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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2007-10-23 Daily Xml
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GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH

Mr KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens) (14:45): Is the Premier concerned by the latest attack on the Greek Orthodox Church and community by the Liberal opposition?

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (14:45): I am delighted to answer this question. Can I just say that the former government and the former premiers, and remember they were Dean Brown and John Olsen (they got on well) and then Rob Kerin (and I know that the Leader of the Opposition was right behind all of them), set up a discretionary account to allow for the funding of important community initiatives. This government (and former governments) has funded projects and programs put up by the Catholic Church, Anglicare and the Salvation Army; a whole range of different groups. However, for some reason, to provide funding for a Greek Orthodox Church initiative is somehow being questioned by—

The Hon. M.J. Atkinson: It's too exotic for the Liberal Party.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: That's right. We have seen a series of extraordinary attacks on the Greek Orthodox Church, and this is not the first of them. I remember announcing prior to the 2002 election that, if elected, I would instruct my Attorney-General to take a series of cases to the International Human Rights Court on behalf of groups of refugees in this state whose possessions and properties were dispossessed during the illegal Turkish invasion in 1974. And we have done that: we have provided funding.

I went to see a very famous lawyer in Nicosia, who is the son of one of the great, longest serving mayors of that divided city—like Berlin, with a wall that runs through it: on one side freedom and, on the other side, oppression and repression. Because we decided to act on behalf of a group of citizens and families in this state who had had their lands and properties ripped away from them illegally, we were condemned by the Liberal Party. What is it that the Liberal Party has against the Greek community in this state?

What we have done is fund an outstanding initiative to serve dispossessed and disadvantaged people in the northern suburbs of South Australia. I am proud of that funding, and I stand by it, in the same way that I stand by funding that we have given to other church groups that are doing good things in this state. This government receives a range of requests for funding from organisations that perform community work. Such a request was received from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia.

Of course, I am familiar with the great work carried out by the St Dimitrios Church in the northern suburbs of this state. I was, of course, generally aware that it was planning a redevelopment and, having read its submission, I was prepared to support the project, subject to the availability of funds. I referred the matter to the Treasurer, as is appropriate, and the organisation was duly granted funds. That is not dissimilar to what happens with many other community organisations that provide services to the community, including the Catholic Church, other multicultural organisations and many non-government service providers. The funding for the Adelaide Zoo that I announced just before was undertaken by way of a similar approach.

What members opposite are saying to us is that not only do they not have faith in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, but they also want us to be prejudiced against it in our decisions. We will back people who are doing good things in our community to make a difference. I am staggered that the Leader of the Opposition and the shadow minister for multicultural affairs, through his senior colleague in another place, should begrudge this funding to the Greek community, which has made such an enormous contribution to the economic, social and cultural development of our state.

I am sure not just the Greek community but other groups who have received funding to assist with their worthy programs would be appalled by the attitude of the Liberal opposition. Many ethnic groups would now be wondering whether they will be targeted next in this Liberal campaign. It does not bode well for multiculturalism under any future government led by the current Leader of the Opposition—or who knows what successor.

The Cultural and Learning Centre was proposed as a centre open to all members of the public, offering seminars to new migrants from a range of countries, including the Sudan, Egypt, Vietnam, Liberia, Ghana and other African nations. The seminar program involves help accessing government services, health services, training, school enrolment, as well as help with shopping and banking. The parish proposal also outlined using the centre as an out-of-hours language school to accommodate up to 300 students. Other activities include art and craft sessions, music and dance instruction.

As I mentioned, the grant was provided from a discretionary fund set up under the previous Liberal government. The fund allows the premier of the day to make grants to various community organisations for the benefit of South Australians, and I am pleased that this was the biggest grant made because it is about making a big difference. For some reason, the Liberals seem to have a real problem with the Greek community benefiting from the same discretionary fund that they set up. I intend to raise this extraordinary attack with Archbishop Stylianos, the Metropolitan of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, and Bishop Nikandros in this state. Shame on you for this filthy attack on the Greek community.

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will come to order!

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