory over

English Premiership side West HamUnited in a UEFA competition stole theshow even though the Maltese wereeventually eliminated in a penalty sho-ot-out. No wonder the National Sta-dium at Ta’ Qali inaugurated in 1980(pictured in all its glory above) was themain focus.

In the final stages of the monthMalta’s draw in the same group as Eng-land in the preliminary round of theFIFA World Cup 2018 diverted the at-tention of the Maltese from anotherpastime, discussing the hottest monthfor decades, to talk about Malta’s FIFAWorld Cup fixture.

It will be Malta’s third meeting on thefootball field against England since1971. That first match took place at theformer Empire Stadium in Gzira thatwas filled to capacity (right). What nos-talgia!

Here’s a chance to compare the oldand the new stadiums. See also backpage

2 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday August 4, 2015

TheThe

Radio sagaRadio saga

The much-awaited confrontation between the dele-gation from the Maltese Community Councils ofNSW and Victoria and the management of SBS

Radio took place in the form of a video conference. AtMelbourne Federation Square were Victor Borg, ProfMaurice Cauchi and Dr Edwin Borg Manche’, and at theArtarmon’s (Sydney) head office, Lawrence Dimech andEmanuel Camilleri. Mandi Wicks, Director, Audio &Language Content SBS, Lou Petrolo, Strategy & Com-munity Engagement Manager, Audio & Language Con-tent SBS in Melbourne and Todd Loydell, Head ofGovernment and Regulatory Affairs, Corporate AffairsSBS in Sydney represented SBS Radio.After the meeting the Maltese delegation made these

observations to The Voice of the Maltese. The Maltesedelegation argued strenuously and persuasively againstthe cuts, reiterating the points that were made in theirJoint Submission. They highlighted the outrage that theMaltese community feels at the latest SBS decision thatwill deprive the ageing Maltese community of anybroadcasts in their mother tongue for five consecutivedays each week from Sunday to Thursday.

The Maltese community leaders criticised SBS for againfailing to consult with the Maltese community before re-viewing and deciding to discontinue funding of the twoadditional hours of Maltese programmes that SBS agreedto after considerable community protests two years ago.When in 2013 SBS reviewed its radio broadcasts schedule,savagely cutting Maltese programmes from nine to twohours per week, the largest reduction for any community,SBS had similarly failed to consult with the Maltese com-munity before announcing its decision. At the meeting the Maltese delegation emphasised the

unfairness of the criteria applied by SBS in reviewingthe radio broadcasts schedule in 2013, particularly thevery low weighting (only 15%) given to the ageing crite-rion in the assessment of community need. As the 2011Census clearly establishes, the Maltese com-

munity has a very high proportion of people over 65years of age who rely heavily on SBS Maltese radiobroadcasts for information relating to aged care servicesand other entitlements provided by the Commonwealthand State Governments. Information is also relayed tothem in these broadcasts in relation to specific servicesprovided and available to them through the Maltesecommunity and religious organisations. Many of them rely on these broadcasts for their partici-

pation in community activities. It provides them with asense of comfort and security and a quality of life thatthey would otherwise not enjoy.The Maltese delegation argued vigorously that, in the

medium and long term, the present criteria needs to berevised to ensure that the present grave injustice to theMaltese community is not perpetuated.The SBS management representatives appeared to be

receptive to the suggestion of initiating a revision of thecriteria well before the 2016 Census data becomes avail-able in order to give communities adequate time to pro-vide their input prior to the next SBS Radio schedule

review due in the next couple of years. The Maltese delegation called on SBS to reconsider its

decision in light of the arguments presented at the meet-ing and to reinstate the two hours of Maltese pro-grammes in question until the next schedule review. The SBS management representatives assured the Mal-

tese delegation that the views expressed at the meetingwould be relayed back to the SBS Managing Directorand the SBS Board.At the meeting the Maltese delegation presented a peti-

tion to SBS strongly protesting against the decision tocease funding of two hours of Maltese programmes onSBS Radio and calling upon the SBS management to re-verse its decision and to reinstate the current number offour hours per week.

Over three thousand signatures supporting the petitionwere gathered on paper and online in a relatively shortperiod of two weeks. The petition is also being submittedto the federal Minister for Communications, the HonMalcolm Turnbull together with representations made onthe Maltese community’s behalf by various politicians.

Cuts withoutproper consultation

The representatives of theCommunity Council ofNSW, Emanuel Camilleri(left) and LawrenceDimech at the SBS Artar-

PProfessor James Judd from therofessor James Judd from theAustralian National University saidAustralian National University saidthat multiculturalism at the federalthat multiculturalism at the federal

level is close to death. You, at the SBSlevel is close to death. You, at the SBSRadio are administering the last rites.Radio are administering the last rites.

Placing emphasis on Australian-conPlacing emphasis on Australian-con--tent only is contrary to the basic princitent only is contrary to the basic princi--ple of multiculturalism.ple of multiculturalism.

You are like an ostrich. You refuse toYou are like an ostrich. You refuse tochange your criteria on how to distribchange your criteria on how to distrib--ute fairly and equitably the valuableute fairly and equitably the valuablebroadcasting time that the taxpayersbroadcasting time that the taxpayershave given you to administer and prohave given you to administer and pro--tect without fear or favour.tect without fear or favour.

You have chosen the easy way out.You have chosen the easy way out.You have failed repeatedly to addressYou have failed repeatedly to addressthe urgent need for radio audience surthe urgent need for radio audience sur--veys and stuck to the analysis of theveys and stuck to the analysis of the2011 census giving largest communities2011 census giving largest communities14 hours of radio a week.14 hours of radio a week.

Then when it comes to accommodatingThen when it comes to accommodatingsmaller communities, instead of lookingsmaller communities, instead of lookingat the obscene allocation given to theat the obscene allocation given to thebigger richer communities, you pick onbigger richer communities, you pick onus with a lousy two hours allocation aus with a lousy two hours allocation aweek.week.

Are you for real?Are you for real?Do you think this is reasonable? DoDo you think this is reasonable? Do

you think that what you are doing is fairyou think that what you are doing is fairand just in a country that prides itselfand just in a country that prides itselfon a “fair go for all”?on a “fair go for all”?

The Maltese community is up in armsThe Maltese community is up in armsagain. At SBS Radio you are perpetuatagain. At SBS Radio you are perpetuat--

ing aing agrave ingrave in--j u s t i c ej u s t i c ebecausebecauseyou beyou be--lieve in alieve in acriterioncriterionthat hasthat hasb e e nb e e np r o v e np r o v e nw r o n gw r o n gand outand outof date.of date.

Your very own, Peter Khalil, directorYour very own, Peter Khalil, directorCorporate Affairs had stated in a publicCorporate Affairs had stated in a publicmeeting in Melbourne on March 25th inmeeting in Melbourne on March 25th in2014 that the way SBS went about in the2014 that the way SBS went about in thedistribution of hours was not advantadistribution of hours was not advanta--geous to the Maltese community andgeous to the Maltese community andthat decisions should not be takenthat decisions should not be takenmainly on the analysis of the Census.mainly on the analysis of the Census.

You have failed to conduct surveys toYou have failed to conduct surveys toassess who in fact is listening to yourassess who in fact is listening to yourradio programmes. The Maltese commuradio programmes. The Maltese commu--nity has collected thousands of signanity has collected thousands of signa--tures in protest. tures in protest.

Let us assure you that we are going toLet us assure you that we are going tofight you all the way. Supported byfight you all the way. Supported bymany politicians, we are convinced thatmany politicians, we are convinced thatyou are being unjust with a communityyou are being unjust with a communitythat was one of the original eight comthat was one of the original eight com--munities to have established SBS Radiomunities to have established SBS Radio40 years ago.40 years ago.

An open letter to SBS RadioAn open letter to SBS Radiofrom the from the Voice of the MalteseVoice of the Maltese

TheThe

Radio sagaRadio saga

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The Voice of the Maltese sar jaf li Ωew© Konsli Onorarji tal-gvern Maltifl-Awstralja rriΩenjaw mill-kariga. Dawn huma, Dr Anthony V Sciber-ras f’Western Australia u Dr George A. Borg Olivier, wie˙ed mit-tlettKonsli Onorarji li hemm fi Queensland. Sar ukoll mag˙ruf li waqt li qed jeΩamina l-˙ariet kollha ta’ dawn il-

Konsli Onorarji, il-Gvern Malti wasal biex i˙abbar min se jkunu dawkli se jservu f’Western Australia u fin-na˙at ta’ Brisbane fi Queensland.

ÛEWÌRIÛENJI

Tuesday August 4, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 3

Il-festa reli©juΩa g˙andhapost çentrali ˙afna fil-˙ajja ta’ kull ra˙al f’-

Malta u G˙awdex, min-˙abba li tikkommemorajum il-festa tal-qaddis jewqaddisa patruna. Kulltmiem il-©img˙a fix-xhurbejn Ìunju u Settembrujkun hemm aktar minnra˙al wie˙ed li jisplodif’çelebrazzjonijiet li jdumug˙addejjin il-©img˙a kollha.Dawn il-festi Maltin huma ri-nomati g˙at-tiΩjin fit-toroq, il-purçissjonijiet reli©juΩi, il-marçital-baned u l-gabbani tal-ikel.Barra dan, forsi aktar qabel minnissa, il-familji Maltin iΩejnudjarhom bl-a˙jar mod li jistg˙u,filwaqt li l-knejjes ji©u mdawlabid-dwal, kemm minn ©ewwa kifukoll minn barra, fil-faççati.B’danakollu, minkejja l-estrav-

aganza u l-meravilja ta’ dawn l-affarijiet kollha, dan ma hu xejng˙ajr t˙ejjija u introduzzjonig˙all-gran finale meta l-jiem taç-çele-brazzjonijiet jil˙qu l-qofol tag˙homf’wirja ta’ log˙ob tan-nar mag˙mulb’˙ila imlewwen,u rdieden vibrantitan-nar tal-art ma-g˙ruf a˙jar b˙alal-©ig©ifogu.

Imma forsi l-aqwa, u dik ewle-nija fost il-festitas-sajf hija l-Festata l -Assunzjonital-Madonna, liti©i ççelebrata fil-15 ta’ Awwissu,mag˙rufa lokal-ment b˙ala l-Fes-ta ta’ Santa Marija li ti©i fil-quççatatal-ista©un tas-sajf.

Minbarra li ti©i ççelebrata f’diversilokalitajiet madwar il-GΩejjer Maltin,b˙all-Mosta, il-Gudja, l-Imqabba, il-Qrendi, Ó’Attard, Óad-Dingli u l-Im-©arrf’Malta, u fil-belt Victoria u Ω-Ûebbu©f’G˙awdex, hija wkoll btala nazzjonaliimportanti fil-kalendarju Malti.

Filwaqt li xi w˙ud jiççelebraw il-festatradizzjonali tar-ra˙al tag˙hom b’am-monti abbundanti ta’ ikel u muΩika,f’daΩ-Ωmien ukoll, li hu mag˙ruf g˙almeta li fil-biçça ‘l kbira l-fabbrikajag˙lqu g˙all-btajjel, dak li nsibuh b˙alax-shutdown, eluf ta’ ˙addiema jkunuqed jistennewh.

Ìeneralment, min˙abba li l-btajjelikunu fuq perijodu twil, ta’ bejn ©img˙au tnejn ˙afna jippjanaw jew xi safrainkella mawra sa G˙awdex. O˙rajn sem-pliçiment jie˙du vanta©© g˙al ftit ser˙anmir-rutina tax-xog˙ol ta’ kuljum u tuljiem xemxim igawdu l-ba˙ar sabi˙ unadif tal-GΩejjer Maltin, u

IΩda f’nofs dan il-kaos festiv kollu li©©ib mag˙ha l-festa ta’ Santa Marija, in-nies ta’ spiss ikollhom it-tendenza li jin-sew g˙aliex id-data tal-15 ta’ Awwissu

saret il-qofol tal-festi f’Malta. Donnu jin-sew g˙aliex g˙andha g˙eruq daqstantfondi fil-psike Malti b˙ala okkaΩjoni ta’çelebrazzjoni u g˙aliex hija sa˙ansitra

btala pubblika.Il-jum huwa wie˙ed storiku. Kollox hu

marbut ma’ dak li se˙˙ fil-15 ta’Awwissu tal-1942. B˙ala l-unika baΩi ta’ kontroll tal-Gran

Brittanja f’nofs il-Mediterran, fis-snintat-Tieni Gwerra Dinjija, Malta kienet l-uniku ostakolu li kienu qeg˙din jiffaçç-jaw in-Nazisti ÌermaniΩi u l-Italja ta’Mussolini fi triqithom biex ja˙mu l-Afrika ta’ Fuq.Fix-xhur li wasslu g˙al Awwissu 1942,

Malta kienet ibbumbardjata bis-sa˙˙a ubdiet tbati minn nuqqas kbir ta’ ikel, ar-mamenti u provvisti o˙rajn. L-istrate©ijatal-potenzi tal-Assi li j©ibu lil Maltag˙arkupptejha ming˙ajr provvisti biexb’hekk ikollha ççedi g˙all-qilla tal-gw-erra, deher li kienu qed ja˙dmu.

Kienu jafu li jekk sal-a˙˙ar ta’ Aw-wissu 1942 ma kinux se jaslu l-provvistifil-gΩira, Malta tabil˙aqq kien se ikollhaççedi.

Il-provvisti kienu fi triqithom lejnMalta f’konvoj ta’ erbatax-il bastimentmerkantili, bl-aktar wie˙ed importantijkun l-Ohio, bastiment Amerikan b’ek-wipa©© Brittaniku. Il-pjan imsejja˙ Op-eration Pedestal (li t-Taljani kienu

jirreferu g˙alih b˙ala La Battaglia diMezzo Agosto (Il-battalja ta’ nofsAwwissu), kien fi triqtu g˙as-suççesssakemm il-konvoj ©ie bbumbardjat fi ftit

jiem qabel kellujasal Malta.

Kien imperattiv libiex isostni lil Mal-ta, r-Renju Unit kel-lu ta’ bilfors u ak-kost ta’ kollox iwas-sal il-provvisti lejnMalta.

It-tama tal-Maltindehret li qed tg˙ibfix-xejn, allura kell-hom jistrie˙u fuq il-fidi tag˙hom. Bl-ak-tar mod iddisprat

imma devot, il-©ens Malti talab lil SantaMarija g˙al miraklu. Sal-14 ta’ Awwissu1942 kienu waslu tliet vapuri, iΩda makien m’hemm l-ebda sinjal tal-Ohio.

Imbag˙ad fe©©g˙et l-g˙odwa tal-15tax-xahar, il-Festa ta’ Tlug˙ is-Sema ta’Marija, jew a˙jar Santa Marija, u l-basti-ment Ohio, nofsu mg˙erreq finalmentirnexxielu jid˙ol fil-Port il-Kbir, fejn sabjilqg˙uh folol kbar ta’ nies ixejru l-bnadar IngliΩi u Amerikani u jkantawg˙alenija d-diska patrijottika Rule Bri-tannia.

Min˙abba t-twemmin komuni li kiense˙˙ miraklu, il-konvoj baqa’ mag˙rufb˙ala l-Konvoj ta’ Santa Marija u d-de-vozzjoni tal-Maltin lejn Santa Marija u l-festa tal-Assunzjoni tag˙ha komplietaktar tissa˙˙a˙.Filwaqt li g˙al ˙afna l-Konvoj ta’ Santa

Marija huwa biss ©rajja mill-passat glo-rjuΩ ta’ ©ensna, id-data tal-15 ta’ Awwis-su g˙adha tg˙ix fil-qlub Maltin u fiΩ-Ωminijiet moderni evolviet b˙ala okkaΩ-joni kbira ta’ fer˙ u tgawdija ming˙ajrlimitu u f’sensazzjoni tipikament Mal-tija.

Mhux ta’ b’xejn jing˙ad li l-Assuntahija l-Padruna tal-GΩejjer Maltin.


Santa Marija mhix sempliçi festa b˙all-o˙rajn

Il-15 ta’ Awwissu fost l-akbar festi reli©juΩi u storiçiL-Ohio die˙el Malta b˙ala parti mill-Operation Pedestalf’Jum Santa Maria tal-1942. Il-vapur da˙al kwaΩi mfarrak bil-magni mkissrin ka©un tal-attakki mill-ÌermaniΩi u t-Taljani.Ûew© destoyers taw l-g˙ajnuna tag˙hom biex seta’ jΩommfil-wiçç g˙all-bqija tal-vja©©. Wara l-kaptan tal-Ohio ©ieanke mog˙ti l-unur tal-George Cross. Wara li sbarka t-tag˙bija, il-vapur ©ie mg˙erreq barra l-Port il-Kbir.

Human beings the world over, inevery culture and society that ex-ists, strive to acquire a legitimate

place for themselves in the world that jus-tifies their existence. They do so by defin-ing who they are, for others. Individuals may define themselves in terms

of their occupation, social relationships,creed, and other social and demographicgroups. In doing so, they fashion a socialidentity that describes who they are relativeto other groups (Tajfel, 1981). They striveto define themselves in ways that legitimatewho they are and their ways of existing, inan effort to negotiate a positive identity thatcan provide them with self-esteem.

Self-esteem is the value we perceive ofourselves, the value that inheres out of howwe define ourselves, who we are. Self-es-teem accrues as a function of the groups webelong to. It matters whether an individualis classifiable as a member of a respectablesocial group or a denigrated one.

Likewise, nationality matters inasmuchas it typifies individuals in terms of char-acteristics associated with one’s nationalorigins in the eyes of others. More impor-tantly, it matters in terms of how individ-uals define themselves in their own eyes.

What does it mean to be Maltese? Whatfeatures and characteristics do we believetypify us as Maltese? Which aspects of ourMalteseness do we think are positive, andwhich ones negative? More importantly, given what we believe

is positive and negative about being Mal-tese, are we left with a positive sense ofour identity that makes us proud to beMaltese when we encounter different oth-ers? Or does our Malteseness leave usashamed of whom we are?

These are important questions; not leastdue to the fact that these identity constraintsgo on to determine our interactions withothers. If we are proud to be Maltese, then

we will strive toprotect our Malte-seness in the face ofa challenge by oth-ers. If we areashamed, we mightopt to acquiesce alltoo readily with de-mands plac-ed onus by others.

In an era of immigration, globalisation,as well as European unification, these areclearly relevant concerns (Giddens, 1991).And whilst obviously there are individualdifferences in how we think about our-selves, the social representation (Sammut& Howarth, 2014) that we use for definingwho we are provides us with the necessaryresources to develop a social identity, andto draw on the self-esteem associated withit, in our dealings with others.

In this paper, I report the findings of twostudies that have been undertaken in an ex-ploration of Maltese identity. The studiesaddress the two questions that have beenraised in this introduction, that is, in whatterms do we identify as Maltese, and whatvalue do we attach to our national identity? I will consider each question in turn with

reference to self-stereotypes (Sammut,Sartawi, Giannini & Labate, 2014)amongst the Maltese in Malta and theMaltese in Australia.

Self-stereotypes of the Maltese

I will start by describing the terms re-spondents have used to describe the Mal-tese in the two settings studied. We asked respondents to provide us with

a list of features that typify the Maltese.We were interested in both positive andnegative features.

Following saturation, we selected theeight most popular positive features andthe eight most popular negative features

that respondents claimed typified the Mal-tese.98For the Maltese in Australia, the Maltese

are Family orientated, Hardworking, Frie-ndly, Helpful, Proud, Responsible, Reli-gious and Respectful.

On the other hand, the Maltese in Maltalisted the following negative features asmost typical of Maltese identity: StorbjuΩi(loud/noisy), NervuΩi (short-tempered),Sindikajri (nosy/gossipers), G˙aΩΩenin(lazy), Óamalli (chavvy/trash), Arroganti(arrogant), Razzisti (racist/xenophobic),and Mo˙˙hom mag˙luq (closed-minded). For the Maltese in Australia, the negative

aspects of Maltese identity are: Indulgent,Competitive, Jealous, Stubborn, Blasphe-mous, Impatient, Shifty and Gossipy.

As Table 1 demonstrates, there is a highercorrespondence in positive traits between thetwo samples than there is in negative traits.

MALTAPositive TraitsHardworkingHelpfulReligiousSociableHospitableHappyGenerousHonestNegative Traits

GossipyLoudShort-temperedLazyChavvyArrogantRacistClosed-minded

AUSTRALIA

HardworkingHelpfulReligiousProudRespectfulFriendlyFamily orientatedResponsible

GossipyIndulgentCompetitiveJealousStubbornBlasphemousImpatientShifty

Table 1: Self-stereotypes by the Maltese inMalta and the Maltese in AustraliaTable 1 suggests that the social representationof the Maltese held by the Maltese in Maltaand the Maltese in Australia varies betweenthe two contexts, but that there also is a de-gree of correspondence between the two. Thiswas expected due to the fact that the socialrepresentation of the Maltese in Australia canbe traced back to its origins in Malta. Sincethen, the two representations have circulatedand adapted to a different sociocultural con-text marked by different intergroup relations.It is to this issue that we turn next.

Maltese self-stereotypesin Malta and Australia

Part 2 in next issue


Following is Part 1 of a paper thatGORDON SAMMUT PhD (Dept. ofPsychology University of Malta) presented during the IV Con-vention of the Maltese Living Abroad organised by Malta’s Min-istry for Foreign Affairs following findings from a study thatinvestigated Maltese identity amongst the Maltese in Malta andthe Maltese in Australia. It inquired into how the Maltese per-ceive the positive and negative aspects of Maltese identity.

For the fifth year running, Malta’s national car-rier, Air Malta has been named one of the top

airlines in Europe, ranking sixth in the Best RegionalAirlines in Europe category at this year’s SkytraxWorld Airline Awards, regarded as the 'Oscars' of theairline business.

Passengers for this award were surveyed online be-tween September 2014 and May 2015 with 18.9 mil-lion customer surveys completed, across a range ofsurvey topics.

The study for this award that is seen as the global

benchmark of airline excellence around the world,covered full-service and low-cost airlines and meas-ured standards across 41 key performance indica-tors. More than 245 airlines, from the largestinternational airlines to smaller domestic carrierstook part in the survey.

Meanwhile, in a statement, Air Malta said it wouldbe rolling out a number of initiatives aimed at put-ting customer at the heart of the organisation. Itwould be focusing more on enhancing the customerexperience and showing that the airline 'cares more'.


DDuring the week July20-26, Malta wasnamed the warmest

place in Europe as the islandbaked in one of the hottestheatwaves for years. Early inthe week the mercurypeaked at 43°C, the highestJuly temperature recorded inMalta since the 1980s.Malta’s Met Office noted av-erage temperatures ofaround 37°C which it saidwas 'considerably hotter'than usual for the time ofyear as high pressure hovered overthe central Mediterranean. A spokesman for the Health Pro-motion Department said it wasnice that the sun was shining andone could enjoy summer but it wasvery important to remember thatrising heat does bring health risks.He went on to recommend peopleconsidering avoiding the sun be-tween 11am and 4pm, to drinkplenty of fluids and keep an eyeout for children and the elderly.

“It's important to make the mostof the good weather but equallyimportant that people don't get toomuch sun or heat and make them-selves ill” he said, adding that itwas advisable for people to drinkbetween 1.5 and 2 litres of watereach day, and larger amounts ifone was exercising or during thehot weather.The temperature was to remain

above average into August with

highs of over 35°C on a frequentbasis'.

Sizzling heat and oppressive hu-midity gripped Malta through Julywith some nights seeing 'low' tem-peratures hovering near 28°C.

A number of Maltese Australianswho are holidaying on the islandand who spoke with The Voice saidit makes a change coming fromthe worst wintry weather condi-tions for years particularly in Victo-ria and NSW where they had beenenduring the freakiest of weathersand lowest temperatures for agreat many years.“Basking in the Malta sun makes

up for all the frustrations we havebeen enduring at home. It makes achange from the snow we hadbeen having. We will try our bestto enjoy the Malta sun, with mod-eration of course, but it is so inter-esting to be able to taste suchcontrasting weather,” Frank, told

The Voice while he and hiswife were taking in the lastremaining hours of daylightas the sun was setting at theFra Ben beach in Qawra. In the meantime, statistics

indicate that the number oftourists visiting Malta in thefirst four months of the yearhas risen by 5.6 per cent, ac-cording to new figures,prompting a Malta TourismAuthority (MTA) spokesmanto say that Malta was outper-forming most of Europe as

tourist arrivals continue to grow ata faster rate.According to the World Tourism

Organisation, internationaltourism demand continued to be'robust', and prospects for the May-August period remained upbeat,with close to 500 million touristsexpected to travel abroad duringthese four months.The MTA spokesman said that

from the Maltese perspective, itwas satisfying and encouraging tonote that Malta's tourism perform-ance during the first four monthsof the year showed such an in-crease in inbound visitors to Maltaas it implies that its performancecontinues, to exceed the growthrates for both the entire World andEurope. It was ”proof that Malta issustaining its trend of outperform-ing overall growth rates at global,continental and regional levels”,he said.

Malta’s Nationalcarrier namedone of Europe’stop airlines

Malta Europe’s hottest place in JulyMalta Europe’s hottest place in July

Sydney father-daughter duo Ste-ve and Tiana Falzon, have wonthe reality show hosted by Jo-

hanna Griggs, House Rules 2015, anAustralian competitive renovationgame show which is screened on theSeven Network.

Steve, a 47-years-old tradesmanborn in Sydney West of Maltese par-ents, and his daughter Tiana wereboth named victors and having thefamily’s $250,000 mortgage paid offduring the nail-biter live grand finalbeating Queensland couple BenEdgeworth and Danielle Russell. The winner was decided via a com-

bination of judges’ scores and thepublic vote.

It’s an outcome the novice renova-tors never expected, after strugglingthrough the first half of the compe-tition and narrowly avoiding elimi-nation. “We’ve grown throughoutthe whole experience,” Tiana, 26,said. “We gave it everything we hadto make it (to the finale).”Steve had bought the family house

more than two decades ago inMount Druitt but his wife Danielledied in 1996 with pneumonia whenshe was only 27. Struggling to dealwith the unfathomable grief, the sin-gle father-of-two was forced to workrelentless hours to keep a roof overTiana and younger brother An-drew’s heads.

Mr. Falzon told the Mt Druitt Stan-dard, “It has not sunken in yet; thisis one of those feelings that is just sosurreal. I have always dreamt ofbeing mortgage-free but neverthought it would happen. I thoughtI would be paying thisplace off for the rest ofmy life.”The winning pair was

happy enough seeingthe rundown familyhome in Mount Druittcompletely transfor-med into a modern

Announcing the establishment ofA NEW Maltese Social Support GroupIn the Shellharbour Local Government AreaFor older people over the age of 65 years

The Multicultural Communities Council of Illawarra Inc is proud toannounce that a new Multicultural Social Support Group for olderpeople from Maltese backgrounds, living in the Shellharbour LGA,will commence on the 5th of August.

The Maltese Social Support Group is supported by the AustralianGovernment Department of Social Services under the Common-wealth Home Support Program. A number of activities will be organ-ised for the group including;

u Morning tea and lunch from different culturesuSocial activities including local and regional events, festival and

activitiesuDay outings and excursion of your choiceu Cultural arts activities and eventsuGentle exercise and physical activities to assist with health and

wellbeingu Be kept up- to- date with Community Guest Speakers who will

present various topics which promote healthy ageingu Individual support and other lifestyle and leisure activitiesu Transport to and from the centre if neededu Assist clients with Referrals and accessing MY Aged Care Con-

tact Centre

We welcome our members of Shellharbour to join in and be partof this exciting new group

The new programme begins: Wednesday from 9:30 am to 1:30 pmat Oak Flats Neighbourhood Centre 44 Fisher Street, Oak Flats

For further information on how you can become a member of thegroup contact: MCCI Head office on 02 4229 7566 or Daiana on

0402 165 014, or the MY Aged Care Call Centre on 1800 200 422.The programme will commence on Wednesday August 5

Media release

Steve and Tiana win House Rules the hard way


pad. Each team had to transform thegarage of the other team’s house inone last challenge and the Falzonscame out on top by two points, witha combined 19 out of 20 from thejudges.

Father and daughter duoSteve and Tiana Falzon, win-ners of House Rules 2015

The renovated houseof the Falzon family

Clayton Bartolo from Adelaide writes:

Iam just back from a great trip to my par-ents’ and my grandparents’ birthplace,

the tiny but exceptionally beautiful Malta.I will never forget this holiday and willcertainly make it a point to make Malta myfocal point in the years to come.

In the last issue of The Voice, my letterto the magazine was mistakenly creditedto somebody else. Not that it worried me,but just for fairness sake, as I am the onewho experienced the trip and enjoyed theevents I mentioned.Back home I feel so refreshed, and I have

not stopped singing the praises of thisMediterranean isle. I am now passing on

my wonderful experience to other youthsand who like me had not only ever visitedMalta, but also some of them; Aussie ofcourse, never knew it existed.As I said in my previous contribution to

these pages, my primary interest in life,besides the family and my work, is music,and I feel so lucky to have had so manyoccasions to attend musical events on theisland, starting with the Isle of MTV andending with three more gigs all organisedfor free and all so well attended.It was so easy to make friends with other

Maltese youths and quite a number ofpretty Maltese girls at these events, but Ialso managed to form a bond with otheryouths from other European cities that ei-ther attended the Isle of MTV festival, orare studying the English language inMalta.

Resulting from these contacts I am al-ready planning my next visit, if not nextyear, the next, and if I am lucky enough inmy new job I might even add a visit tosome other European countries. I foundout that Malta is within easy reach of theEuropean mainland. No wonder so manyMaltese find it so easy to visit Europe.One needs just hop on a plane and in lessthan a three-hour flight would be experi-encing the food and the culture of anothercountry.

In just one trip, Malta has become myMecca!

Note: Apologies to Clayton and to AlfredFlask for attributing Clayton’s correspon-dence in the last issue to the latter.

SBS Radio is paid with our taxes

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While visiting Malta Stay at: While visiting Malta Stay at: The Diplomat Hotel, 173 Tower Road SliemaThe Diplomat Hotel, 173 Tower Road SliemaEmail:Email: [email protected] Tel: (00356) [email protected] Tel: (00356) 23497000

J.L. Vella, from Brunswick, Victoria, writes:

The July 18 issue of The Times of Malta, connecting with the Maltese Community vs.Radio SBS latest saga made some very valid points but has also concluded that NGO’s

both in Malta and Australia should consider sponsoring Maltese programmes on AustralianSBS Radio to defray some of the broadcasting costs.

Whoever is feeding this kind of argument to the Maltese daily has conveniently forgottenthat SBS Radio is already financed by the very taxes we pay. A call for the Maltese Govern-ment to assist was aired in the wrong time when serious negotiations and various protestswere going on. This is a matter for the Australian Federal Government. Maltese in Australia should all vent

their anger towards that end by contacting their Federal Member of Parliament and not tryingto divert attention.

If SBS Radio becomes totally commercial it would be much harder for the Maltese pro-grammes to survive.

Malta an island that has got everything

AMaltese priest, Joseph Alessandro, the Bishop of Garissain Kenya (pictured right) leads his Christian congregationin uncertain times in the North East of the country that is

repeatedly under attacks at the hands of Al-Shabaab militants whohave killed hundreds.The Bishop who went to Kenya in the early 1990s, and who was

shot by separatist militants on the Kenyan coast in 1993, forced toleave the country to receive medical attention, but eventually wentback to Garissa five years ago more determined to return, was thesubject of a news feature on the American basic cable and satellitetelevision channel, CNN.

In spite of the threats that arrive before every Sunday mass, FrAlessandro says he would never consider leaving his congregation.“It's not a matter of choice,” he says. “It's our duty to remain here.Since we are appointed as bishops, we have to stay - not withstand-ing what happens - 'til there are no Catholics, it's our duty to stay.” The clergy in Garissa says that despite being too scared to sleep

inside Garissa town and deciding to move themselves and theirfamilies across to the other side of the river to safety, the congre-gation is gaining in confidence and wants to return to normal. At Sunday Mass in Garissa's Cathedral Our Lady of Consolation,

the benches are full. The congregation is praying under armedguard, particularly following the deadly attack in April, but they'repraying nonetheless.

In April this year, hundreds of students at Garissa University inthe north of the country came under attack when Al-Shabaab mil-itants from across the border in Somalia raided dormitories at thecollege. Separating Christian students from their Muslim class-mates, the raiders killed 147 and wounded dozens more.

Today, the university stands empty as in the wake of the attack;many students stopped attending their classes.It is reported that each Sunday brings with it new threats from Al-

Shabaab with Garissa's Christians told that if they worshiped therethey would die.

One of those attending Sunday Mass, a Garissa resident and fre-quent visitor to the Cathedral, named as Patrick Gitau told CNN thatdespite the risks: “Every Sunday I'm here it's my cathedral. YeahI'm here I was baptised in this church.”According to Fr Alessandro, before the Garissa attack, the school

had 460 students. After the attack, only 300 reported back. “Theothers left Garissa or were scared to come back (to school) because

of the attack,” he said.However, he hopes that the institutions forced to shut down be-

cause of the threat of terror would soon reopen and that life wouldreturn to normal.“Now we are gaining confidence again - we have security on the

compound for the school and even during the night for the sisters,for the priests.”The diocese has received words of encouragement from the Pope

himself. At the invitation of the diocese, Bishop Alessandro saidthat the Pope added Kenya to his Africa trip in November, and saysmembers of the congregation would be chosen to travel to Nairobito meet him.For now though, he and his bishops are focusing on the daily task

of keeping their flock safe as best they can. The bishop told CNN:“We are people of God, we are people of faith. God never aban-dons us and maybe in moments when we feel that we are left onour own. There are those moments that God might be very closeto us. Even if we don't feel him.”


Maltese Bishop and his congregationin Kenya under repeated attacks

Ma nafx tiftakrux il-film Meet Joe Black (Iltaqg˙uma' Joe Black) li ˙are© fl-1998, li kien fih l-atturiBrad Pitt u Anthony Hopkins. Kienet l-ewwel

darba li ltqajt mal-idjoma 'çert daqs il-mewt u t-taxxi'.Dawn tal-a˙˙ar jin©abru minn dawk li jmexxu l-istat,

biex ikunu jistg˙u jiffinanzjaw is-servizzi li joffri l-istessstat, u jekk min imexxi jkun bla skrupli, biex i˙axxen butu.Imma mhux dwar hekk nixtieq nikteb illum.Fil-˙mistax li g˙addew, il-Premier ta' NSW, Mike Baird

g˙amel proposta biex ir-rata tal-GST tikber minn 10%g˙al 15%.1 Óadd ma jie˙u gost jitkellem dwar it-taxxa, uwisq inqas i˙allasha. Biss xtaqt nikkummenta ftit dwar xitermini relatati lispiss jissemmew.

L-ewwel ˙a©a,x'inhi l-GST? Hijaabbrevjazzjoni ta'Goods and ServicesTax (taxxa fuq il-prodotti u s-serviz-zi), forma ta' taxxa litin©abar ftit ftit f'kullstadju fit-tiswir tal-prodott jew servizz,minflok tin©abar f'-daqqa fi stadju wie-˙ed, b˙al tariffatad-dwana, jew tax-xa fuq id-d˙ul.

Hemm diversi pa-jjiΩi li g˙andhom il-GST apparti l-Awstralja, b˙all-Kanada. F'pajjiΩi o˙rajn tissejja˙VAT (Value Added Tax - taxxa fuq il-valur miΩjud), b˙all-pajjiΩital-Unjoni Ewropea, inkluΩa Malta.

Fl-Awstralja, il-GST tin©abar mill-gvern federali, u titqassamkollha kemm hi lill-gvernijiet tal-istati u t-territorji. Il-vanta©©iewlieni tag˙ha (g˙all-gvern) huma:

Il-kritika g˙al din it-taxxa hi n-natura rigressiva tag˙ha. Din il-kelma x'inhi - mela sejrin lura?

Dan it-terminu jintuΩa biex jiddistingwi l-GST (u taxxi similib˙all-VAT) minn taxxi 'progressivi' b˙at-taxxi fuq id-d˙ul. Bit-taxxa fuq id-d˙ul, iktar ma wie˙ed ikollu d˙ul (jaqla’ flus), iktari˙allas rata ta' taxxa g˙olja. Fl-Awstralja r-rati jibdew minn 19%sa 45%. F'˙afna pajjiΩi nkluΩ l-Awstralja, min g˙andu d˙ul baxx˙afna ma j˙allas xejn taxxa fuq id-d˙ul. Bil-GST, kul˙add i˙allas l-istess rata (illum 10%), g˙andu d˙ul

kemm g˙andu d˙ul u g˙ani kemm hu g˙ani. Jekk tqabbel kemmi˙allas taxxa ma kemm jaqla’ bniedem fqir u bniedem g˙ani, tarali tal-ewwel bil-GST jispiçça j˙allas iktar, (jew ˙afna iktar) pro-porzjonalment minn bniedem g˙ani2. G˙alhekk, il-GST tissejja˙rigressiva.Taxxi progressivi jitqiesu miΩuri ta' ©ustizzja soçjali, u b˙ala xi

˙a©a poΩittiva (u ta' min jiΩdiedu) minn partiti politiçi xellugin.Jitqiesu b˙ala xi ˙a©a negattiva (u ta' min jitnaqqsu) minn partitipolitiçi tal-lemin. Kif wie˙ed jistenna, dawn il-partiti g˙andhom

l-attitudni l-oppost g˙at-taxxi rigressivi.G˙al din ir-ra©uni, dejjem ikun hemm ©lieda

politika meta l-GST (jew il-VAT) ikun se jidda˙˙aljew ikun se jog˙la f'pajjiΩ. Dan se˙˙ fl-Awstraljafis-sena 2000, meta l-partit Laburista oppona(ming˙ajr suççess) l-introduzzjoni tal-GST, u nif-takar l-istess se˙˙ f'Malta fl-1995 meta l-partitLaburista oppona l-introduzzjoni tal-VAT, ne˙˙ihameta inqalbet il-folja u kellu jaraha ti©i rein-trodotta meta l-folja nqalbet lura fl-1999.

Kif g˙edna, fl-Awstralja r-rata tal-GST illum hita' 10%. Hija ˙afna iktar baxxa minn dik fl-UE,fejn l-inqas rata standard permessa tal-VAT hija ta'15%3. Fil-prattika però, l-inqas rati huma tal-Lussemburgu (17%) u Malta (18%), u l-iktarg˙olja huma tal-Ungerija (27%).4 Fi New Zealand

ir-rata hija ta' 15%.Mill-banda l-o˙ra, hija iktar g˙olja mir-rata tal-Kanada li

b˙alissa hi ta' 5%.Il-fatt hu li l-GST u l-VAT huma taxxi meqjusa li ji©©eneraw

˙afna inqas tag˙wi© mhux intenzjonat fl-ekonomija, ji©ifieri majiskora©©ux lil parti u jinkora©©ixxu lil parti o˙ra. Din narahab˙ala xi ˙a©a poΩittiva, u l-proposta tal-Premier Baird, apparti litipprovdi d˙ul g˙all-istati g˙al servizzi b˙al dak tas-sa˙˙a,g˙andha l-potenzjal li tnaqqas il-bΩonn ta' w˙ud mill-ammontmeqjus kbir wisq (madwar 1255) ta' taxxi li jeΩistu illum fl-Aw-stralja u l-kumplikazzjonijiet tag˙hom.Madankollu, nemmen ukoll fil-©ustizzja soçjali, u g˙alhekk in-

sostni li hemm bΩonn li nie˙du ˙sieb l-iktar batuti fis-soçjetà,b'kumpens sostanzjali u permanenti g˙al dawk li se jkunu spejjeΩg˙oljin g˙alihom, u/jew tibdil fl-istess Ωmien f'taxxi progressivio˙ra sabiex l-ekwità (ji©ifieri li timxi bil-fier ma min huwa fqir)ma tkunx mittiefsa. G˙alhekk, iridu ji©u kkunsidrati taxxi o˙ra u mhux nikkonçen-

traw biss fuq il-GST.Pakkett ta' dan it-tip ikollu l-approvazzjoni tieg˙i.

PerspettivaA version of this series inEnglish may be found inthe author's blog at: http://www.ivancauchi.blogspot.com

kitba ta’

IVAN

CAUCHI


Referenzi1. http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/nsw premier mike baird warns of state tax hikes without -gst reform 20150725 gik10u, retrieved 27/7/20152. https://theconversation.com/factcheck is the gst as efficient but less equitable than -income tax 45052, retrieved 26/7/20153. http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/taxation/vat/topics/rates_en.htm, retrieved26/7/20154. VAT Rates Applied in the Member States of the EU; European Commission,Taxud.c.1(2015); 15. Australia's Future Tax System Report to the Treasurer; Ken Henry et al; 2009;Overview p.11

Il-GST

* li tkopri l-biçça l-kbira tal-ekonomija (˙lief eskluΩjonijietb˙all-ikel u s-sa˙˙a) b'mod ugwali, u mhux partijiet speçifiçib˙at-tariffi fuq il-bejg˙ tal-proprjetà, jew it-taxxa fuq il-pagi(li jiskora©©ixxu dik l-attività, u g˙alhekk iwasslu g˙altag˙wi© fl-ekonomija);

* li tibda tin©abar ˙afna qabel ma l-prodott jew is-servizzji©i mixtri mill-konsumatur fl-istadju tal-konsum.

lists Johnand his wifeCatherine asresiding at

Victoria Park, a suburb of Perth West-ern Australia. His occupation wasgiven as storekeeper. He retired in1958 and moved to Claremont, WA,then moved again in 1963 to Perthwhere he died five years later, in 1968at Perth WA aged 80 years.

Lest we forget.


In a previous issue, I wrote about Louis Cremona fromRabat Gozo who served as a NZ Rifleman and cook dur-ing WW1 and who I believed to be the only-known Mal-

tese ANZAC from NZ at the time of writing. Louis Cremonawas awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medalfor his services on the Western Front.

As my research is on-going, I havenow found another three Malta-bornANZACs from NZ and another bornin New Zealand of a Maltese fatherand a Kiwi mother.With the help of Jan Donnelly an avid

researcher and genealogist from Nel-son NZ, I was informed that Louis ob-tained a Papaffy passage subsidy tomigrate to NZ in 1906, together withhis friend, a Valletta-born Maltese,John Pillow. Both travelled together onthe same ship and arrived in Welling-ton NZ on March 5, 1906. Louis Cre-mona found work as a chef with theCress Club, Masterton Hotel in theWellington Region, while John Pillowfound employment with the NZ Gov-ernment as a civil servant.

But, with a name like Pillow, was he Maltese?

At the Malta National Archives, I lo-cated John Pillow’s application for apassport, dated Sept 23, 1905. In it hestated that he was born on the 21stNovember 1883 at Valletta and wasbaptised at the parish of St Paul. Hisfather was the late Enrico Albert Pil-low married to Teresa Azzopardi. At the time he applied for a passport,

John Pillow resided at 17 Sda SanNicola Sliema. So John Pillow was born and grew up

in Malta. The mere fact that he wassuccessfully awarded a Papaffy sub-sidy is evidence of his Maltese nation-ality as this assisted passage schemewas available to young literate Mal-tese.In NZ, on April 15, 1914, John Pillow

married a Catherine Marie Bradley, aNZ girl from Matamata, Waikato dis-trict. A few months later, on August26, he enlisted with the NZ Field Ar-

tillery, 3rd Brigadeand was soon pro-moted to the rank ofstaff sergeant (threechevron armband)with the regimentalnumber 15/74. Asstaff sergeant he wasresponsible for ad-ministration andhuman resources inthe army.

John and Catherineresided at Kelburnand Days Bay inWellington and inTauranga.

John Pillow startedduties on August 24,1914 and was dis-charged on the termi-nation of hisengagement Dec-ember 13, 1918, i.e. heserved for the dura-tion of the war, oneyear in NZ and alsothree years overseas.

With the NZ Field

Pictured arecopies of doc-uments fromthe New Zea-and archivesthat attest toJohn Pillow’sprogress bothin the NewZealand Ex-pedition For-ce and alsothe Field Ar-tillery untilhis discharge

JOHN PILLOW: a Maltese who served in the NZ Army

by Mark Caruana

Art-illery, he did two years as a ser-geant and two years as a staff ser-geant. He was discharged ontermination of his engagement.

John served in Egypt, the Dard-anelles, Anzac and France. He wasawarded the British War Medal andthe Victory Medal.

The 1928 Australian Electoral Roll

If you have a story to tellthat you believe couldmake interesting readingand you would like to sha-re it with The Voice of theMaltese readership, get intouch with us by email at: [email protected]

Share it with the readers of The Voice

The Malta Gaming Authority sus-pended six gaming licences, includ-ing those relating to Uniq Group Ltd

and Betsolution4U Ltd that had been oper-ating in Malta since 2011, while six Italiannationals were arrested. It followed a crack-down by Italian police on an entire onlinebetting network of companies after Italianauthorities reported that the notorious Cal-abrian mafia – the Ndrangheta – was usingthese companies based in Malta to laundermassive amounts of dirty cash.

The six Italians, who were living in Malta,were arrested under a European Arrest War-rant and deported to Italy on Saturday

Reports in the Italian media said that a po-lice inquiry showed that Poker tournamentsin Malta were being used for the recycling ofmoney derived from criminal activities, andhard cash obtained through illegal means wasallegedly recycled through ‘legitimate’ gam-ing outlets in Italy, Malta and other countries.

Malta Gaming Authority chairman JoeCuschieri said that Malta reacted immedi-ately when the European arrest warrantswere issued. It was the only country to sus-pend the licenses for these.Mr Cuschieri insisted that Malta was a role

model when it came to gaming regulationsand to the seriousness of how checks andbalances of license holders were carried out.Parliamentary Secretary for competitiveness

Jose Herrera said that that the gaming indus-try in Malta had developed significantly overrecent years and it was the first country to in-troduce a regulator for the sector.

“One rotten apple, or in this case one al-leged rotten apple, does not necessarily meanthat the whole industry is corrupt,” he said.

“Nevertheless, you can never knowwhether an individual may be tempted ornot,” he stressed, adding that the number ofrotten apples had remained rather low con-sidering the volume of companies.

He added that despite the strict due dili-gence processes currently in place, somecompanies might get on the wrong path afterthese processes would have taken place.He said that prior to the arrests, the gaming

authority has been in talks to fine tune the

industry for months and was going to presenta draft legislation in November to reorganisethe industry and make it more efficient andtransparent, regardless of the latest scandal.

Meanwhile, former prime minister Law-rence Gonzi’s son Dr David Gonzi is one of128 people listed in the investigation and a700-page document submitted by investiga-tors to the Reggio Calabria tribunal.

His name emerged because of his share-holding, directorship in GVM holdings.Through his part-nership in three ofthe companies, theItalian investiga-tors place Gonzi atthe heart of a py-ramidal companystructure behindthe Italian gamingcompanies regis-tered in Malta. Heis the only GVMpartner named.

Italian investigators have vaunted his pres-ence as the mafia’s ability to infiltrate thehighest levels of society.Meanwhile, in comments to local media, Dr

Gonzi said his participation in the structurewas limited to holding shares on behalf of athird party that was disclosed to the authori-ties and providing legal services to one of thecompanies last year, and that any statementthat says something to the contrary is notwell studied and reaching a conclusion with-out looking at the relevant facts in detail.

Gaming Malta foundation that was set upwith a view to promoting Malta as a leadinglicensing jurisdiction for gaming has en-couraged the gaming industry to remainvigilant to ensure Malta’s reputation as a“home” to gaming is not threatened.

Between January 2013 and June this year, 411 cycles of vitrofertilisation (IVF) were carried out in Malta, 81 of them at the

new IVF clinic within national hospital Mater Dei that began op-erating in January this year.The total amount of cycles resulted in 116 viable pregnancies with

a global rate success of 28% that compares favourably with the lastfigures announced by the UK Human Fertilisation & Embry Au-thority (HFEA) in 2011, which was 25%.The government is now looking forward to evaluating the current

IVF legislation, in the context of the results of the present regula-tions, to come up with new local legislation that would involve var-ious sections of the Maltese community, as well as take intoconsideration sentences recently passed by the European Court ofHuman Rights.

A committee made up of professionals from the Ministry ofHealth and Energy, the Ministry of Social Dialogue, Consumer Af-fairs and Civil Liberties and the Ministry of Justice has been setup in order to study and revise IVF.As part of the revision process interested parties and the general

public are being invited to make suggestions in order to evaluatethe legal framework for IVF.

Malta: 28% success rate in pregnancies through IVF


Roundup of News About Malta

Italians deported for alleged moneylaundering through gaming companies

Foreigners charged with theft of 17 mobile phones

Locals are fed up with former eastern Europeans from countriesnow forming part of the EU, who have easy access to travel to

Malta and commit criminal offences, mostly pick-pocketing.A case in point was that of two Romanian men who were charged in

Court with stealing 17 mobile phones and a tablet between July 4 and24. A 52-year-old Romanian woman, also charged, admitted to han-dling stolen property and was given a 13-month jail term suspendedfor two years. At their residence Police discovered the stolen phonesthat were wrapped and allegedly ready to be sent overseas.

Investigators alsoimplicate son of former PM Gonzi

In just over 30 months, the Armed Forcesof Malta's air wing has seen an invest-

ment of €60 million, that will include threeAgustaWestland AW139 helicopters, whichcost over €13 million each, the training forpilots and the third King Air plane. Speaking during the inauguration cere-

mony of the second AW139, in the presenceof Italian defence minister Roberta Pinotti,home affairs minister Carmelo Abela saidthat the government would be making fur-ther investments. “We believe a modern na-tion cannot function without a modernforce,” he said, adding “the AFM carries thenations values at heart.”The investment, that would strengthen the

country's ability to patrol its borders, is tobe co-financed by the EU's external bordersfund, Parliamentary secretary Ian Borg an-nounced.

He said that the amount to be allocated toMalta in EU funds for internal security,amounts to €75 million that would also fi-nance among others, the construction oftwo new hangers and an operation centre.He said that the money obtained wouldtherefore continue to build on the variousactions that are currently being imple-mented. A third AW139 is expected to be delivered

in 2016.

Malta International Airport is expect-ing more than 4.5 million passen-gers to walk through its facilities by

the end of the year, which is an increase ofmore than 200,000 travellers over 2014. When he gave an updated mid-year forecast

recently, MIA chief executive Alan Borg saidthe company was experiencing record pas-senger numbers month after month and suc-cessfully increasing traffic in the non-peakmonths. He said that in the first half of theyear, MIA hosted 1.9 million passengers, upby 127,765 – or 6.9 per cent – compared tolast year, He went on to say that their revised forecast

for this year takes into account several ele-ments: the growth rate for the first sixmonths, the positive start to summer and acautiously optimistic view of the remainingquarters.

“The really good news is that in just 10years, traffic to Malta has gone up by almost70 per cent, with the increase being spreadevenly throughout the year and not just in thepeak months. We’re confident we can keepincreasing our traffic and help to sell Maltaas a year-round destination,” he added.He said that the growth since 2005 was stag-

gering, adding that it was the result of collab-oration between MIA, the government andthe Malta Tourism AuthorityMeanwhile, there was an increase of 4.5 per

cent of inbound tourists when compared tothe corresponding month of 2014. Total in-bound visitors for June were estimated at187,617. Of thee, 158,198 were carried outfor holiday purposes, while a further 13,446were undertaken for business purposes. In-bound tourists from EU Member States wentup by 7.9 per cent to 158,271.

Inbound tourist trips between January andJune amounted to 763,458, an increase of 5.3per cent over the same period in 2014. Totalnights spent by inbound tourists went up by3.2 per cent, reaching almost 5.5 millionnights.Total tourism expenditure during this period

was estimated at €625.6 million, 6.0 per centhigher than that recorded for 2014.

Malta’s top market remained the UK, with580,107 passenger movements in the first six


Roundup of News About MaltaFraudster rakes in €75,000 in social benefits, reports

According to reports, a Maltese manbeing described as a serial fraudster has

collected more than €75,000 in social bene-fits he was not entitled to, and is facing legalaction.

Reports in the Press quoted Governmentsources saying that the man, whose identitycould not be revealed, was caught abusingseven benefits, including different pensionschemes, as well as disability and sicknessassistance in recent weeks.The reports also quoted a Social Solidarity

Ministry spokeswoman saying that the Ben-efit Fraud Investigation Department hadtraced the abuse back to 2006, the year thedepartment was first set up. The spokeswoman said the fraudster’s case

was one of several recently concluded in-quiries by the benefit fraud investigators,now taking legal action against him.

Malta has once again received a vote ofconfidence with a European-wide

survey - carried out between May 16 and 27in 34 countries and territories - showing that81% of the Maltese regard the economicsituation in the country as a good. This isup from 73% in the autumn. Only the Ger-mans and the Danes are more positive thanthe Maltese on the health of their economy.

Despite the lull in arrivals more than threequarters of the population considers immi-gration as the most important issue facingMalta with concern rising from 57% to 76%.

Immigration, cited by 23% of Europeanson average, is now the most important con-cern in four countries: Malta (76%), Ger-many (46%) and the United Kingdom(35%) and Denmark (35%).The Maltese are among the most likely to

support for “a common European policy onmigration”). Support is most widespread inthe Netherlands (85%), Germany (84%),Malta (84%), Lithuania (82%), Luxem-bourg (82%) and Spain (81%), than in theCzech Republic (52%), Estonia (53%), Fin-land (57%) and Austria (58%).

81% of Maltese happy with Malta’s economic situation

EU funds invested in AFM air force

Record 4.5m. passengers expectedto walk through Malta Airport 2015

months of 2015, followed by Italy (with396,427) and Germany (with 274,954).Air Malta remained the top airline, respon-

sible for carrying 769,781 passengers in thefirst six months this year. Compared to lastyear, the national airline experienced a 3.2per cent dip due to the losses from Libya (es-timated to have been 60,000 passengers) andRussia (10,000 passengers). Both countriesexperienced political turmoil.

AFM’s secondAgustaWestlandhelicopter

Sa mill-bidu tal-episkopat tieg˙u, l-Isqofta’ G˙awdex Mons Mario Grech, sarmag˙ruf g˙ad-diskorsi skjetti tieg˙u,

diskorsi li jolqtu fil-la˙am il-˙aj, u fattwalig˙alkemm kultant anke kontroversjali.

Wie˙ed mill-a˙˙ar diskorsi tieg˙u, li ©ierrappurtat fil-midja kien dak tal-omelija fil-Quddiesa tal-Pussess ta’ Dun MichaelCurmi b˙ala Arçipriet tal-Parroçça ta’ SantaMargerita, Ta’ Sannat, G˙awdex.

L-Isqof g˙amilha çara, (mhux g˙all-ewwel darba) li fix-xibka ta’ Pietru hemmwisa’ g˙al kul˙add... ˙add ma hu skartg˙ar-rimi. Mhux kompitu tal-qassis liji©©udika, imma ta’ Alla.

Nislet xi partijiet mid-diskors:“Fix-xibka li jifrex is-saçerdot hemm wisa’g˙al kul˙add u ˙add mhu skart g˙ar-rimi.Huwa minnu li fil-Van©elu naqraw li “metax-xibka jtel-lg˙uha x-xatt, ji©bru fil-kan-nestri dak li jkun tajjeb u jarmu l-˙aΩin” (Mt

13:48). Fil-verΩjoni bil-Grieg, Ìesù majg˙idx “˙Ωiena” fis-sens ta’ ©udizzjumorali, imma l-kelma sapra’ tfisserdawk li t˙assru u nitnu g˙ax mietu (pu-trified) u g˙alhekk m’hemmx tama aktarg˙alihom – m’hemmx possibbiltà ta’rkupru tag˙hom. Fi kliem ie˙or, ‘il-˙Ωiena’ huma dawk li assolutamenthuma irreversibbli. Ûgur li l-midnebmhux f’din il-kategorija – fil-kannestrutas-sajjied hemm post g˙all-midneb ukoll.

“ Fid-dg˙ajsa ta’ Pietru jitla’ wkoll il-midneb, g˙aliex sakemm il-bniedem huwa˙aj, dejjem tibqa’ t-tama li wie˙ed jista’ jir-revedi ˙ajtu. Fil-Knisja m’g˙andna naqt-g˙u qalbna minn ˙add. Arçipriet, irridektkun konvint b˙ali li fil-Knisja u fis-soçjetàma jeΩisti ˙add li huwa ‘inutli’ jew ‘irreku-perabbli’ tant li taqta’ jiesek minnu. Nit-tama li qieg˙ed niftiehem. Hi x’inhil-kundizzjoni tal-bniedem, jew l-g˙aΩla li

jag˙mel, hemm postu f’din ix-xibka, ji©ifierif’din il-komunità ekkleΩjali.”

Ûied jg˙id..“Mhux kompitu jew responsabbiltà tag˙na

li nag˙Ωlu bejn il-˙ut tajjeb u dak ˙aΩin. Kifjg˙id Ìesù, din l-g˙aΩla hija f’idejn l-‘an©li’ li fi tmiem id-dinja jo˙or©u jifirdu l-˙Ωiena mill-©usti. Fi kliem ie˙or il-©udizzjun˙alluh g˙al Alla. G˙alhekk mhux xog˙oltag˙na li noqog˙du nikklassifikaw in-nies unqeg˙duhom f’kategoriji – dawn tajbin udawk ˙Ωiena, dawn jistg˙u ji©u fil-laqg˙attal-komunità u lil dawk neskluduhom un˙alluhom wara l-bieb!

“A˙na min a˙na biex nag˙mlu dawn il-©udizzji? G˙alhekk, Arçipriet, illum metaqed nibag˙tek biex f’isem Kristu tie˙u ˙siebpastorali ta’ din il-komunità, nag˙tik il-man-dat biex tifrex ix-xibka u qis li fiha tilqa’ lilkul˙add, ˙add eskluΩ, g˙ax m’hawn ˙add lihuwa mitluf. Ilkoll nistg˙u nirrevedu l-˙ajjatag˙na u nikbru fl-intimità ma’ Ìesù..

“Meta Ìesù jg˙id li s-Saltna tas-Smew-wiet tixbah lil xibka li fiha jin©abar kollox,dan g˙andu interpretazzjoni o˙ra. Metajg˙id li fix-xibka jin©aba ‘kollox’, Ìesù qedjg˙id li flimkien mal-˙ut fix-xibka jaf ikunhemm ˙afna ‘imbarazz’– injam, ˙adid,˙wejje© bla uΩu, u o˙rajn – li l-bniedemikun difen fil-qieg˙ tal-ba˙ar.

“Allura meta jtellg˙u x-xibka fuq ix-xatt,is-sajjied inaddaf ix-xibka mhux mill-˙utimma mill-imbarazz. Hekk ukoll fix-xibkali hija l-komunità ekkleΩjali: fiha hemmwisa’ g˙all-bnedmin kollha u m’g˙andnanwarrbu ebda persuna, imma g˙andnawkoll çertu ‘imbarazz’ li mhux bissm’g˙andu ebda siwi, imma huwa ta’ xkiel.Int taf li jien nixtieq ˙afna li nnaddfu x-xibka tal-Knisja mill-˙afna mbarazz lin©ama’ matul is-snin. Naf li din mhix mis-sjoni ˙afifa, g˙ax hemm ˙afna, mhux bisslajçi, li ma jifhmunix. Jien nara li jekkin˙allu din ix-xibka mg˙obbija kif inhi bl-imbarazz, hemm il-periklu li x-xibka tiççar-rat u nitilfu l-˙ut kollu.”

Dan l-a˙˙ar paragrafu huwa sinifikanti˙afna u jaqbel ma dak li l-istess Isqof kienlissen Ωmien ilu fejn irrefera g˙al çertureli©joΩita’ u attitudni ta’ çert nies, inkluΩimembri tal-kleru, li forsi ming˙ajr ma jirre-alizzaw bl-attitudni tag˙hom qed jag˙mlu˙sara u mhux ©id lill-Knisja.


Port MimliPort Mimli

“..hadd m’hu skartghar-rimi”

--

FiΩ-Ωmien li s-Servizzi IngliΩi kienu fl-aqwa tag˙hom... fiΩ-Ωmien meta l-preΩenzanavali fil-GΩejjer Maltin kienet notevoli, Ωjara f’wa˙da mill-Barrakki tal-Belt kienet

issa˙˙rek tara l-Port il-Kbir mimli kif kienu jg˙idu ‘biççiet tal-ba˙ar’ (g˙ax g˙al idjomaMaltija l-ikbar aircraft carrier kien ‘qoxra’ jew ‘biçça tal-ba˙ar’, imma mbag˙ad frej-gatina, speçjalment jekk tintuΩa’ fit-ti©rijiet tal-Vitorja, kienet ‘opra’).Telqu l-IngliΩi u minn dak iΩ-Ωmien rarament tara daqshekk bastimenti fil-Port il-Kbir.

Biss kultant dan ji©ri wkoll. Dawk li fl-a˙˙ar jiem xefqu lejn il-Port il-Kbir Ωgurbaqg˙u msa˙˙rin jaraw ˙ames vapuri tat-turisti (cruise liners) ta’ kumpaniji differentif’dan il-Port li ©abu mag˙hom mawar 14,000 passi©©ier, minbarra mas-6000 membrutal-ekwipa©©. Il-passi©©ieri ma kienux biss mill-Ewropa imma wkoll mis-suqAmerikan u KanadiΩ.

Ix-xena fil-Port kompliet tisbi˙ billi tnejn mill-vapuri kellhom jitrakkaw in-na˙atal-Kottonera u l-passi©ieri mbag˙ad in©abu bid-dg˙ajjes lejn Xatt-il Belt.

Il-kapitali Maltija kienet mimlija daqs bajda bit-turisti billi l-parti l-kbira ta’ dawkli ©ew bil-vapuri spiççaw igawdu r-rikkezza turistika tal-belt Valletta. Sintendi dawn ikontribwew biex l-g˙add ta’ turisti li qed iΩuru Malta bil-ba˙ar kulma

jmur ikompli jiΩdied. Infatti bejn April u Ìunju li g˙addew l-g˙add ta’ cruise liners liwaqfu Malta Ωdiedu b’xejn inqas minn 66.4% fuq l-istess perjodu tas-sena li g˙addiet,waqt li fl-ewwel sitt xhur tas-sena Ωdiedu b’39.9% fuq l-ewwel sitt xhur tal-2014.Fil-fatt huwa mistenni li l-g˙add tat-turisti li se jkunu ©ew Malta bil-cruise liners sa

tmiem dis-sena se jkun ila˙˙aq 640,000 li bejniethom mistennija j˙allu fil-GΩejjertag˙na mat-€82 miljun.

l-Isqof t’G˙awdexMons Mario Grech

Espressjoni li tismag˙ha ta’ sikwit, aktarx minn xi anzjani metaj˙arsu madwarhom u jxeb˙u dak li qed ji©ri llum ma dak li

kien ise˙˙ f’Ωog˙Ωithom.Kultant lil dawn iffakruhom li Ω-Ωminijiet inbidlu u li

je˙tie©ilhom ja©©ornaw mag˙hom.IΩda na˙seb li dak li se˙˙ dan l-a˙˙ar fiç-çimiterju tal-Addolarata

(ta˙t) tassew jixraqlu l-espressjoni “f’hix wasalna”. G˙ax li ommtmur f’dan iç-çimterju fuq il-qabar ta’ bintha fl-okkaΩjoni tat-12-

il sena mill-mewt tag˙ha, tpo©©i bukkett fjuri fuq dan il-qabar, uftit tal-˙in wara tmur qariba tal-istess mejta u ssib li l-bukkett in-steraq minn fuq il-qabar mhix xi ˙a©a li tistenniha.Tassew tal-mist˙ija! Tassew fiex wasalna!

Min-negattiv ng˙addu g˙all-poΩittiv. G˙ax inqisa b˙ala a˙barpoΩittiva l-fatt li g˙all-ewwel darba fil-GΩejjer Maltin se

jkollna çimiterju g˙all-bhejjem. S’issa kull min g˙andu qattus, kelbjew xi annimal ie˙or qed isib diffikulta’ biex jarakif se jiddisponi mill-fdal tal-annimali meta jmutlu.Issa wara li ng˙atat l-approvazzjoni tal-MEPA

dak li jkun jista' jiddisponi u jidfen l-annimaltieg˙u b'dinjità f’çimiterju propju tal-annimali lise jsir f’Ta’ Qali. Fih se jkun hemm il-façilita’li l-katavru tal-annimal ji©i kremat. L-irmiedwara se jitpo©©a f'urna fejn is-sid se jkollu l-g˙aΩla li jew jidfen l-urna f'kompartimenti ap-posta fiç-çimiterju f'Ta' Qali nkella jag˙Ωel lijie˙u l-urna d-dar.

B'kollox iç-çimiterju se jkun jesa' madwar11,000 karkassa, li huwa biΩejjed biex jaqdi l-esi©enzi nazzjonali.


Mix-xena tal-˙ajja Maltija 2

6 miljun Ewro Il-Qag˙ad ikompliDaqshekk kienet in-nefqa tal-Gvern fir-referendum

dwar il-kaçça li sar ftit taΩ-Ωmien ilu. Mn’alla li dan ir-referendum sar ma dak tal-elezzjonijiet g˙all-KunsilliLokali g˙ax tal-inqas in-nefqa g˙amlet tajjeb ukoll g˙aldawn l-elezzjonijiet.

Sintendi din in-nefqa ma tinludix il-flejjes li ˙ar©u dawkinvoluti fir-referendum u l-elezzjonijiet tal-Kunsill lokali,imma dak li ˙allas il-Gvern.

In-nefqa kienet imqassma hekk: €4.6 miljun f'arran©a-menti u t˙ejjija g˙ar-referendum u €1.4 miljun flus li t˙allsulill-Air Malta b'rabta ma’ dawk li ©ew jivvutaw.

Meta ˙ar©et l-a˙bar ta’ din in-nefqa, kien hemm minsa˙ansitra qal li kienet nefqa Ωejda, “Irmejna Sitt Miljuni”(FKNK – G˙aqda tal-Kaççaturi). Min-na˙a l-o˙ra tax-SHOUT (li kienu kontra l-kaçça fir-Rebbieg˙a u li nsistewli jsir ir-referendum) sostnew, li “a˙na nibqg˙u nesi©u lib˙ala demokrazija m'hemmx prezz. ..... Xorta nsostnu li l-poplu kellu dritt jesprimi l-opinjoni. Ma n˙ossux lim'g˙andux jing˙ata dan id-dritt min˙abba l-ispiΩa”.

L-ispiΩa kienet tinkludi wkoll €244,016 f'salarji lill-imp-jegati, €953,545 fi ˙lasijiet lill-assistent kummissjonarji,€1.6 miljun lil ˙addiema temporanji, €194,784 fi ˙lasijietmarbutin ma' servizzi ta' dawl, materjal u tiswijiet,€441,263 fi ˙lasijiet g˙al servizzi fl-uffiçini, €387,722 g˙at-trasport, €46,801 g˙al servizzi ta' informazzjoni u €734,894fi ˙lasijiet g˙al ospitalita`, apparat u servizzi b'kuntratt.Min-na˙a tag˙ha l-Air Malta t˙allset €1.3 miljun.

Meta taqra dawn il-figuri tibda tistaqsi, jekk hux possiblili n-nefqa fuq elezzjoni, referendum eçç tkun inqas. PereΩempju hemm bΩonn li jin˙ar©u daqshekk flus biexjitqassmu l-voti – li jitqassmu mill-pulizija, meta dawnjistg˙u jitqassmu mill-posta... U jekk tassew irriduniffrankaw il-flus ma jistax wie˙ed jivvota billi jippreΩental-karta’ tal-identita’ u hekk ji©i ffrankat mhux biss l-ispejjeΩtat-tqassim tad-dokument tal-vot, imma anke l-istampar ut-t˙ejjia tal-istess dokument? Hemm bΩonn li f’kull kamra tal-voti barra r-rappreΩentanti

tal-Kummissjoni tal-Elezzjonijiet, ikun hemm ukoll rap-preΩentanti tal-Partiti Politiçi, liema rappreΩentanti humam˙allsa mill-istat u mhux mill-Partiti? Imbag˙ad xi ng˙idug˙al meta jsir l-g˙add tal-voti?

Fis-seklu 21 tg˙id ma nistg˙ux nsibu sistema elettronikali barra li tati r-riΩultat aktar malajr, fl-istess ˙in ma tkunxte˙tie© dawk il-mijiet ta’ nies li huma nvoluti fl-g˙add tal-vot

Li tkun fuq quddiem fejn tid˙ol l-istatistika mhix dejjem a˙bar

tajba. Propju f’dan il-kaΩ Ωgur li dakli ˙are© mill-istatistia ˙add ma jie˙upjaçir bih, min˙abba li din l-istatikatolqot l-ghadd ta’ delitti li saru fil-GΩejjer Maltin.

Skont l-istoriku tal-kriminolo©ija,Eddie Attard G˙awdex g˙anduwa˙da mill-akbar rati ta’ qtil fil-GΩejjer Maltin meta wie˙ed jie˙u f’kunsid-erazzjoni l-popolazzjoni ta’ din il-GΩira. Infatti f’dawn l-a˙˙ar 20 senaf’G˙awdex kien hemm tmien omiçidji, fosthom ˙amsa li saru bejn 2001-2004.

B˙ala lokalita’ ndividwali l-akbar g˙add ta’ diletti saru l-Belt, filwaqt li l-Imdina hija l-unika lokalita’ li qatt ma sar delitt fiha.

G˙awdex fuq quddiem

Ìunju 2014, matul Ìunju din is-sena dawk li jirre©istraw g˙ax-xog˙ol naqsu b’1542. Çar li kienhemm tnaqqis f’kull età.

L-akbar tnaqqis kien fost per-suni li ilhom jirre©istraw aktarminn sena. L-g˙add ta’ persunib’diΩabilità li kienu qed jirre©is-traw ukoll naqqsu b’84. B’hekk©ew g˙al 409. L-ir©iel b’diΩa-bilita` jammontaw g˙al 79.7 %tan-nies li jirre©istraw b’diΩa-bilita`.

Mhux ta’ b’xejn li fl-a˙˙ar sta-tistika ma˙ru©a mill-Eurostat,Malta kellha t-tielet l-inqas ratata' qg˙ad fl-Unjoni Ewropea(5.5%), wara l-Ìermanja (4.7%)u r-Repubblika Çeka (4.9%).

Fl-istess xahar, Malta kellhawkoll fost l-inqas rati ta' qg˙ad

fost iΩ-Ωg˙aΩag˙. Fil-fatt l-inqasrati ta' qg˙ad fost iΩ-Ωg˙aΩag˙kienu osservati fil-Ìermanja(7.1%), Malta (10.0%), l-Estonja(10.1%), id-Danimarka u l-Aw-strija (it-tnejn 10.3%).

Skont stqarrija tal-Eurostat,meta mqabbla ma' sen’ilu, ir-rata tal-qg˙ad fl-Unjoni Ewro-pea f'Ìunju naqset f'21 pajjiΩmembru, Ωdiedet f'˙amsa ubaqg˙et l-istess fi tnejn. L-akbartnaqqis kien re©istrat fil-Lit-wanja (minn 10.9% g˙al 8.5%),Spanja (minn 24.5% g˙al 22.5%)u l-Portugall (minn 14.3% g˙al12.4%).

Ir-rata medja tal-qg˙ad fl-Un-joni Ewropea f'Ìunju kienet ta'9.6%, ji©ifieri tnaqqis ta' 0.6%fuq Ìunju tal-2014.

Fiex wasalna!

Çimeterju g˙all-annimali

jonqosJidher li x-xejra poΩittiva fis-settur tax-xog˙ol Ωammet ir-ritmu li qabdet f’-

dawn l-a˙˙ar xhur g˙ax imqabbel ma’

G˙awdex

Nearly 18 months after Cardinal Pell(on left) was brought to the Vatican by

Francis and given a mandate to reform theCity-State’s banking affairs. The Aus-tralian Cardinal gave an interview to TheFinancial Times, casting doubt on thePope's landmark document.

“It’s got many, many interesting ele-ments. There are parts of it which arebeautiful,” he said. “But the Church has noparticular expertise in science … theChurch has got no mandate from the Lordto pronounce on scientific matters. We be-lieve in the autonomy of science,” Cardi-nal Pell told the FT.In the Papal Encyclical, Laudato Si': The

Care of our Common Home, released inJune, Francis called for global action onclimate change and criticised world lead-ers for not addressing the issue urgentlyenough. While the Pope won praise fromenvironmental activists, others have ar-gued he should not be wading into the po-litical and scientific debate.

Until now, Cardinal Pell had remainedquiet on the contents of the Encyclical, de-spite gaining a reputation in Australia as aclimate change denier. In 2011, he clashedwith the then-head of Australia’s Bureauof Meteorology, Greg Ayers, who said theCardinal was “misled” in his climatechange views.

At the ALP 47th triennial national conference held in Mel-bourne, Labor leader Bill Shorten has called for an Aus-tralian Republic within 10 years. “Let us make this the

first decade when the head of state is one of us”. A resolutionwas passed that a future Labor government appoints a ministeror parliamentary secretary with responsibility for promoting arepublic.

The conference also decided that turn-back the boats will bethe policy of the next Labor Government. The conference wastold that if they persist with the present policy that is based onemotions and not results they would lose the next election.

The question of turn-back is an incendiary one within Laboramid concerns about the humane treatment of asylum seekersand deep reservations about Abbott’s government’s hardlineand ultra-secretive approach however; this is regarded as ashrewd policy U-Turn to neutralise the Abbott government ob-

session with security and its success in stopping the people-smuggling boats.

Shorten pledged to double Australia’s annual humanitarianrefugee intake to 27,000 by 2025, abolish temporary ProtectionVisas and reinstate the UN refugee Convention in the MigrationAct to respond to the greatest global humanitarian crisis sinceWorld War 11. The ALP will commit a further $450 million to the United Na-

tions refugee work in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, and leaddevelopment of a regional “humanitarian framework”. It wasfelt that the ALP needs to get away from the attitude that anydisplay of compassion is viewed as weakness.Regarding same-sex marriage the ALP Conference agreed that

it would make it law within the first 100 days in Government.Mr. Shorten said that love between two people was personaland sacred and should not be subjected to political partisanship.

A quick glimpse at AustraliaA quick glimpse at Australia


Cardinal Pell castsdoubts on the Pope

What happened at the ALP Conference?

Labor front benchers during the2015 National Conference at theMelbourne Convention Centre

Those opposing “refugee tow-back”try to disrupt the conference

On her 30th birthday,two years ago Amanda

Cassar tragically lost herbaby six months into herpregnancy and was toldthat due to medical complicationsshe would never be able to havemore children. She has a daughterPaige. The loss resonated with 48-year old

Loretta Farrugia who agreed to act asa surrogate mother. After the sistersconsulted the doctors and familythey decided to go ahead. There wasa difference of 17-years and at age 48years Loretta was one of the oldest inthe state. The gift of life, a baby girlnamed Alyssa was born at EpworthFreemason hospital in Melbourne. According to the Victorian Assisted

Reproductive Treatment Authority,the majority of surrogates for Aus-tralian couples are based overseasbecause of the high cost and suitabil-ity. “Sisters are certainly not unheardof and the first ever surrogate inState of Victoria in 1988 were sisterssurrogates but surrogacy itself is notvery common” said Louise John-stone from VARTA.

If you live in NSW Australiayou would have felt it. July

was the chilliest in 17 years, since1998. This cold front is expectedto continue into August, thoughit is unlikely they will match thefronts in mid-July that help setup the cool patch. Sydney’s rain-fall in July was 47 millimeters, orjust under half the average.

Sydney’s median is now higher thanthe average house prices in London

and is fast approaching New York’s.Lowest interest rates since 1960 and theinvestor frenzy has seen Sydney’s me-dian house prices smash through themagic $1 million mark for the first time.The median house price has increasedby almost $200,000 in a year or 22.9 %,which is one of the highest annualgrowth rates ever recorded by the cityexceeded the boom time results in 2001and 2001.

For those seeking to buy their ownhome the price has more than doubledthe increase in wages over the past 25years. More than 30 per cent of familyincome is now required to meet medianloan repayments, breaching a commononly accepted housing affordabilitythreshold.

The average price per sq. m is highestin Monaco where for 14 sq. m you pay$71,988, in Hong Kong for 16 sq. m youpay $61,191, in Sydney for 34 sq. m$29,849, in Rome for 56 sq. m $17997and in Melbourne for 95 sq. m you pay$10,667.

The new chair of the Aus-tralian Republic Movement

or the ARM Chair is journalist and authorPeter FitzSimons. The man who wears a ban-danna is married to Nine Network Todayshow host Lisa Wilkinson. Yhe new chairwrote that Australians still draw their hered-itary Head of State from the most elite familyon the planet, living 25,000 km away in apalace in London.

“No Australian child will ever be good en-ough to fill that role because they are notborn to that family. I am you are, we are Aus-tralian and we must call that for what it is –not right, and simply not fair. We can gently,and respectfully, extricate ourselves from theties that bind, so that we can become a free-standing republic beneath the Southern Cross.”

A quick glimpse at AustraliaA quick glimpse at Australia


MICHELLE ROWLAND MPFEDERAL MEMBER

FOR GREENWAY

Proudly serving the areas of:

Acacia Gardens, Blacktown*, Girraween,Glenwood, Kellyville Ridge, Kings Langley,

Kings Park, Lalor Park, Parklea, PendleHill, Prospect*, Quakers Hill*, Riverstone,

Rouse Hill*, Schofields, Seven Hills,Stanhope Gardens, The Ponds,

Toongabbie*, Vineyard*Parts of

230 Prospect Hwy, Seven Hills 2147Ph: 9671 4780

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @mrowlandmp

www.facebook.com/mrowlandmp

The giftof life!

Multiculturalism close to death

Addressing the University of West-ern Sydney’s Adv., Anne Aly fromCurtin University said: “Right wing

extremism is emerging as an equal, if notgreater threat than Muslim radicalisationin Australia. Violent extremism isn’t justa Muslim problem in Australia. The num-bers are staggering and growing in right-wing extremism.”

Deputy Commissioner Nick Kaldas, thepolice force’s spokesman on cultural di-versity, listed far-right extremism andmarches and rallies “which encourage di-visive notions of us and them as some ofthe biggest challenges facing his troops”.Mr. Kaldas said there is definitely activityon the extreme right wing of politics usingevents around the world to justify rallies inAustralia. Reclaim Australia has heldmany rallies already around Australia.

Dr James Jupp, director of the AustralianNational University’s Centre for Immigra-tion and Multicultural Studies told thesame conference that multiculturalism was“close to death” under the current govern-ment. He said states were still champi-oning the concept but federalgovernment’s decision to move immigra-tion away from social services and intocustoms and border protection signaled itsdeath at federal levelDr Judd also said that the Labor Party had

also “slackened off a great deal in recentyears” and played a very limited role in thedevelopment immigration and multicul-tural policy. Keysar Trad, chairman of theIslamic Friendship Association took aimat right-wing columnists and shock jocks,saying they “take no responsibility for thehostile environment they have created”.

Sydney hit a million

Australian Republic

Brrrr! It’s cold, very coldBrrrr! It’s cold, very coldS i s t e r sAmanda(left) andLoretta

The Malta High Commission in Can-berra hosted cocktail drinks at its res-idence in honour of Ms. PauletteFenech, Director General of MaltaRed Cross, who along with DeputyHigh Commissioner Dr. Joseph Pi-rotta attended the Fourth Common-wealth Red Cross and Red CrescentConference on International Humani-tarian Law (IHL) July 20-23 at theRealm Hotel in Canberra.

Mr. Leonard Blazeby, Head of Mis-sion of the International Committee ofthe Red Cross in Australia, wasamong the selected group of guests,which included Mr. and Mrs. KantiJinna and Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Squair,President and Treasurer, respectively, ofthe Royal Commonwealth Society, Mr.and Mrs. Gordon Selleck, Dr. and Mrs.Michael Adams and Mr. and Mrs. RichardHobbs. Also present were Knights and Dames of

the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Orderof St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and

Malta, namely, Dr. Terry and Mrs. DebbieDwyer, Brig. Peter Evans and Mrs. Evansand Dr. Jennifer Dunlop.

Mr. Blazeby spoke briefly about theCommonwealth Conference just held inthe Australian Capital, outlining the workof ICRC in preparation for the Conferenceto be held later in the year in Geneva.

The High Commissioner, HE CharlesMuscat welcomed Ms. Paulette Fenechand thanked her for representing Malta atthe high level meeting. On her part, MsFenech spoke briefly about the challengesof the Malta Red Cross and expressed hergratitude to Dr. Joseph Pirotta for attend-ing the Conference and the High Commis-sioner and Mrs. Muscat for honouring herwith a reception at the residence. Dr. Pirotta also acknowledged andthanked Ms Fenech for her participationand collaboration during the Conference.

Representatives from 35 Commonwealthnations participated at the conference thatwas co-hosted by the Australian Red Cross,the Australian Government, and the ICRC,

and was supported by the British Red Crossand the Commonwealth Secretariat.

The conference discussed internationalhumanitarian law with the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement and focused onstrengthening protection for victims ofarmed conflict.

DirectorGeneral

MHC hosts Malta Red Cross18 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday August 4, 2015

SERATA TA GHANASERATA TA GHANAFIL-KLABB TAL-ÓAMRUNFIL-KLABB TAL-ÓAMRUNSe ssir lejla ta’ GÓANA nhar il-Óadd

16 ta’ Awwissu, 2.00 pm – 5.00 p.m. Wara jkun hemm is-soltu divertiment.

Il-klabb jifta˙ mis-1.00 p.m. Ejjew isimg˙u l-a˙jar g˙annejja u

l-a˙jar kitarristi ta’ Sydney D˙ul b’xejn. Tkunu tistg˙u tixtru ikelu xorb Malti mill-kçina u l-bar tal-klabb.G˙al aktar tag˙rif çemplu lill-presi-dent George Zahra: 0407 434 651

Programme for the Festa tal-Vitorja atGreystanes (50th Anniversary)

Wednesday 23, Thursday 24 and Friday September 25:

Triduum of the Festa: 6.30pm: Rosary; 7.00pm: Mass.

Saturday, September 26: 9.45am: Confessions. 6.00pm: Solemn Concelebrated Mass inEnglish with Maltese hymns. Principal Celebrant, Fr Paul Marshall, Parish Priest,

accompanied by Fr Suresh Kumar, Mons. Carmelo Refalo, Fr Simon Cachia and Fr Paul CahillO.Carm. At the conclusion of the Mass the Rosary will be recited and Benediction will be given.

Sunday, September 27: 3.30pm: Solemn Concelebrated Mass by Monsignor Carmelo Re-falo, accompanied by Fr Paul Marshall, Fr Suresh Kumar, Fr Simon Cachia, Fr Tarcisio Micallefmssp, Fr Benedict Sant mssp and Fr Noel Bianco mssp. Monsignor Carmelo Refalo will deliver

the Panegyric. Joe Galea will sing hymns during the Mass in Maltese.

The procession, accompanied by the statue of Our Lady of Victories and devotees takes place atthe conclusion of the Mass. Our Lady Queen of Peace Maltese Band will take part in the procession.

6.00pm: First musical program by Our Lady Queen of Peace Maltese Band.7.00pm: Second musical program by Our Lady Queen of Peace Maltese Band.

8.30pm: Fireworks display.

Festa Santa Marija Assunta2015 Programme

(848, Ballarat Road Deer Park Melbourne)FRIDAY (August 14): 6.30 pm: Confes-sions in Maltese & English followed byHoly Rosary; Presentation Of Flowers Bythe Faithful to Santa Marija, and SolemnMass. Afterwards a merry band marchamid a Fireworks Display and the continu-ation of Marian Marches at the Hall.

SATURDAY (August 15): 6.00-12.00 am:The SANTA MARIJA ASSUNTA AN-NUAL DINNER DANCE at the LakesideBanquet Convention Centre with theTequila Brothers & the Maltese UnitedBrass Band providing the entertainmentSUNDAY (August 16): FESTA DAY. 2.00p.m.: Concelebrated High Mass by CanonFr. Karm Borg Emeritus parish priest, ofSt Peter Chanel. He will deliver the homilyand a short Panegyric in Maltese. Otherpriests will participate along with thePhilippine “Pangate Pinoy” choir.

3.45 p.m.: Weather Permitting a Proces-sion with the statue of Santa Marija ac-companied by the Malta-Gozo ConcertBand Inc amid a fireworks display. After

procession the same band and DJ Domenic” will entertain.

For Purchase of D/Dance tickets: FrankMintoff: 9363 5325; Frank Galea: 9314

4231; Bill Deguara: 9366 9956; Joe Attard:9361 1396; Doris Bonello: 9745 9934;

Christine Attard: 9364 5049Members $60 Per m’ship; Non Members:

$65; Children U/12: $45.Food & drinks would be available for sale

HC Mr. Charles Muscat (centre back) and Mrs Victoria Muscat together with the guestshosted at the HC’s reception. Dr. Joseph Pirotta (first left). Mr. Leonard Blazeby, andMs. Paulette Fenech are pictured centre. Mrs. Amanda Pirotta (second from right)

Biex tikteb Malti tajjebIllum il-Partiçelli


In response to a number of inquiries, The Voice of the Maltese wishes to advice that we cannow supply hard copies in colour of our magazine to our readers at a price. So anybody in-terested in acquiring copies of the magazine can communicate with us personally or byemail to: [email protected]. The magazine can also be delivered by post. As the costof postage varies one is kindly requested to get in touch with us to work out the details.

Readers can now request a printed copy of The Voice

F’din is-sensielali tant qed tint-

laqa’ tajjeb mill-qarrejja, llum senibdew nittrattaw,

Il-Partiçelli.

1. Il-kelmiet: ma’, lil, xi ©o, ta’, bi,fejn, b˙al, sa, fi, g˙al, bla, kieku,hawn, li, minn, eçç. huma Par-tiçelli.

2. Il-Partiçelli jitqassmu f’:a) Mag˙Ωulin (we˙edhom): fi,

jekk, biex, hekk.b) Mag˙qudin (ma’ o˙rajn):

g˙alhekk, sabiex, dalwaqt, g˙al-iex ...

3. Il-Partiçelli jistg˙u jkunu:

a) PrepoΩizzjonijiet. EΩ.: fuq,qabel, ma’, g˙and, lil, ta’, minn,ming˙ajr, wara, ˙dejn, bla, biex,eçç.

b) Avverbji. EΩ.: meta, hekk,bosta, issa, ©ewwa, ftit, iva, le,anqas, biss, hawn, hemm, ecc.

ç) Kon©unzjonijiet. EΩ.: iΩda,jew, u, g˙ax, mela, jekk, li, kieku,eçç.d) Interjezzjonjiet. EΩ. jalla, ejja,

ja˙asra, o, miskin, a˙˙, ajma, ja.

4. Il-Partiçelli li jistg˙u jitqassruhuma:

a) ma’, ta’, sa, li jsiru m’, t’, s’quddiem kelma li tibda b’vokali, g˙,jew h. EΩ.: m’ommi, t’g˙onqu,s’hemm.

b) bi, fi, xi li jsiru b’, f’, x’, qud-

diem kelma li tibda b’vokali, g˙, hjew b’konsonanti wa˙da. EΩ.: b’idi,f’g˙alqa, x’hemm, b’rasek.

5. Il-Partiçella xi ma titqassarxmeta:a) tkun tfisser wa˙diet. EΩ.: xi tifel,

xi ktieb, xi ˙elwa.b) ma nafux eΩatt fuqiex qeg˙din

nitkellmu. EΩ.: G˙adda xi ra©elminn hawn.

6. Xi Partiçelli jistg˙u jing˙aqdamal-artiklu. Dawn huma: bi, fi,ma’, ta’ sa, ©o, dan, din, minn, lil,g˙al, b˙al, li jsiru: bil-, fil-, mal-,tal-, sal-, ©ol-, dal-, dil-, mill-, lill-,g˙all-, b˙all-.

Aktar dwar il-particelli f’˙arg’o˙ra

PAWLU AQUILINA

Pawlu Aquilina, li kien mag˙ruf b˙ala poeta u g˙alliem,twieled fis-Si©©iewi, f’dar ftit passi bog˙od mill-pjazza

nhar it-28 ta’ Awwissu tal-1929. Huwa studja fis-Seminarjutal-Arçisqof fil-Furjana u fis-St Michael’s Training College. Pawlu g˙ix ˙ajtu kollha fis-Si©©iewi. Kien iben burdnar tal-

©ebel, li dak iΩ-Ωmien kien juΩa l-karettun, sakemm korra ser-jament. Pawlu baqa’ mag˙ruf g˙all-im˙abba tieg˙u lejn danir-ra˙al. IΩΩewwe© f’dan ir-ra˙al u anke wliedu twieldu fih.Beda b˙ala g˙alliem fl-iskejjel Primarji tal-Gvern sakemm fl-

1957 in˙atar b˙ala scriptwriter tal-programmi tax-xandirg˙all-iskejjel fit-Taqsima tax-Xandir Edukattiv fid-Dipartiment

tal-Informazzjoni (DOI). Kienukoll wie˙ed minn li kienu jiktbul-a˙barijiet, l-press releases.

Hemmhekk qatta’ tlett snin,sakemm fl-1978 in˙atar assis-tent surmast u tmien snin wara,fl-1986 huwa la˙aq surmast,kariga li baqa’ fiha sakemm ir-tira erba’ snin wara, fl-1990.

Pawlu Aquilina jibqa’ mag˙rufb˙ala poeta l-aktar bix-xog˙li-jiet ippubblikati f’Mill-Bera˙ tal-G˙elieqi (1992), L-G˙anja Tieg˙ilil Óal Xluq (2002), Er©a’ Sem-

mag˙li l-G˙anja (2006) u L-G˙anja Tieg˙i lil Óal Kbir (2008). Xog˙lijiet o˙ra tieg˙u huma Hawn Twieldet u Tibqa’ T˙abbat

Qalbi (2004) u Is-Si©©iewi u t-Toroq Tieg˙u.

Aquilina ˙adem bis-s˙i˙ biex jara l-Ilsien Malti miexi ‘l quddiem u kien ko-editur ma’ ÌuΩè Diacono fl-edizzjoniriveduta tad-dizzjunarju IngliΩ-Malti (5volumi) ta’ Dun Karm Psaila (1991-1993). Huwa ˙a ˙sieb ukoll it-traduzzjoni

mill-IngliΩ ta’ A Saint in a Hurry, id-dramm storiku-reli©juΩ El Divino Impa-ciente tal-poeta Spanjol José MariaPemán, fuq talba ta’ Patri ÌuΩè Delia. Traduzzjonijiet o˙ra tieg˙u huma ta’

St Vincent de Paule’s Residence forthe Elderly - The medico-social record (1994) ta’ Dr Paul Cas-sar; Il-ÓobΩ Malti - Is-Seng˙a tal-Furnar (1994) tal-MonsinjurHubert Chiron u A Guide to the Passion - 100 Questions Aboutthe Passion of The Christ (2004).Aquilina ta s-sehem tieg˙u fl-g˙aqdiet tal-Malti u xandar

bosta programmi edukattivi g˙at-tfal tal-iskola. Mexa fil-passi ta’ Patri ÌuΩè Delia, i˙obb il-le©©endi, jg˙ix il-fidi u dej-jem kien jikteb fir-rivisti tal-festa ta’ San Nikola tas-Si©©iewi– ˙afna drabi xi poeΩija dwar il-Qaddis Tawmaturgu. Huwamiet fid-29 ta’ Jannar 2009.B˙ala g˙arfien g˙al dak li wettaq f’˙ajtu fir-ra˙al tas-

Si©©iewi, l-aktar min˙abba li b’kitbietu mexxa ‘il quddiem l-aspetti kulturali, soçjali u storiçi, il-Kunsill Lokali tas-Si©©iewiflimkien mal-G˙aqda Kulturali tar-ra˙al, fi Frar tal-2012 tah©ieg˙ billi ddedikalu monument fi Triq il-Fawwara (fuq).

(1929--2009) Poeta u edukatur li ˙adem biex jara l-Ilsien Malti miexi ‘l quddiem

Pawlu Aquilina


Our Lady of Victories Parish will be holding aParish Feast Dinner Dance. We hope that you, yourfamily and friends can join us on what promises tobe a most enjoyable evening.OUR LADY OF VICTORIES, HORSLEY PARK

PARISH FEAST DINNER DANCE

to be held at

MANDAVILLA FUNCTION CENTRE(The Horsley Drive, Horsley Park)

On Saturday September 5 at 7.00 p.m.

Cost: Adults $65 per person; Children 3-10 yrs $45

Price includes 3-course meal, antipasto, pastizzi, beer, wine, soft drinks, tea/coffee

Raffle & Lucky door prizes.Entertainment by Charlie Muscat and Joe

Xuereb

Make up a table of 10 or more on your own.Book early as seating is limited.

For bookings contact: Mario Bartolo:0432886946; Parish Officer: 96201242

Our Parish Feast will be celebrated on September 20thHope to see you all there for a community celebration

The Maltese Guild of SA IncThe Maltese Guild of SA IncCordially Invites You to

The Feast of Santa Maria For 2015Tuesday August 11: Mass at10.30 am at the Guild Hall celebrated by Fr. Gabriel

Sunday August 16: from 12.15 pm Celebrating The Feast of St. Mary

at The Maltese Cultural Centre6, Jeanes Street Beverley

Lunch: Free for members, ravioli Followed bydessert. Non Members $10, Children $5

There will be TV flash backs of festivities of Santa Maria from Malta

Between 2-4 pm Music for entertaiment to celebrate the event.

One must book for lunch, with Joe Briffa on 8254 6988 / 0421 791 327,

Rita Bornhoeft on 8248 1008 or 0401 860 632,Mary Craus on 8281 2329 or 0420 699 617

or see anyone from the committee.

ALL WELCOME

Community NewsCommunity News

Holroyd Veterans ofWorld War One Exbibition

to commemorate the ANZAC’s at theMaltese Community Council of NSW

Alfred Fenech Maltese Resource Centre,59b Franklin Street, Mays Hill

(next to Parramatta West Public School)

September 5 and 6from 10.30 a.m. to 2.30 p.m.

Open days at the Centre to coincide withMalta National Day (8th September)

Contact Emanuel Camilleri 0409 744 376

Il-Festa tal-Vitorja: mill-Fathers MaltinIl-Kommunita` Maltija hija mistiedna g˙all-festa tradizzjonalital-Vitorja

(li ilha ssir 51 sena), nhar il-Hadd 13 ta’ Settembru.Fis-2.30 pm tibda l-purcissjoni u ssir il-quddiesa fil-Katidral ta’ StMary’s College Street Sydney. Predikattur: Fr Noel Bianco MSSP.

Ejjew u ©ibu mag˙kom il-bnadar jew standardi tal-g˙aqda tag˙kom.Il-familji li g˙andom xi tfal jew Ωg˙aΩag˙ li jkunu jrridu jilbsu kostum

Malti jew tal-preçett, biex jie˙du sehem fil-purçissjoni jçemplu lil Antoinette Mascari 9899 1938 jew 0438 639 986.

Tarcisio Micallef MSSP (Chaplain g˙all-Komunita` Maltija fl-arcidjocesi ta’ Sydney)

Jekk g˙andek xi˙bieb li g˙ad mhu-

miex jirçevu The Voice

of the Maltese u ta˙sebli jkun jinteressahom,ibg˙atilna l-email ad-

dress tag˙hom ˙allinibag˙tuhulhom

G˙id lil s˙abek

La Valette Social CentreBus for Festa Sta Marija Central Coast

SUNDAY August 16: Bus Leaves fromGreystanes at 8am and at 8.30 from La Valette. Lunch at Wyong Leagues club at your own ex-

pense or bring you own.

Cost: $25 includes Coach, Morning tea.2p.m.: Mass; 3 pm: Procession,

Afterwards,weather permitting Fireworks. Busleaves after the fireworks

For booking see Frances or any of the committeemembers.

For information phone the Centre 9622 5847

175, Walter Road Blacktown NSW

Maltese Cultural Association of NSW Inc.Presents an afternoon of entertainment showcasing our top

Young Maltese Talent in ConcertJames Cassar, Stacey Saliba, Martin Vella, Alee, Emmanuel & Miriam, and Dianne Camilleri.

Wentworthville Leagues Club on Sunday August 30 at 2.00 p.m.Wentworthville Leagues Club on Sunday August 30 at 2.00 p.m.Tickets: Adults $15; Children U/14: $10.

For bookings contact: Jim Borg: 9636 7767; Doris Caruana: 9636 2295; Charles N. Mifsud: 0421 662 298

Proudly sponsored by: Wentworthville Leagues Club and

The Voice is not just a news portal; We comment,..... We get your message across...

We fight for your rights...... We believe in freedom of expression... and We are read in the right places.

Community NewsCommunity NewsTHE MALTESE - AUSTRALIANGOLD COAST

ASS. INC.Is celebrating:

MALTA DAYOn Sunday August 16 atCasey Hall on Fairway

Drive, Clear Island Waterson the GOLD COAST Qld. from 10.30 am- 4.00 pm

This will be a Maltese style fiera, a festival with a variety of tra-ditional dishes, including Fenkata (rabbit stew), timpana

(baked macaroni), ross il-forn (baked savoury rice), pastizzi,and a selection of traditional cakes and sweets, including themuch-loved ricotta cannoli, imqaret and the soft drink Kinnie.

Other attractions will include: Live entertainment, raffles, dis-plays,folklore music and DVD’S of MALTA and it’s history.

Entry is free. Everybody is invited. Bring along family and friends.

For further information contact: Margaret Grima on55763441or Judith Padovani on 55290654

The Xag˙ra Association of NSW Inc.INVITES YOU TO :

Tal-Vitoria Dinner DanceGues of honour: Rev. Mons. Carmelo Refalo

(Archpriest of Xag˙ra)Date: Saturday September 19

Time: 6.30 pm onwards. Venue: Balmoral Function Centre 47-49 Balmoral Rd., BLACKTOWN

Food: 5-Course Meal, beer, wine & soft drinks Entertainment: Roc-A-Tac & Giuseppe Verdi Brass Band

Contact:Josephine/Ray: 9627 4182, Mob: 0439 974 182

M'Anne Teuma: 9627 4641

Teachers Wanted(Paid positions)

MALTESE LANGUAGE

SCHOOL OF NSW

Classes are available for students from 6 years to adults at all levels of ability in theMaltese language. We have trained and experienced teachers qualified in

language teaching and with Maltese study credentials. Learn the Maltese language,the culture, lifestyle, cuisine, traditions and about the amazing history of the island.

Classes at: HORSLEY PARK - SEVEN HILLS - LUDDENHAM For more information and enquiries Call Mary on 9601 2189

Or email: [email protected]

Supported by the Minister of Education and Training and the NSW Community Languages Schools Programme.Member of the NSW Federation of Community Language Schools of NSW; Member of the Federation of

Maltese Language Schools of Australia; Supported by 16 Maltese associations affiliated with the MCCof NSW. The Maltese Language School of NSW is a Not-For-Profit organisation.

A Division of the Maltese Community Council of NSW Inc.

Programm tal-Festata’ Santa MarijaIl-Grupp Festa Santa Mar-ija se jorganizza il-festa tal-Assunta, l-Óadd 9 ta’

Awissu, fiç-Çentru Malti LaValette b’dan il-Programm: Fit-3.00 pm Quddiesa kkonçele-

brata minn Fr Tarcisio u Fr BenedictSant mssp, bis-sehem tal-kor ta’ LaValetteWara to˙rog il-purçissjoni

akkumpanjata mil-banda OLQP liddoqq marçi Marjani, flimkien mar-ruΩarju mqaddes.Imbag˙ad issir wirja ta’ log˙ob

tan-nar minn Malta, u l-banda teseg-wixxi programm tal-festaIl-Mifsud Brothers jiddevertuna

b’kanzunetti u b’marçi popolariIl-mistiedna speçjali Stacey Sal-

iba tkanta g˙add ta’ kanzunetti popo-lari.Il-Klabb ikun miftu˙ mis-1.00 pm il-quddiem biex wie˙ed ikun jista’ jix-

tri ikel u xorb Malti

The Maltese Community Council of NSWis conducting a computer class at Mal-

tese Resource Centre 59b FranklinStreet, Mays Hill 2145 NSW every Fri-

day between 10.00 a.m. and 12.00 For more information contact Em.

Camilleri: 0409 744 376

Computer Class for the Elderly

Fuq Radju Malta (www.pbs.com.mt) kull nhar ta’ Ìimg˙a fis-2.30 p.m. TippreΩenta Josephine Zammit Cordina

METD CommitteeAre holding the

Maltese Elderly Thanksgiving Day 22nd Anniversary Luncheon

on Wednesday October 7Venue: St Stephen Serbian Orthodox Church HallCorner of Woodstock Ave & Hyatts Rd Plumpton

Start time: 9.00 a.m. – Finish 3.00 p.m.We start the day with morning tea, followed by Mass

A special lunch and dessert will be served and live entertainmentWill be provided by well-known Maltese entertainers till 3.00 p.m.Donation: Frail Senior – FREE, Carer - $25, Active Senior - $45Contact: Doris Pocock 0419 420 915, Lina Magro 9629 4046,

Maria Cilia 0431 800 720, Maggie Vella 9621 3125Our Elderly are forever grateful for this very special day.


22 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday July 21, 2015

Past Pupils & Friends of Don Bosco (NSW)Sunday August 30: A 45km cruise onthe Hawkesbury River, including a one-

hour stopover at Bobbin Head.Mini-bus leaves Wenty Leagues Club at9.30am; Returns 5.00-5.30 pm same place. For more information contact JoeGalea on 0415 477 254 or 4332 2165

-----------------------------Saturday October 24: 28th Annual DinnerDance at Mandavilla Function Centre1788 The Horsley Drive Horsley Park

from 7pm Music by Joe Apap. Dress: semi formalFor booking: Marlene: 02 9631 9295

Tinteressak il-kitba?

Trid tirreklama?

FRIENDS OF PROVIDENCE HOUSE NSWANNOUNCES: 18 Day Fly – Cruise – Stay

– Tour commencing September 19, Vis-iting Perth – Bali – Thailand – Malaysia –

Singapore.Fantastic Tour – Great value – All inclu-

sive from $3650 p/pProceeds donated to:

Id-Dar tal-Providenza, Malta.For brochure or bookings call Jim Borg on (02) 9636 7767.

Note: Donations to Id-Dar tal-Providenzacan be made in Australia at any Common-

wealth Bank. A/C Name: Friends of Providence House

NSW BSB: 062 416 A/C No. 10199448This will save you the normal bank fees.

Please supply name and address so an acknowledgement

can be issued.Proudly supported by:

Cnr Main & Campbell Sts, Blacktown. Contact George Vella Tel (02) 9622 7799


How can we, as parents and grandpar-ents hear more about these issues, havethem explained to us in simple terms?Maltese Welfare NSW Inc.Once again is here to support and

guide you through these challenging times.

Wednesday September 2 from 7.30 p.m.

San Gorg Preca Hall at our LadyQQueen of Peace Church

Old Prospect Rd, Greystanes NSW 2145Ms Colleen Nicholas Dip. Couns.

MACA, MAIPCfrom Connection Counselling will guideus through during another of our infor-

mation nights.Free Entrance. All welcome. Tea & Cof-

fee served

St Helena Maltese/Aust. SCAUGUST 21: (Friday): 7.30 p.m.: Mass inEnglish by Fr. Edwin Agius mmsp at Croa-tian Catholic Church, Fitzgerald Rd,Ardeer. Later refreshments in the Hallwhile the Maltese United Brass Band willentertain with lively marches.

AUGUST 22: (Saturday): Gala DinnerDance at Melrose Receptions, Tullamarine,the VIBES Band in attendance and the KA-TOOMBA DANCERS will perform aspectacular show followed by the MalteseUnited Brass Band.

AUGUST 23: (Sunday): 3.p.m.: Mass at

the Croatian Catholic Chu-rch at Ardeer Celebrated byBishop Hilton Deakin andthree Maltese Priests, fol-lowed by the Benediction and the Procession.

After the Procession there will be a hugeFireworks Display, to be followed at thehall with a spectacular show featuring THEVINCENTS, who will entertain everyonewith 50’s, 60’s, 70’s Rock & Roll music.During breaks DJ DOMINIC will entertain.

For more information phone Victor on 041299 13 25 or Mary Abdilla on 03 (9370 51 64)

35th Anniversary: Programme forthe feast of St Helena Melbourne

You may be wonderinghow you can be assistedwhen it comes to:

Fiducian Financial Services PTY Ltd ABB 46094 765

134 AFSL and Australian Credit LKicence 23110

Join us on our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups

/thevoiceofthemaltese

On SBS Radio -Day Time Analogue DigitalTuesday: 12:00-13:00 SBS Radio 3Thursday: 12:00-13:00 SBS Radio 3Friday: 12:00-13:00 97.7fm SBS Radio 2Saturday: 14:00-15:00: 97.7fm SBS Radio 2To tune into digital radio you need receiveror device with a DAB+ chip. Tuning in isby station name not frequency. Digitalradio can also be heard on digital TV.SBS Radio 2 is on Channel 38 and SBS.Radio 3 is on Channel 39. Analogue is

the present FM wavelength. Digital radiocan also be accessed by a smart phoneand/or by going online at HYPERLINK:http://www.sbs.com.au, www.sbs.com.au

Maltese Radio ProgrammesMELBOURNE, on 3ZZZ 92.3FM or onwww.3zzz.com.au. Mondays 5pm, Fridays5pm, Saturdays 10am.; Last Wednesday eachmonth at 1pm.MELBOURNE on 98.9 North West FM, eachFriday 6.00 - 7.00p.m. Presenter EmmanuelBrincat.MELBOURNE: STEREO 974 (93180930):97.4FM Wed (Maltese Magazine) & Thursday(Mer˙ba): 6.00pm to 8.00 pm Co-ordinator –Ray AnastasiIn SYDNEY, listen to the MCC radio pro-grammes on 2GLF FM 89.3. Saturdays 6 to 8a.m. Martese Caruana presents NostalgiaMusic; Sundays from 10.00 - 11.00 am: Il -naMaltin. Both available on demand. Followsame procedure as for MCC programmes, exceptselect programe in reference.In BRISBANE listen to the Maltese Programon 4EB on Tuesdays 6.00 -8.15am; Sundays4.15pm to 5.15pmUNCLE SAM DJ (Maltese Radio) tune in tolink: www.unclesamdj.com

The SBS MALTESE NEWS L-A˙barijiet on SBS TV twice a week nationwide Sunday at8.00 am on SBS2 (Chan. 32); Thursdays at 8.05 am on SBS2

VIVA MALTAVIVA MALTA on Central Coast

Radio: August 13 and 17 - from 6 pm -7 pm on COAST FM 96.3 Community

Radio in Gosford NSW. Presenter:Nathalie Gatt.

Web streaming on: www.coastfm.org.au.

Isma’ l-programm tar-radjubil-Malti mill-Kunsill Maltita’ NSW minn fuq l-istaz-

zjon 2GLF 89.3FM.Jista’ wkoll jinstema’ On De-

mand minn fuq l-Internetwww.893fm.com.au

(On Demand >Ethnic >Maltese Council 11am)Il-programm ta’ sieg˙a nhar ta’ Óadd fil-11.00 a.m. ikun fih l-a˙˙ar a˙barijietminn Malta, muΩika, tag˙rif, kultura,avviΩi u su©©etti ta’ interess g˙all-Maltin

Tune In to Radio and Television

Malta Society of New Zealand

We now have a Facebook pagethat former members are in-

vited to join. It is: Mainly-Maltese-in-Auckland:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mainly-Maltese-in-Auckland/

396193070527203?ref=hl.

It is open to all who have an interestin the Maltese culture.

Maltese Programmes on TV and WebThe GDAY MALTAUSSIE SHOW on TVS is broadcast in Sydney

Every Saturday at 2pm. Repeats onMondays 5 pm and Tuesdays 7.30 amWatch direct via HYPERLINK:http://ww.tvs.org.au; http://ww.tvs.org.au

G˙alkemm il-PBS ta’ Malta tforni lill-SBS fl-Awstralja bis-servizz tag˙ha, il-qarrejja m˙e©©a li x’˙in iridu jid˙lufil-website: www.tvm.com.mt u jsegwu l-a˙barijiet ta’ Malta. Din tkun a©©ornatal-˙in kollu bi stejjer li jkunu qed ise˙˙u.Mhux biss, imma min irid isegwi dak lijkun g˙addej, kull filg˙odu ˙in ta' Maltafuq il-website jittellg˙u wkoll l-a˙barijiettal-jum ta' qabel.

L-ahbarijiet tal-PBS (Malta)


The Maltese Language School of NSW is plan-ning to open new classes in the Western Sub-urbs of Sydney in the teaching of the MalteseLanguage. We need new teachers (paid posi-tions) for these classes. Those who are inter-ested in teaching this languageshould apply:

[email protected]

The Maltese Language School of NSWListen to John Borg & Glenn Cassar every Sat-

urday at 1.00 p.m. on RADIO 2RRR 88.5FM oron the Internet - www2rrr.org.au ON DeMAND Ótie©a ta’ G˙alliema tal-Malti

L-iskola tal-Malti ta NSW sa tifta˙ klassijiet©odda fil Western Suburbs ta' Sydney g˙at-tag˙lim tal-lingwa Maltija. G˙alhekk hemmil-˙tie©a ta’ g˙alliema ©odda (l-g˙alliemajit˙allsu). Dawk kollha li jixtiequ jg˙allmu l-Malti g˙andhom japplikaw billi jibag˙tu emaillill: [email protected]: Teachers of Maltese language

Meetings of DayCare MalteseGroups in NSW

Fairfield Active Maltese SeniorsMeets on the first Tuesday of the Month

from10:00am to 12 noon. The group meets in the Parish Hall, cnr

of Stella Street & The Boulevard, Fair-field Heights.

Maltese Seniors Central CoastGroup Meetings for Maltese livingat the Central Coast: are held everysecond Monday of each month from

10 am to 12 at Wyong RSL, cnrAnzac & Margaret Street Wyong.

For more information Tel: 02 439 000 12 or 0414 267 652

*(All Groups are Sponsored by The Maltese Community Council ofNSW). Please contact the MCC Welfare Officer: Marisa Previtera JPon 0414 863 123. The MCC offices are at 59b Franklin Street MaysHill NSW (next to West Parramatta Primary School)

Daceyville Maltese SeniorsMeets on the last Wednesday of the

month in the Meeting Room One, No. 3General Bridges Crescent, Daceyville.Note: The Groups also arrange regular Bus TripsCome and join us and make new friends.Merrylands Social Maltese SeniorsMeets every second Friday of the

month; Miller Room, Memorial AvenueMerrylands from 10.30am to 12.30 am

Llandillo Maltese SeniorsMeets on the first Wednesday of the

month at the Llandilo Community Hall,Seventh Avenue, from 11am to 1pm.

Greystanes Maltese SeniorsMeets on the second Monday of the

month n the George Preca Centre ofOLQP Church, 198 Old Prospect Road,Greystanes from 10 am to 12 noonThe Sutherland & St George

Maltese GroupOngoing: We meet every First Wednesdayof the Month from 10:00am-1:00pm

Our Meetings/Get Togethers are inter-esting, informative & entertaining. Come Join us and make new Friends

For more information contact our Coor-dinator: Charles Mifsud J.P.Phone (02)9501 5525 – mobile 0421 662 298.


Malta drawn with England in2018 FIFA World Cup qual if iers

Malta is to face England, Slovakia, Scotland, Sloveniaand Lithuania, in the 2018 World Cup European Zonequalifiers. The draw that was made at St Petersburg's

Konstantin Palace in Russia placed it in Group F. It will be thethird time Malta has faced England since 1971, the first two inthat same year in the 1971 European Championship qualifierswith England winning 1-0 in Malta and 5-0 at Wembley Sta-dium.

The other meeting was a friendly international at the Ta’ QaliStadium in June 2000 with England winning 2-1.The road to the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia was laid out for

141 teams from across the globe in a Preliminary Draw in frontof a global TV audience of approximately 94.8 million. Thedraw itself - overseen by Jérôme Valcke, FIFA's Secretary Gen-eral - also produced its fair share of fireworks, with Spain-Italyand Chile-Brazil on the first South American matchday just acouple of the mouth-watering games left to tantalise the beauti-ful game's billions of fans.The dates for Malta’s group have already been decided. Malta

will kick off the preliminaries on September 4 2016 with a homegame against Scotland. It then England away on October 8 thatsame year and in Malta on September 1, 2017Malta’s other commitments are set for:2016: October 11 v Lithuania (A); Nov. 11: v Slovenia (H).2017:March 26 v. Slovakia (H); June 10: v Slovenia (A); Sep-tember 4 v Scotland (A); October 5: v Lithuania (H); October 8v Slovakia (A).AUSTRALIA is drawn in ASIA ZONE Group B with JordanmTajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Bangladesh

Birkirkara were a credit toMaltese football when they

beat English Premier side WestHam United 1-0 at the Ta’ QaliStadium only to lose the two-legged tie 5-3 in a penalty shoot-out at the end of extra time of thereturn leg of the Europa Lea-gue’s second qualifying round.The two teams were level at 1-0on aggregate at the end of 120minutes following the Ham-mers’ 1-0 win the previous weekso penalties decided the tie.Birkirkara were deserved victors

in Malta. They took a 14th minutelead through former Italy interna-tional striker a Fabrizio Miccoliand were full value for their leadthey held on to for the next 106minutes. At times they even wentagonisingly close to getting a sec-ond all-important goal.

The Maltese side upped theirgame and though West ham hadmore ball-possession Birkirkaracreated the better chances andwhen just before half time theHammers were down to 10 menwith the red carding of Tomkins,

their hopes looked even rosier.Three minutes into the second

half of extra time, Birkirkarawere also reduced to ten menwith the sending off of defenderMauricio Mazzetti for a secondyellow card.

In the end, a short lapse in theshoot-out when Nicola Vucanacskied his shot from the spot andwith Diego Poyet striking the de-cisive penalty for the Hammersfor 5-3 saw to their elimination.That must have saved WestHam’s faces.Birkirkara did Malta proud with

a magnificent show of footballthat stretched their much morequoted opponents to their limi-tand. Beating the Premiershipside was indeed a feat. Theyeven came close to obtain a his-toric qualification as the firstteam from Malta to qualify to thethird round of a European clubcompetition.Second-half goals down HibsIn the same week, a 5-1 defeat

for champions Hibernians in Is-rael ended Malta’s participationin UEFA competitions for theseason. Hibs had beaten Mac-cabi Tel Aviv 2-1 in Malta butthe away heavy loss gave the Is-raelis a 6-3 aggregate score.

The final tally does not do Hi-bernians justice. They were onlya goal down at the end of the firsthalf and even managed to levelthe score seven minutes into thesecond through Rodolfo Soares.

Maccabi regained the lead sixminutes later from a penalty andthen scored three more for a flat-tering victory.

Spor tsSpor ts24 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday August 4, 2015

Birkirkara in historic featEliminated in Penalty-shoot ing contest

It’s Decision time for ParramattaPS4 NPL 1 NSW

Round 19Parramatta v BonnyriggBlacktown C v Marconi SSutherland S. v Manly USydney U 58 v RockdaleSouth Coast W v APIA Sydney O v Blacktown S

5-31-00-10-11-03-2

Round 20APIA v Parramatta Bonnyrigg v Blacktown S.Manly U v Sydney U 58Marconi S. v Sutherland SSydney O v Blacktown CRockdale S. v South Coast W.

1-02-15-01-24-01-3

RESULTS:

PS4N PL2 NSW:

With three rounds to go(three for Parramatta)

there is no shortage of drama tobe resolved this month.The race for finals football em-

broils no fewer than seven te-ams; the relegation struggle seesParramatta FC (Melita Eagles),Rockdale and Marconi in athree-way face-off.

The previous round’s shockloss to Parramatta FC rockedBonnyrigg but a similar reversalfor leaders Blacktown City aga-inst Sydney Olympic Saturdaybalanced the scales. Now, aftertheir 1-0 win over ParramattaSunday, APIA have becomeBlacktown City’s main chal-lengers for the top position.

After a shock loss to SouthCoast APIA beat Parramattawith an 80th minute Ucchinogoal. In this match the Eaglesonce again showed promiseafter the previous round’s fightback when they pulled a victoryfrom the jaws of defeat againstBonnyrigg.In a comeback they scored a re-

markable four second-half goals

to overturn a 3-1 half-timedeficit at Melita Stadium.Then they managed to find an

extra gear in the second half toscore four goals without replythrough a Daniel Rezo penaltyand goals by Luke Grima,Aram Tayebi and Marco Sama.That win coincided with the re-turn from a long-term injury ofcaptain Patrick Gatt and pro-vided them with much-neededclub championship points.

Now nine points separatethem from bottom team Mar-coni Stallions.

Mounties v Sydney U. 2-2; Fraser Park v Mounties W 1-1

*In the weekend Parramatta’sU18 and U20 teams won boththeir games 1-0.Next they play a catch-up game

at Melita Stadium againstBlacktown Spartans on Wednes-

day and then against RockdaleSuns on Sunday at 3pm. Thesetwo games could determine ifthe Eagles will remain in the Na-tional Premier League or facedemotion.

Fabrizio Miccoli turns to cele-brate after scoring Birkirka-ra’s winning goal against WestHam at the Ta’ Qali Stadium

The Eagles struggle in a three-way face-off

the voice of the maltese no. 107

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