The Voice of the Maltese...Tuesday December 19, 20 7 The Voice of the Maltese 3 The editors of The...

Fortnightly magazine for the DiasporaFortnightly magazine for the Diaspora

(driven by the voice driven by the voice of its readersof its readers)The Voice of the Maltese

Issue169 December 19, 2017

!e Republic Day celebrations on December 13 (above) the per!e Republic Day celebrations on December 13 (above) the per--sonalities who were awarded medals, in a family photo withsonalities who were awarded medals, in a family photo withPresident Marie Louise Coleiro Preca and Prime Minister JosephPresident Marie Louise Coleiro Preca and Prime Minister JosephMuscat. Below (left) the President inspecting a guard of honourMuscat. Below (left) the President inspecting a guard of honourand (right) the Prime Ministr receiving the salute by the AFMand (right) the Prime Ministr receiving the salute by the AFM

!e Maltese crib at Betlehem!e Maltese crib at Betlehem(see page 14)(see page 14)

2 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday December 19, 2017

It is my pleasure to extend these Christmasgreetings, to the Maltese communitiesacross the world.

No matter how far you may be fromthe Maltese Islands, our diaspora isunited by the strength of our sharedidentity, as one people of the Mediter-ranean.

Malta has always been a melting potof cultures, and this has given us ourunique cultural and historical heritage.

Let me therefore begin by appealing toour children and young people, to keepcelebrating the beauty and strength ofour Maltese diversity. Often, it is ourdiversity that is the most powerfulsource of innovation, transformation,and growth.

Wherever the Maltese live, our diver-sity has enriched the communities andsocieties with which we have come intocontact.

In fact, from my experiences abroad

meeting with theMaltese, I have al-ways been soproud of them be-cause of their

Message from H.E. President of Malta, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca

achievements and successes, and thepositive visibility that they give to ourislands.

I can confidently say that our Maltesediaspora has always been recognised asbringing a unique contribution, in termsof their hardworking approach andsense of commitment to contribute totheir countries of adoption.Let me therefore encourage you, to con-

tinue to strive for a spirit of respectacross all the groups, in the societies ofwhich you form part, by sharing a mes-sage of ethical integrity in all yourwalks of life.

Ilqajt bil-ferħ l-istedina ta’ The Voice of the Mal-tese biex nagħti l-awguri tiegħi lill-Maltin u l-Għawdxin kemm tal-Awstralja wkoll dawk li

jgħixu f’pajjiżi oħrajn li jaqraw din ir-rivista. In-sellem kemm lil dawk li għexu fil-gżejjer Maltinqabel ma emigraw kif ukoll lill-ġenerazzjonijiet ta’warajhom, inklużi dawk li għadhom qatt ma rifsu fuqartna.Kważi kull familja li tgħix Malta jew Għawdex

għandha, jew taf, lil xi ħadd fl-Awstralja, li sal-ġurnatatal-lum għadha l-iktar pajjiż li fih immigranti Maltin,jew f’xi pajjiż ieħor. Iżda għax kemm aħna, lingħixu fuq dawn it-316- il metru kwadru, kif ukollintom, li qegħdin fi gżira-kontinent kważi 15,000kilometru ’l bogħod jew xi mkien ieħor fid-dinja,nidentifikaw ruħna bħala parti mill-familja estiżaMaltija, ma nitkellmux dwar “aħna” u “huma”.Hemm biss “aħna”. Bosta minnkom baqgħalhom mhux biss it-tifkiriet

tal-imgħoddi hawnhekk iżda wkoll il-familja u, forsi

Messa!! mill-Ministru g"all-AffarijietBarranin u l-Promozzjoni tal-Kummer#, l-Onor. Carmelo Abela

wkoll, proprjetà jew interessioħrajn. Bosta jagħmlu mezz lijżuruna relattivament spiss,filwaqt li għal uħud tibqa’wkoll il-possibbiltà reali li, xidarba, jerġgħu lura.Filwaqt li nemmnu li għandna nżommu attivi u ħa-

jjin ir-rabtiet ma’ dawk kollha li għandhomdixxendenza Maltija, jinsabu fejn jinsabu fid-dinja,inħeġġukom tissuktaw tagħtu l-mija fil-mijatagħkom lill-pajjiż li adottakom u li għamilkom ċit-tadini kburin tiegħu. Fl-istess waqt, b’mod

kumplimentari, nibqgħu nżommu fil-għoli isemMalta u l-Maltin.F’ismi, f ’isem il-familja tiegħi, u f’isem it-timħabrieki tal-Ministeru għall-Affarijiet Barranin u l-Promozzjoni tal-Kummerċ, nawgura lilkom u lildawk kollha li tgħożżu l-isbaħ xewqat għall-Milied ugħas-sena l-ġdida.

Please note: The next issue of Please note: The next issue of The Voice of the MalteseThe Voice of the Maltese magazine, magazine, the first for 2018, is scheduled to be published on January 9the first for 2018, is scheduled to be published on January 9

Tuesday December 19, 2017 The Voice of the Maltese 3

The editors of The editors of TThe Voicehe Voiceof the Maltese of the Maltese wish allwish allour readers and theirour readers and theirfamilies a wonderfulfamilies a wonderful

Christmas! May it bringChristmas! May it bringyou joy, happiness andyou joy, happiness and

all that you deserve. all that you deserve. Happy ChristmasHappy ChristmasAlso may the New YearAlso may the New Year2018 be one of health,2018 be one of health,

happiness, wealth, happiness, wealth, wisdom, peace wisdom, peace and prosperity.and prosperity.

Happy New YearHappy New Year

Message from the Australian Prime MinisterAs a season of peace and goodwill, Christ-

mas has special significance for those ofChristian faith and for Australians of everybackground. It is a special time for family,community and love.It is also a time to redouble our commitments

to the less fortunate in our society. I encourage everyone to reachout and assist the many wonderful charities that are working tobrighten the lives of others with their generosity at this time of year.

We acknowledge the efforts of those serving our community overthe holidays—thank you to our police officers, nurses, fire fightersand transport workers, as well as the troops representing our nationat home and overseas away from their families. We are grateful fortheir sacrifice, particularly over the Christmas period.Above all, Christmas is a moment to reflect on how fortunate weare as Australians to live in a land of hope and opportunity, en-riched by the contributions of people from all around the world andour common commitment to peace and mutual respect. We shouldfeel justifiably proud of our many achievements, and grateful for ourmany blessings.With these thoughts in mind, Lucy and I

wish all Australians a very safe and merryChristmas and a happy New Year.

The Hon Malcolm Turnbull MPPrime Minister of Australia

December 2017

Is-sena 2017 kienet waħda importanti għal pajjiżna,mhux biss għax fiha l-poplu Malti u Għawdxi ddeċiedat-triq li jrid jieħu pajjiżna fil-ħames snin li ġejjin, iżda

għax fiha ssoktaw aktar rizultati importanti għal pajjiżna.Dan qed ipoġġi lil Malta fuq bażi soda. Qed jagħmel lil

Malta pajjiż b’saħħtu, fuq kollox qed iwassal biex inkab-bru l-istatus tagħna mhux biss fuq livell Ewropew, iżdawkoll fuq livell globali.F’Malta hawn il-fiduċja, fiduċja mill-poplu u n-negozji,

iżda anke fiduċja li ġejja mill-istituzzjonijiet Ewropej, u is-tituzzjonijiet bħall-aġenziji internazzjonali tal-kreditu liqed jagħtu ċertifikat tajjeb wieħed wara l-ieħor.Din il-fiduċja, dawn ir-rizultati, qed jagħmlu lil Maltin u

l-Għawdxin kollha kburin. Maltin u Għawdxin li mhux bissqegħdin fuq artna, iżda dawk li bħalkom tinsabu lil hinn, uminkejja li ħafna minnkom ilkom snin twal fl-Awstralja, uoħrajn f’pajjiżi oħra, qatt ma nsejtu u jew se tinsew liintom Maltin.Fl-2017 Malta kellha f’idejha t-tmun tal-Unjoni Ewropea

permezz tal-Presidenza. It-tmun li kellha f’idejha wassalbiex anke fuq livell Ewropew kien hemm rizultati li din id-darba nħassu minn 500miljun mhux minn kważi 500,000elf ruħ, l-aktar dak li għandu x’jaqsam mal-kwestjoni tar-roaming, fejn tkun fejn tkun fl-Ewropa tista’ tuża l-mobiletiegħek daqs li kieku qiegħed id-dar.L-iżgħar pajjiż-stat tal-Unjoni Ewropea, Malta, kienet kruċ-

jali biex jinkisbu r-rizultati, u x-xogħol li sar kien imfaħħar.L-2018 se tkun qed jara avveniment ieħor importanti. Il-

Belt kapitali tagħna Valletta se tkun il-Belt Kapitali Ewro-pea, titlu mhux biss Nazzjonali, iżda Ewropew u Globali.L-attività fil-Belt Valletta ilha għaddejjha għall-aħħar snin

billi fost l-oħrajn saru għadd ta’proġetti li wieħed jista’ jara b’modtanġibbli.Apparti x-xogħol infrastrutturali li sar

u qed isir, waqt li qed nikteb dawn iż-żewġ kelmiet, se jkun hemm kalendarjuppakjat b’bosta avvenimenti kulturali udivertenti li jibdew mill-20 ta’ Jannar.Dan it-titlu tal-Belt Kapitali Ewropea

se jkompli jfisser aktar reklami għalMalta u l-Maltin. Intom li tinsabu daqstant ‘il bogħod fid-dis-tanza, iżda magħna fil-qalb u l-kburija b’pajjiżkom għand-kom isservu dejjem ta’ Ambaxxaturi kull fejn tkunu biex aktarnies jiġu u jgawdu mis-sbuħija li hu mogħni bih pajjiżna.Mhux kollox ward u żgħar, kif tafu u persważ li rajtu u

smajtu kien hemm avvenimenti li kexkxu lill-pajjiż, iżda l-unika konsulazzjoni hi li l-istituzzjonijiet tagħna bħalPulizija, l-Armata, il-Qorti, ħadmu biex dawk li fihomhemm suspetti kbar, suspetti ikkorraborati b’evidenza,tressqu quddiem il-ġustizzja.Minkejja dan se nkomplu naħdmu biex dan il-pajjiż li nif-

taħru tant bih ikompli jikber, jipprogressa u jissokta jkunpijunier mhux biss f’dak li għandu x’jaqsam il-latekonomiku iżda wkoll dak soċjali, b’tibdil bħal ma sar biexdaħal fis-seħħ iż-żwieġ indaqs, dritt li fil-pajjiż li intom qedtgħixu llum il-ġurnata, daħal wara, minkejja li m’hemmxparagun fil-kobor. Din hi Malta tal-lum u għada, Malta lihija tagħkom ilkoll.Minn qalbi, f ’isem Marti, uliedi, f ’isem il-Gvern u f’ismi,

awguri għal Milied ħieni u Sena Ġdida mimlija paċi, barkau mħabba.

Messa!! mill-Prim Ministru ta’ Malta Dr. Joseph Muscat

As the festive season is upon us, I would like to reflect onthe year now gone and look toward to the next. In my 11

months as the Australian High Commissioner, I’ve been im-pressed with how much Malta has to offer both through its nat-ural beauty and especially access to the sea and the industryand skill of its people and Government.

I saw this clearly throughout your Presidency of the EUCouncil and I’m confident the country will do an excellent jobas Valletta 2018 hosts the European Capital of Culture.

The High Commission staff have been working hard to pro-mote Australian interests in Malta and are grateful for the sup-port Australia has received in the UN, for example, where wewill serve on the Human Rights Council and UNESCO’s WorldHeritage Committee.

I have also had the honour to meet a great range of impres-sive people, including Maltese Australians in Malta and Gozo.Some are pursuing business interests; others are active in sportor the Arts; some Australians are reconnecting with their Mal-tese roots and retiring here. All are a reflection of our sharedand successful multiculturalism.

I look forward to seeing off the Maltese del-egation to the Gold Coast to compete in theCommonwealth Games in April 2018.

Prior to commencing my posting to Malta,I travelled around Australia meeting some ofthe Maltese communities. But there were toomany to meet in one trip! Some of the smallerand lesser-known communities include pio-

neering Franciscan Nuns in Far North Queensland, and evena small family business in Western Australia that carries on aMaltese maritime tradition of building small boats. I hope tomeet more of you when I return to Australia for midterm con-sultations, possibly in mid 2018.

Australia and Malta share many intrinsic values includingrespect, freedom and equality which have sustained a decades-long bond between our two nations. Our shared interest and vision for a productive and inclusive

society will see this bond carried into the next decades. To theAustralian-Maltese in both our countries I wish you a verymerry Christmas and a prosperous new year.


Hon. Bill Shorten MP Leader of the Opposition

The Hon Alex Hawke MPFederal Member for Mitchell Ass. Ministerfor Immigration and Border ProtectionIt gives me great pleasure to wish you all a

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.Christmas is a time for celebrating with

friends and family, whilst also reflecting on allthose who are doing it tough – both here in Australia andaround the world.A time to also spare a thought for those Australians who will

not be home for Christmas.The men and women in our defence force, serving abroad and

their families and loved ones who will especially feel their ab-sence at a time like this.To our emergency services personnel: fire fighters, ambos, nurses

and police officers – we also hope they have a safe and quiet break.And all those Australians working unsociable hours, who will

be giving up time with their family to work.To those Australians I say thanks and be assured Labor will

always fight for your penalty rates.Let us use this joyful time to try and do something to bring a

little bit of Christmas generosity and cheer into the lives ofthose less fortunate.

On behalf of the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party, I wishyou and your families a very Merry Christmas, a safe holidayand 2018 filled with peace, love and good health.

Christmas is a time to for families to come to-gether and celebrate the birth of Jesus

Christ and Australia’s Christian heritage. Thecelebration of Christmas is also a time to begrateful and appreciate the blessings of peaceand security we continue to enjoy as a nation.

Australia is a melting pot of people frommany different cultural and linguistic back-grounds, which makes our nation a wonder-fully diverse place to live. Despite being one of the smallestcountries in the world, Malta and its people have had a con-siderable impact upon Australian society. Just over 150 000 Australians have Maltese heritage, and Mal-tese Australians, such as Mario Fenech, Laura Dundovic, andShaun Micallef, have all made their mark upon Australian life.

Christmas is a special time of year, particularly for MalteseAustralians who enthusiastically celebrate the birth of Jesusand take the opportunity to see family members over the Christ-mas break.

On behalf of my family, Amelia, Jack, Lachlan and I wouldlike to wish the readers of The Voice of the Maltese Australia avery Merry Christmas, and a wonderful New Year.

During the first six months of 2017, Maltaheld the EU Presidency with great pride

and success. The High Commission in Can-berra and Consuls General in Sydney andMelbourne kept our flag flying high promot-ing Malta while continuing with our daily du-ties.

We are now into our second year with thepilot project, Consul on the Move (COTM).The response received so far, in some states, looks promising.We anticipate the same response in other states in the near fu-ture. On the whole, we can comfortably say that we are moving in

the right direction and hopefully by the end of the second yearof COTM we would have achieved its goals.This year I paid an official visit to Perth, W.A., accompanied

by my wife, Victoria. The Honorary Consul Mr. Paul Callejaaccompanied me when I visited and met with MonsignorMichael Keating at St. Mary’s Cathedral and called on theGovernor, Lord Mayor, Chief Justice, the Premier and Deputy,Leader of the Opposition and other government officials. I alsomet the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry andthe management of Austal, Australia’s shipbuilding company.

I joined the Maltese Association of Western Australia atKing’s Park, laid a wreath at the War Memorial commemorat-ing the Great Siege and visited the Migrant Children Com-memorative Sculpture and Welcoming Walls to pay tribute toMaltese migrants who arrived by sea in Fremantle and Albany. On behalf of myself, my wife, Victoria, the Deputy High Com-

missioner, the Consuls General, the staff and Honorary Con-suls in Australia and New Zealand, I wish you all a blessedChristmas and a Peaceful and Prosperous 2018.

H.E. Charles Muscat Malta!s High Commissioner in Australia

H.E. Ms Julienne Hince High Commissioner for Australia in Malta

More Christmas and New Year messagesMore Christmas and New Year messagesMore Christmas and New Year messages


The Maltese Islands offer an electric blend of local and international eventsto suit all tastes and ages. From the colourful fun-filled Carnival in February to the solemn Holy Week and Easter pageants, from the summertimevillage festas and open-air music festivals, to classical concerts and opera,sport tournaments, historical re-enactments, food and wine events, and somuch more. There’s something for everyone, any time, any season

SCAN HERE FOR

FULL EVENTSCALENDAR

Jidher li għalkemm kien hemm xiżmien li ċerti drawwiet kienu qed jin-tilfu, inkluż dawk fil-jiem tal-Milied li

ħafna nqisuhom bħala l-isbaħ żmien tas-sena, fl-aħħar snin, dejjem grazzi għal dawkil-ħafna dilettanti ta’ veru, l-aktar tal-pre-sepju, it-tradizzjonijiet qed jerġgħu jieħdul-ħajja.Il-PresepjuFost l-aktar li wieħed isemmi fil-jiem tal-

Milied huwa l-presepju li issa ankernexxielna nħorġuh mill-qoxra Maltija unesportawh, is-sena l-oħra fil-Vatikan u dinis-sena fil-belt l-aktar magħrufa mal-Mi-lied, Betlem.

Sa minn meta kont għadni fl-ewwel snintat-tfulija, niftakar lil missieri jogħxa jibnipresepju kbir tal-gagazza, li allura kienjagħmlu aktar naturali, d-dar taħt it-taraġ.Il-pasturi kien jixtrihom. Ħafna drabi kienjieħu lili miegħu biex jixtrihom. Mill-bqijakollox kien jagħmel hu.

Missieri kien isaħħarni. Kont nistagħġebkif kellu daqshekk ħila u minkejja li kienbniedem nervuż, għall-presepju u biex ifer-raħ lill-familja kien kalm u paċenzjuż. Ankel-mod kif kien ipoġġi l-pasturi fil-presepj,dak iż-żmien tat-tafal kien isaħħarni.

Ma nafx minn mnejn kien iġib dik il-paċenzja kollha. Lanqas ma nista’ nifhemkif kien isib il-ħin, mhux biss li jibnih immawkoll li jpinġi, ifassal u jqasqas mill-kartunbiex jibni xi reddiena tal-ilma, il-midħna uxi dar antika; kif kien jagħmel in-nixxiha ukif isawwar id-dawl kemm, fil-grottaewlenija u wkoll ma’ postjiet oħra strateġiċifil-presepju.

Meta jkun lest u fil-jiem li jkollna l-pre-sepju d-dar, it-tfal tat-triq tagħna u ankeminn inħawi oħra fir-raħal kienu jiġu jżuruhu jistagħġbu b’dak li jaraw.Kien hawn li tgħallimt li jekk tassew għan-

dek ir-rieda li trid tagħmel xi ħaġa għal qal-bek, il-ħin issibu.

Biex ilaħħaq mal-ħajja bil-paga li kellu uma jħallix lill-familja – lili u żewġ ħutibniet u lill-ommi, “mara qaddisa li kienettimxi fl-art” kif jgħidu – kien jagħmel aktarminn xogħol wieħed. Il-Milied għalih kienxi ħaġa speċjali.

Kien jonfoq il-flus fuq il-presepju immadak kien jaħseb għalih sa minn sena qabel.Kien jagħmel is-sagrifiċċi biex iġemma’ xiħaġa fil-ġimgħa. Tant kien speċjali l-Miliedgħalih – u għall-familja - li biex jarana kun-tenti kien kull sena jaħsbilna għal xi rigalsabiħ, imbagħad fil-lejl tal-Milied kien jiġinkiss inkiss fil-kamra tal-irqad biexipoġġielna r-rigali fuq is-siġġijiet ħdejn is-sodod. Imbagħad fil-għodu kien jieħu gosjarani kuntenti u jistaqsini x’ġabilna l-Christmas Father.

Li ma kienx jaf kien li jien kont nagħmelminn kollox biex nibqa’ mqajjem immab’għajnejja magħluqa nistennieh ipoġġilnar-rigali. Imbagħad kont nagħti titwila lejnir-rigal u norqod kuntent sa filgħodu. Minn jiem qabel kienu jgħidulna biex nik-

tbu ittra lill-Father Christmas u ngħidulux’konna nixtiequ għall-Milied.

Meta l-ewwel oħti l-kbira mbagħad l-oħrajn iżżewwiġnau kellna t-tfal, kienl-hena tal-ġeniturijixtrulhom ir-rigaliu wara jieħdu gostjarawhom jifirħu.Minn jaf kemm-ildarba ommi kienettgħidlu, “Karmaħjar tixtrilhom xiħaġa x’jilbsu millibiex jilagħbu.” It-tweġiba kenet tkun,“Ara Rit, għall-ħwejjeġ aħsbilhomint. Jien rigali tal-logħob nieħu gostintihom.

Baqa’ minn dejjem, anke meta rtira mix-xogħol u sar pensjonant, li jibda jġemma’sa minn sena qabel biex ikollu biżżejjedbiex jixtri r-rigali lin-neputijiet. L-ikla tal-MiliedGħal ommi li kienent mara li tassew taf is-

sajjar, il-Milied kien jiġi biex tiġbornagħandha ħalli nieklu flimkien. Issajjar l-aħjar ikel, għalkemm ma kinetx tagħmeldan biss fil-Milied.

L-ikla ewlenija tal-Milied għand il-ġeni-turi ġeneralment kienet tkun id-dundjan…imma mhux għalija li lanqas biss kont in-ħares lejh. Għadni sal-lum, it-tajr, inkluż it-tiġieġ imsajrin lanqas irrid narahomb’għajnejja. Allura lili kienet tlestili xi biċċalaħam, ċanga l-aktar flett (fillet), imdawwarbil-patata l-forn tqarmeċ.

Imma l-ispeċjalita` tal-Milied għalijakienet it-trajfil t’ommi. Kif kienettagħmilha ommi, ħadd.

Imma għall-Milied ommi kienet tagħmelukoll ħelu ieħor, fosthom il-pudina tal-Mi-lied, il-kejk tal-lewż u ħelu ieħor assoċjatmal-festa. X’dieta dieta!L-imbuljuta

Hemm ħafna ikel jew ħelu ieħor li li jis-sajjar fiż-żminijiet tal-Milied, bħall-qagħaqtal-għasel pereżempju imma forsi l-aktarassoċjat b’mod tradizzjonali kien – u xiwħud għadhom jagħmluh sal-lum – l-im-buljuta. Ommi wkoll kienet tagħmilhaimma mhux wisq. Ftit konna niggustawha.

Għadek issibha, l-aktar f’xi rħula, inlużfir-raħal fejn twelidt u ngħix, f’Ħal-Balzan,fejn fi tmiem il-quddiesa ta’ nofs il-lejl il-kappillan jistieden lil kulħadd fis-sala tal-parroċċa gġal xi ħaġa sħuna. Tispikkal-imbuljuta, magħmula mill-qastan, il-ko-kotina, xi qxur tal-larinġ/mandolin maħkuk,xi ħwawar u msiemer tal-qronfol maħkuka.

*ikompli f’paġna 9

JosephCutajar

Drawwiet tal-Milied f’Malta ta’min jipproteġi


CentrelinkChild SupportTaxationDefence &Veterans AffairsMedicareCommunicationsImmigrationEducation & Training

Wishing you a MerryChristmas and a safe and

happy New Year.We’re here to help in theBlue Mountains and the

Hawkesbury

OFFICE: Shop 24, 227 George St,Windsor NSW 2756

Mail: PO Box 855, Windsor NSW 2756Phone: (02) 4573 8222Email: [email protected]

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*minn paġna 5

Ħafna għadhom jiggustawha, l-akar jekk tkun il-kesħa għaxjgħidu li l-aktar fil kesħa, titrejjaq mhux ftit meta tixrobha.Il-purċissjoni bil-Bambin

Tradizzjoni oħra li daħħalha l-qadis Malti San ĠorġPreca ftit wara li fl-1907 ħoloq il-klassijiet tad-dutrina, il-MUSEUM, hija l-purċissjoni tat-tfal bi statwetta żgħiratal-Bambin Ġesu` tarbija fil-għaxija tal-24 ta’ Diċembru,ftit tas-siegħat qabel il-quddiesa ta’ nofs il-lejl.

Fi ċkunitna, fl-ewwel snin tat-tfulija fil-MUSEUMkonna nitħabtu biex niġu magħżula ħalli nġorru l-is-tatwetta fil-purċissjoni. It-tfal konna u għadhom sal-lumli waqt il-purċissjoni jkantaw l-innijet tal-Milied. Uħudissibhom iġorru d-dwal, speċi ta’ fanali tal-kartun mik-sija bil-karti bi kliem mill-Vanġelu fuqhom u u bix-xumgħa ġo fihom. Mhux l-ewwel darba li xi tifel kienixengel il-fanal, iwaqqa’ x-xemgħa u jqabbad il-fanal.Ħaġ’oħra li kienet issaħħarni kien li l-ewwel nara lil

tal-MUSEUM jagħmlu xi mijiet ta’ grotti, u mbagħadminkejja li kelli l-presepju d-dar, kull sena meta kontniġi biex nieħu l-premju dejjem kont nagħżel grotta.Il-priedka tat-tifel fil-quddiesa ta’ nofs-il-lejlImbagħad niġu għall-quddiesa ta’ nofs il-lejl b’tifel ċke-

jken li jkun tgħallem bl-amment l-iskript miktub umogħti lilu minn ġimgħat qabel minn tal-MUSEUM,jagħmel il-priedka. Kulħadd kien jiggustah jitla’ fuq il-pulptu b’suġġeritur warajh ħalli fejn jeħel ifakkru xi jridjgħid, jagħmilha ta’ predikatur żgħir jirrakkonta l-istorjatat-twelid ta’ Ġesu`Bambin. Ġeneralment, kemm dak iż-żmien, u anke llum, kien/għadu jintuża l-istess kliem kifjibda u jispiċċa r-rakkont.

Daż-żmien il-pulptu donnu li għadu hemm biss għall-parenza, biex iżejjen il-knijsa, u t-tfajjel jagħmel il-proedka minn fuq it-taraġ tal-artal maġġur.

Għalkemm in-nies li kienu jattendu din il-quddiesanaqsu, imma xorta waħda l-miġemgħa għal dik l-okkażjoni għadha tkun waħda kbira.Fl-aħħar snin dawk li ma jattendux, jew jibqgħu d-dar

għall-irdoss, inkella, speċjalment iż-żgħażagħ imorrujiċċelebraw f’xi riċeviment fil-postjiet tad-divertiment,jew għal xi ikla f’xi ristorant fejn iħallsu biz-zalza għalkważi l-istess ikel li f’jiem oħra kienu jsibuh bi prezz xi50 fil-mija irħas.

Jekk ma tridx, wara li jqattgħu l-lejl barra, anke jekkikunu kielu xi ikla nobis, tarahom mas-sbieħ il-jum tal-Milied imorru jieħdu l-kolazzjon f’xi lukanda lussuża.

Imbagħad ġeneralment isir l-istess ġimgħa wara għall-Ewwel tas-Sena. Imma għal dawn il-festi donnu li jkun hawn gelgul akbar ta’ flus

x’wieħed jonfoq fix-xalar u kulħadd kapaċi jsib dak il-ftit - ħafnadrabi ħafna – x’jista’ jaffordja li jonfoq. L-importan-ti li ninsewxx’qed niċċelebraw.

Xi drawwiet tal-Milied li jinħtieġ insalvawL-attivita`li tiġbor il-folol lejn Għawdex, il-Miliedħaj, jew kif magħruf bħala l-Milied f’Għajnsielem

Il-purċissjoni bil-Bambin Ġesu`


Have your say/Xi trid tghid?

fortnightly magazinefortnightly magazine

The Voice of the Maltese!is is a bi-lingual (in Englishand Maltese) fortnightly mag-azine that speci"cally targetsall Maltese living abroad with

emphasis on the Australianand Maltese scenes.

!e magazine can also be read in#ipbook format online. A pdf copy

is also sent via email on request. If you require a printed copy we

can also oblige.Editors: Malta: Joseph CutajarAustralia:

Lawrence Dimech: MOM,OAM, JP

email address:[email protected]

fortnightly magazinefortnightly magazine

Letters for publication in The Voicemagazine, either in Maltese or Englishshould include name and e-mail ad-dress of the writer and be e-mailed to:[email protected].

Now you can alsojoin us on facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevoice-ofthemaltese

Your letters/ L-ittri tag!kom ...

Susan Scott from Sussex, UK, writes:

Despite all the bad publicity and fake news feeded to the international media, par-ticularly in Britain, by a bunch of half-backed Maltese political activists who asever try to put spokes in the wheel of a government that is not of their own choos-

ing, Malta keeps attracting the tourists, mostly British, but not only.

Blooming and Booming

I am sure that the media only takes up thedirty campaign orchestrated by these ac-tivists, most probably at a cost. But I mustsay that the campaign against Malta is prov-ing to be toothless; the British people whotraditionally have always loved Malta wouldnever believe the lies that are circling aimedat tarnishing the island’s reputation.

I am writing this letter not only as a Mal-tese citizen who lives abroad but still hasMalta at heart, but also as a tourist, a visitorto this tiny island that has so much to offerto the visitor and in spite of its size, year inand year out manages to keep its place as amain tourist attraction.

I have been living in Sussex with myBritish born husband, for close to 30 years.Due to my roots and the proximity of thetwo countries, we are frequent visitors to

Malta and my kids, now in their twentiesand thirties love Malta as much as we do.In fact our eldest son is now working in thei-gaming industry and living in Malta. Ouryoungest is hoping to join him soon. All the family agrees that Malta, which is al-

ways blooming, is now also booming, mak-ing a success in every important sector makingit one of the best places to live in in Europe.

We like to read The Voice of the Malteseand always look forward to receiving itevery fortnight. This time we would be re-ceiving it while we are in Malta to celebratewith out kids, nephews and nieces. We ar-rived at the beginning of December to re-turn to the UK in the first week of January.

We really are enjoying our stay andthough when it comes to street Christmasdecorations there is no comparison withwhat we have in London’s Oxford Street,the lights in Republic Street, Valletta makesone enjoy the good-feel factor on the is-land. It makes us feel so safe and peacefulin such a friendly atmosphere that thiscould be one of the best Christmases for us. Thank you Malta!

Valletta, OurCity of Culture

Maria Pace from Bullen, Victoria

Iam just back from a wonderful and in-teresting holiday in Malta. Could not

make it for the last days leading to Christ-mas, as we had to return home to spendChristmas and celebrate the birth of theNew Year with our direct family,

May I congratulate Jason Micallef andhis team for transforming our city of Val-letta into a vibrant city by night. I just re-turned from our island. It is still the safestplace to be. Witnessing Maltese andtourist dining on the street especiallyaround Strada Stretta, Triq it-Teatru, Triql-Ifran fills you with satisfaction. Our cap-ital city is no longer dead by 7 pm; it is vi-brant, it is alive at night. Thanks to TheVoice for the beautiful pictures of the dec-orations for Christmas. What a sight!Bring on 2018.

The restored Tritoni Fountain and themagnificent pedestrian plaza would giveValletta such a grand entrance worthy of acity built by gentlemen for gentlemen ...and gentlewomen I would say.

We are one!Tony Buttigieg from Redfern NSW

Ihave seen few comments regarding sec-tion 44 of the Australian constitution.

You may now say the law is an ass, but ourforefathers were very meticulous. They putcountry first. Indeed, let us have Membersof Parliament that have no other allegiancethan that of Australia.

What is wrong with this direction, I mayask? Why would an MP be a citizen of, say,Croatia, Russia? We just kicked out a Senatorbecause he showed sympathy with China.

We are one, but we are many. When itcomes to our Parliament in Canberra wemust demand, Australia First, no other.


Maria’s work at La Valette SC over four years inthe late 1990’s, as Respite Care Co-ordinator andlater as Community Settlement Services worker

introduced her to the great needs of Welfare services es-pecially within the ageing elderly. In 1996 Maria joined the Maltese Welfare NSW where

she assisted in various roles included Secretary for sevenyears. In 1998 Maria was appointed Justice of the Peacein NSW and achieved NAATI accreditation as a Profes-sional Translator in the same year. In 1999 she was an active member on the Advisory com-

mittee at the inception of the Multicultural CommunityAged Care Packages programme administered by theBlacktown Migrant Resource Centre where she advocatedfor the Maltese elderly for culturally and linguistically ap-propriate services. Maria was later appointed as the Welfare Officer for the Mal-

tese Community Council of NSW providing a direct informa-tion and referral service to the Maltese community particularlythe aged, organising speakers for various Maltese groups in-cluding Llandillo, Blacktown and Daceyville. She liaised withmany mainstream services on behalf of the Maltese, whichthey could access to enhance their quality of life.

In 2002 Maria worked for the Multicultural MentalHealth Service as Bi-Lingual Group Leader where she coor-dinated and facilitated a Maltese Carers Group at Doon-side. In 2006 Maria was also appointed as Bi-LingualGroup leader promoting the Blacktown Solar city project toMaltese residents and groups in the Blacktown local gov-ernment area.Maria DeCarlo’s love for her Maltese heritage received a huge

boost when in the year 2000 she attained the Certificate inCommunicative Language Teaching (UNSW) which qualifiedher to teach the Maltese Language to school-aged and adultstudents attending the Maltese Language School of NSW. She worked consistently with other teachers to keep the

MLS operating at a steady pace, attracting new students ofMaltese descent in Sydney, wishing to learn the Malteselanguage and culture. As coordinator and teacher, Maria succeeded in keeping

the Maltese Language School of NSW operating with vari-ous classes in Horsley Park, Schofields and Seven Hills.

She is currently teaching a junior class at Horsley Park.Maria is a presenter on the Maltese Community Council’s

radio programme broadcast on Sundays on 2GLF FM. For fiveyears Maria contributed daily readings on Sydney One radio.The yearn to satisfy the needs of the Maltese elderly lead her tojoin the Maltese Elderly Thanksgiving Day Committee whereshe assisted in fund raising and organising this annual event. She currently works part-time at St Dominic’s Hostel, a

Maltese based aged care facility run by the Dominican Sis-ter of Malta. She has also been involved in Parish activitiesincluding Communion to the sick, sacramental educationfacilitator and catechist. As a volunteer of the CatholicHealth Care Community Visitation Scheme, Maria visitsthe elderly in local aged care facilities.Born in Sliema in 1953 of parents John and Stella Micallef,

Maria was the sixth in a family of nine siblings. She at-tended Sliema Primary school and completed her Second-ary school years at St Louis Grammar School. In January 1974 she married Alfred De Carlo from G!ira

and only a month later, emigrated to Australia to start anew life and family in Sydney where she reunited with herelder sister Antoinette and her husband Mark Caruana. At the age of 20 and not having ever travelled, what she

saw as an adventure, turned out to be a huge culture shockand the family separation was hard to bear. Maria and herhusband Alfred have three children, Adeline, Jonathan andJoanne, and four grandchildren. Maria was awarded The Cultural Award 2010 for her serv-

ice to the Maltese community in Sydney.

Maria DeCarlo

A community welfare workerand Maltese language teacherThe pillars of our Maltese community in Australia are

our organisations that have stood the test of time andnow perhaps are facing their biggest challenges due to

the fast-changing technology and an ageing community. In our communities, we have leaders, followers and most cer-

tainly those that are regarded as background workers. For ourDecember personality, we have chosen a dedicated hard work-ing person who has earned respect in various active supportroles, Maria DeCarlo.

PERSONALITYOF THE MONTHOF THE MONTH


kitba ta’IVAN CAUCHI

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

Perspettiva

Qiegħed nirreferi għad-deċiżjoni taċ-Ċina li ħadet f’Lulju2017 biex sal-aħħar ta’ din is-sena ma tibqax taċċetta xi kat-egoriji ta’ skart, inkluż plastik reċiklabbli u skart ieħor

vvvvvvvimħallat, biex jipproteġu s-saħħa pubblika u l-ambjent.1Din hija deċiżjoni sinjifikanti, għax iċ-Ċina hija l-akbar reċipjent

ta’ skart ta’ dan it-tip fid-dinja.Id-dipendenza tal-industrija tar-reċiklar fuq dan il-pajjiż wieħed

huwa notevoli.Fl-Istati Uniti, fejn terz tal-iskart jiġi esportat, l-iktar lejn iċ-Ċina,

l-Institute for Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) qal li se jintilfugħexieren ta’ eluf ta’ postijiet tax-xogħol u ħafna intrapriżi tar-riċik-lar fl-Istati Uniti.

Fl-Unjoni Ewropea, li tesporta 87% tal-iskart tal-plastik tagħhalejn iċ-Ċina, hu mistenni li se jsir iktar użu minn landfills jew in-ċinerazzjoni2. L-Awstralja, li tesporta lejn iċ-Ċina skart li jiswamadwar nofs biljun dollaru Awstraljan fis-sena, għadha ttella’ utniżżel x’se tagħmel b’dak l-iskart kollu li qabel kien jitgħabba fuqvapur u Alla m’għamlu.

Kienet notevoli din ir-reazzjoni f’pajjiżi li jesportaw dan l-iskartkollu liċ-Ċina, viċin il-paniku jkolli ngħid, li jindika kemm id-dinjakienet dipendenti fuq dan il-pajjiż għall-iskart tiegħu. Madankollu,huwa ċar li llum iċ-Ċina taspira li tkun il-fabbrika tad-dinja, mhuxil-landa taż-żibel tagħha.Sal-lum, il-pajjiżi żviluppati kienu draw jeħilsu minn parti sostanz-

jali tar-riżultat tas-sistema tal-konsum sfrenat, billi jagħmluha prob-

lema ta’ ħaddieħor. Issa dan se jkun iktar diffiċli, għax il-problematrid tissolva iktar qrib fejn il-konsum qiegħed isir, u l-konsumaturi,u l-gvernijiet tagħhom, iktar u iktar se jħabbtu wiċċhom mal-kon-segwenzi tas-sistema ekonomika li jgħixu fiha.

Dan jista’, forsi, nispera, iwassal għal tibdiliet għall-aħjar, iktarsostenibbli, fil-kultura tal-konsum.Irid jitfakkar li l-iskart għandu valur ekonomiku, anke kbir. Iċ-Ċina

kienet tħares lejh bħala sors ta’ materja prima, kultant iktar faċli lijiġi estratt minnu milli minn sorsi tradizzjonali (per eżempju miż-żejt għall-plastik jew minn injam tal-foresti għall-karti). Waħda mill-problemi kienet jekk l-iskart kienx kontaminat, bħal meta ma jkunxseparat kif suppost, jew ikun imħallat ma’ materjal li mhux suppostikun hemm, li jwassal għall-ħtieġa ta’ iktar proċessar manwali.Għalhekk, waħda mis-soluzzjonijiet hija kwalità aħjar u iktar kon-

troll fil-ġbir tal-iskart.Imma forsi l-impatt l-iktar pożittiv ikun meta l-bniedem jiġi wiċċ

imb’wiċċ mal-muntanji ta’ skart li aħna stess qegħdin niġġeneraw,li issa iktar hemm ċans li nagħtuhom titwila. Per eżempju, fl-Aw-stralja, għaliex flixkun tal-birra, nixorbu minnu u narmuh għar-riċik-lar – mhux aħjar jerġa jintuża? U għaliex għadna niddiskutu jekkgħandniex nużaw boroż tal-plastik jew basktijiet li jerġgħu jintużawfis-supermarkit – possibbli ma narawx l-istupidaġni tal-boroż tal-plastik?

L-għarfien tal-impatt tqil fuq l-ambjent tal-kumdità tal-bniedemqegħda tiżdied, għall-grazzja t’Alla. Eżempju ta’ dan huwa l-pro-gramm tal-ABC War on Waste (Gwerra fuq l-Iskart). Din is-senawkoll rajt diversi dokumentarju u artikli dwar gżejjer enormi ta’skart jiċċirkolaw fl-oċejani tad-dinja; ħut, għasafar u fkieren jin-qabdu u jinsabu b’biċċiet tal-plastik fl-istonku li jkunu kielu għaxjaħsbuh ikel; biċċiet żgħar ta’ plastik (microbeads) li l-iktar jintużawfil-kożmetiċi jispiċċaw ukoll fil-baħar, jassorbu kimika tossika umbagħad jittieklu mill-ħlejjaq tal-baħar3 (u jispiċċaw f’xi platt).Għalkemm din id-deċiżjoni taċ-Ċina se twassal għal diffikultajiet

f’ħafna pajjiżi, jien jidhirli li dan huwa proċess li hemm bżonn lingħaddu minnu, għax se jisfurzana nimmaturaw fl-attitudni tagħnalejn l-iskart.

Mhux se nkunu nistgħu ma jimpurtaniex iktar x’isir mill-iskartmeta nixħtuh fil-landa taż-żibel jew fil-kontenitur tar-reċiklaġġ.Mhux se nkunu nistgħu ngħidu li problema ta’ ħaddieħor u ninse-wha, għax b’xi mod jew ieħor se jkollna nħallsu prezz iktar għoli.Issa l-problema se ssir tagħna.

M’aħniex miżbla tagħkom!

Referenzi

Julia Finn MPMember for Granville

O$ce: 160 Merrylands Road, Merrylands 2160P: 9637 1656F: 9897 1434E: [email protected]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family.to you and your family.

May this special time of the year be May this special time of the year be filled with happiness and joy filled with happiness and joy

This is apaid advert

1.http://www.plasticsnews.com/article/20170718/NEWS/170719892/china-to-wto-scrap-plastic-imports-banned-by-year-end, retrieved 11/12/20172.http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1060480.shtml, retrieved 11/12/20173. http://www.beatthemicrobead.org/faq/, retrieved 11/12/2017


The Family Law System: Time for an Upgrade

For years, Australians who have ex-perienced the sluggish mechanics ofthe Australian Family Law system

have been echoing stories of woe. Judicialstaff, legal professionals, social workersand individual Australians going throughseparations have been highlighting theshortcomings of the current legislativeregime and its implementation. On 27 September 2017, in acknowledge-

ment of the current state of complaint, theFederal Attorney General, Senator the HonGeorge Brandis, announced the first com-prehensive review of the family law sys-tem since the commencement of theFamily Law Act in 1976. It is almost incomprehensible that the leg-

islation has rumbled along unchecked thusfar, over 40 years since its commence-ment. Nevertheless, the announcement iswelcomed by the legal community.

Since the 1970s, social perceptions andnorms have changed dramatically. Possi-bly the simplest example of such changecan be observed in the fluidity of the def-inition of ‘family’. Slowly, the shape, sizeand composition of what constitutes anAustralian family has grown to includeblended families, same sex families,adopted families and families whereparental responsibilities now rest withgrandparents instead of the biological par-ents of children. In light of the rapid progression of social

values, and changing demographics, it is amost welcome relief that the totality of thelegislation will be assessed for its effec-tiveness in achieving its very own goals.

However, perhaps the greatest pressure

For All Your Legal Needs Now at:

21 George StreetParramatta

Phone: 8599 8877Also at:Level 4, 370 Pitt Street, Sydney. Ph: 8355 9999

Email: [email protected] Spoken

PAUL SANT(SOLICITOR)

PARTNER AT LONGTON LEGAL

by PaulSant currently faced by the Family Law Courtsis the high number of filings that are beinglodged with the Court, combined with theincreasing complexity of the cases. Thegeneral consensus is that the Courts havestruggled to keep up with the increased de-mand for its services.

The 2016/2017 Annual Report of theFamily Court indicates that people havebecome more litigious, cases have becomemore complicated, the number of appealshas grown and judges have become ascarce commodity. As a result, there havebeen in some cases notable delays in thefinal hearing of cases.

In the 2016/2017 Annual Report pro-vided by the Federal Circuit Court of Aus-tralia (which hears all divorce appli-cations, and less complex family law mat-ters), the following statistics were re-leased:

Although 12 months may seem like a rea-sonable time frame, it should also be notedthat such timely settlement of cases is a re-sult of the consensual settlement of mat-ters by both parties and the intentionalavoidance of a final hearing. Should litigants find themselves in a po-

sition where settlement is unachievable,the timeframes for the listing and hearingof a final hearing can extend the lifespanon a family law case to beyond two years.

The growing reliance upon the familylaw system is to be expected given the cur-

We have provided you with anoverview of the topic above but youshould consult a professional for ad-vice specific to your circumstances.

Another service o!ered by The Voice of the Maltese providing legal informa"on to our readers

1. The Court’s family law workload inincreased from 84,920 applications in2015/16, to 85,477 applications in2016/17;2. Of these applications, 43,846 weredivorce applications; and3. 68 per cent of final order applicationswere finalised within 12 months.

1. In 2016, there were 118,401 mar-riages registered and 46,604 divorcesgranted in Australia;2. The median age of couples marryingfor the first time has continued toslowly rise over the past two decades.However, the number of divorces de-creased by -3.9% in 2016.3. The median length of time from mar-riage to divorce in 2016 was 12.0 years,a small decrease from 12.1 years re-ported in 2015.

rent statistics regarding divorce in Aus-tralia, and the increased wealth of Aus-tralians. The Australian Bureau of Statistics pub-lished the following observations whichhighlight some stark, yet perhaps unsur-prising, figures:

Although all are hopeful that the federalreview will provide a comprehensive setof recommendations to reform the leg-islative framework, for those that have animmediate reliance on the family lawsystem, there are still plenty of viable op-tions to help you navigate a legal solutionthat is time effective, cost effective andless stressful than litigation.

Alternative dispute resolution can be auseful way of engaging in settlement ne-gotiations at your own pace, on your ownterms and outside of the stress of court-room pressures. You can engage in alter-native dispute resolution any of thefollowing ways:

1. Negotiation – this can occur simplyby correspondence, or by way of an in-formal meeting;2. Round Table Conferences – this in-volves an informal settlement confer-ence between the parties, with theirlawyers present, however without anexpert mediator.3. Mediations – these occur by way ofa formal conference chaired by a pro-fessional mediator who facilitates andguides the negotiation.4. Conciliation conference – if you havealready filed property settlement pro-ceedings in Court, you will be requiredto attend Court appointed mediation,which is usually led by a Registrar ofthe Court.

Regardless, the federal review com-menced on October 1 and will report byMarch 31 2019.

According to the latest economic statistics, Malta is exceeding all expectations to the ex-tent that the EU Commission has acknowledged this growth after reports that it has reg-istered a growth of 7.2% Malta the highest rate of growth throughout the whole of the

Eurozone. This rate of growth was achieved within the first three quarters of the year.

As is the norm on Republic Day (De-cember 13) of each year, on behalf of

the Government and people of Malta, thePresident of Malta, pays public tribute to anumber of Maltese citizens who distin-guished themselves in different fields of en-deavour.

This is done by appointing them to TheNational Order of Merit or the Xirka Ġieħir-Repubblika, or by awarding them the Mi-dalja għall-Qlubija or the Midalja għall-Qadi tar-Repubblika.

Nationals from other countries were alsoconferred with honorary membership of theOrder or of the Xirka or awarded the Mi-dalja għall-Qadi tar-Repubblika on an hon-

orary basis.This year’s investiture ceremony that once

again took place at The Palace in Vallettaimmediately following the customary cere-monial parade held at the Palace Square.During the ceremony, 17 members were ap-

pointed to The National Order of Merit.Three of them received the award on an hon-orary basis while another was awardedposthumously. One individual was awardedthe Midalja għall-Qlubija posthumously. Tenother individuals were awarded the Midaljagħall-Qadi tar-Repubblika, two of whichwere awarded the medal posthumously.

EU Council president Donald Tusk andformer Labour Party ministers Louis Grechand George Vella were elevated to Com-panions of the National Order of Merit afterhaving been awarded the Gieħ ir-Repubb-lika award. Tusk was awarded the medal“for strengthening relations between Maltaand the European Union.Former Labour ministers Leo Brincat and

Joe Debono Grech and former Nationalistminister Louis Galea were made officers ofthe Order of Merit.The Honorary consul in Bulgaria Borislav

Tzetkov Boyanov was awarded the title ofHonorary Officer for strengthening bilateralrelations, alongside Jubran Taweel, a formerPalestinian ambassador to Malta.

Author Francis Ebejer was awarded theNational Order of Merit posthumously).Other posthumous awards were conferredon Lorenzo Attard (noted for his time in theSecond World War who got the Medal forService to the Republic, Joe Attard (formerZejtun Mayor), and Susan Mulvaney(broadcaster).


Roundup of News About Malta

EU Council President Tusk among Republic Day honours awardees

16-year-olds to be given right to vote in General Election

P 9689 1455 I E [email protected] www.julieowens.com.au I f www.facebook.com/julie.owens.mpAuthorised by J Owens, 1/24 Smith Street Parramatta

This is apaid advert

In 2019, for the first time, 16-year-olds will be al-lowed to vote in the European Parliament election in2019, and afterwards they would also be given the

right to vote in the next general elections.Prime Minister Dr Joseph Muscat made the announce-

ment while visiting a post secondary school in Naxxar.He said there is a popular mandate for the vote at 16. the

decision will be discussed shortly in the Cabinet, andafter that, in March the relevant law will be discussed inParliament leading to the inclusion of 8000 new votersaged 16 to the electoral register.Dr Muscat said that with this reform, Malta will be thesecond country, after Austria, which will give this rightto 16-year old youths.

Addressing a media conference, the Min-ister for the Economy and Investment DrChris Cardona (pictured right) said Malta’seconomy is exceeding all expectations, evenEU predictions by 1.6% with an increase inits Domestic Product Growth achieving7.2%, the highest in the Eurozone.He said that economic prospects are posi-

tive and according to the latest researchesby the EU Commission up to the end of lastmonth Maltese families and businesses hadexpressed the greatest level of optimism.

He said that local consumption whichcontributes to economic growth is one ofthe main factors monitored by the Com-mission together with the interest thecountry generates by having a good repu-tation in sectors like the financial andgaming sectors but also in the administra-tive, retail and construction sectors.

Dr Cardona said the financial sector hasincreased by €47 million while the manu-facturing sector has increased its share in

the economy by 8.2%, which is the highest abovethe EU average.

Malta has the highest rate of growth in the Eurozone

Ramla Bay (ir-Ramla l-Ħamra) inGozo has been named by Traveland Leisure Magazine, USA, as one

of the World’s seven Most Beautiful RedSand beaches. The Malta Tourism Author-ity expressed its satisfaction at this mention,particularly since it occurred in such a pres-tigious and influential travel publication.

This is the latest exposure for the MalteseIslands in the American market, follows oth-ers in Conde Nast Traveler Magazine, the NewYork Times, AOL, Bridal Guide, JustLuxe,New York Post, Bon Traveler, as well as nom-inations for the TRAVVY awards and theTravelers’ Choice Awards Destination.

The other beaches that made the list areKaihalulu Beach in Hawaii, CavendishBeach in Canada, Porto Covo Beach in Por-tugal, Kokkini Beach in Greece, PortoFerro in Italy and Rabida Island in Ecuador.Travel and Leisure Magazine mentions that

Ramla Bay’s beachfront is coloured a burnt,orange-red – a particularly striking tone setagainst the electric blue sea. Because it's nes-tled at the bottom of a valley, it is also a sanc-tuary for wildlife and vegetation”. The MTA CEO, Mr. Paul Bugeja, said “for

Gozo’s Ramla Bay to be included in a list

of such outstanding beach locations is agreat testament to the beauty of our naturalresources, and it should encourage all tocontinue to look after these natural treas-ures which our islands boast of.”

Since the last issue of the magazine inwhich in a later edition we reported the

arrest by the police of 10 men in a stingoperation that centred around the “potatoshed” on the Marsa waterfront whichseems to have been the main hideout foran organised crime gang, three men, allMaltese, have been arraigned in court tobe charged with the murder by a car bombon October 16 of the blogger/journalist,Daphne Caruana Galizia.The three, two of them brothers, 55-year-

old George DeGiorgio, his youngerbrother, Alfred, 33 years, and VincentMuscat, 55, were brought to Court lastThursday morning for an evidence-com-pilation hearing, which is the Maltese ju-dicial procedure used to determine if thereis enough evidence to try a case after thesuspects have been arraigned. However, Donatella Frendo Dimech, the

magistrate set to hear the preliminary caseagainst the three men, recused herselffrom the case after defence lawyers in-sisted that because she went to school withthe victim’s sister in the 1980s and sent hera condolence message after the journalistwas killed, she might be biased against theperpetrators.She explained her decision saying, “After

all due considerations, the issue at hand isthe appearance of prejudice,” adding that,“The decision of recusal must be taken onthe basis that there is an objective reasonto call into question impartiality, or ap-pearance thereof.”

She then asked for the case to be reas-signed to another judge. Later in the date,Magistrate Charmaine Galea was ap-pointed to the case and Monday December18 was set as the date for the continuationof the compilation of evidence.


Roundup of News About MaltaMalta at the UN to Commemorate50th anniversary of Law of the Sea

DCG Murder:Start ofcompilation of evidence

Ramla Bay named as one of World’s Most Beautiful Red Sand Beaches

Precision Group of Companieswould like to extend their best

wishes for a Holy Christmas andthe very best for year 2018 to theMaltese community in Australia

Shaun BonettCEO & Managing Director

According to Eurostat, a Directorate-General of the European Commis-

sion, in the three months between July andSeptember this year Malta, along withCroatia, registered the second highest rateof job increases among European Unioncountries, Their increase in the rate of em-ployment was 1.1%

The highest increase was Estonia’s witha rate of 1.3%. The average employmentincrease across European Union countries

was 0.4%.Eurostat figures also show that during

October, compared to the previous monthMalta registered the biggest drop in indus-trial production. The registered drop was6.1%. When compared with October ofthe previous year, the reduction was 1.4%,which is the second highest rate in EUcountries.

Minister for Foreign Affairs andTrade Promotion Carmelo Abelainaugurated a symposium enti-

tled ‘Perspectives on Global Ocean Gov-ernance: Where do we stand and where dowe go from here?’

The symposium, organised by the Min-istry for Foreign Affairs and Trade Promo-tion in collaboration with Malta’sInternational Maritime Law Institute(IMLI), serves to commemorate Malta’ssignificant contribution at the United Na-tions on the International Law of the Seaand to launch a debate on the future of

global ocean governance. It was exactly 50 years ago since Dr. Arvid

Pardo, Malta’s first Permanent Representa-tive to the United Nations, introduced theconcept of the seas and oceans as the “com-mon heritage of mankind”. This concepteventually turned into a doctrine that ulti-mately led to a fifteen-year process leadingup to the United Nations Convention on theLaw of the Sea (UNCLOS).A number of prominent professionals, in-cluding foreign dignitaries, academics andNGO representatives in the field of oceangovernance were present.

increase in EUSecond highest employment


Taqra ċerti gazzetti, tisma’ xi aħbar-ijiet, flimkien ma’ kummenti li jid-hru fil-ġurnali online, tibda titħas-

seb sew dwar is-sitwazzjoni tal-popluMalti. ... jtuk l-idea li f’Malta ħafna niesnkwetati b’li qed jiġri madwarhom.Ma tistax jgħid li ma titħassibx b’ċerti ġra-

jjiet li qed iseħħu madwarna u kultant ankebil-kritika xejn sabiħa u bla bażi minn barral-pajjiż, Iżda jidher li minkejja dan it-tħas-sib, il-poplu xorta hu ottomist u jħares ‘ilquddiem b’fiduċja u ottomiżmu.Infatti l-aġenzija tal-Unjoni Ewropea, l-

Eurofound, għadha kemm ippubblikat l-ewwel riżultati ta’ stħarriġ li għamletfl-2016 madwar il-pajjiżi kollha tal-UE.L-istħarriġ wera li l-Maltin huma t-tieninazzjon, wara l-Lussemburgu, fejn jidħolsodisfazzjon dwar l-istat tal-ekonomija. Ġie kkonfermat li 72% tal-Maltin huma

ottimisti dwar il-futur tagħhom, u li 77%huma ottimisti dwar il-futur ta’ wliedhom.Il-Maltin huma l-inqas nies fl-UE li humainkwetati li jitilfu l-impjieg, b’5% biss je-sirimu dan l-inkwiet. Sa ħames snin ilu l-ammont ta’ persuni inkwetati dwarl-impjieg tagħhom kien id-doppju ta’ dakbħalissa.L-istħarriġ tal-Eurofound jindika li f’pa-

jjiżna hawn l-ogħla livell ta’ sodisfazzjonfejn jidħol is-servizz taċ-childcare, kifukoll is-servizzi għall-kura tal-anzjani.Ġie nnutat titjib kbir fil-kwalità ta’servizzi pubbliċi f’pajjiżna, fosthom fis-sistema tas-saħħa, tat-trasport pubbliku, ul-housing soċjali. B’riżultat ta’ dan it-titjib, is-sodisfazzjon

fir-rigward tas-servizzi pubbliċi f’Maltahuwa r-raba’ l-ogħla fl-UE.Interessanti wkoll il-fatt li skont l-istħar-

riġ, minkejja d-diffikultajiet u l-problemili kellu jiffaċja, il-Gvern Malti huwa r-raba’ l-aktar fdat madwar l-Ewropa,b’żieda qawwija fil-livell ta’ fiduċja fl-aħħar ħames snin.

Il-Maltinottimisti

Ninsabu fil-festi tal-Milied u l-Ewwel tas-sena, jiem fejn il-partil-kbira tal-poplu jistenna bil-ħerqa

għax huma jiem fejn il-festi ma jkunuxikkonċentrati f’xi belt jew raħal, immamifruxa ma’ Malta u Għawdex kollu.Fejn jispikkaw it-toroq u l-pjazez imże-jnin, u t-tiżjijin li jidħol fil-parti l-kbiratad-djar fejn il-presepju jikkompeti mas-siġra tal-Milied. Huma jiem meta nfakkruavveniment importanti għat-twemmintagħna, it-twelid ta’ Ġesu Bambin.Il-presepju Malti jibqa’ fuq quddiem fost

din it-tifkira u f’dawn l-aħħar sentejn id-drawwa tagħna ħadniha wkoll barra minnxtutna, u wara li s-sena l-oħra bnejna l-Presepju Malti fil-pjazza tal-Vatikan, dinid-darba ħadnih fl-Art Imqaddsa, Betlemmhux bogħod minn fejn reġa’ hemm ink-wiet serju bejn il-Palestinjani u l-Lhudwara d-deċiżjoni li ħafna jqisuha bla senstal-President Amerikan li jiddikjara lilĠerusalemm bħala l-kapitali tal-Iżrael.

Il-presepju li se jkun għall-wiri sal-20ta’ Jannar, ġie inawgurat mill-MinistruOwen Bonnici s-Sibt wara quddiesa liċċelebra l-Arċisqof Emeritu Pawlu Cre-mona fil-knisja ta’ Santa Katerina, f’-Betlem. Il-wirja qed issir fuq inizjattiva

tal-Ministeru tal-Kultura. Hekk Maltaqed iżżid tesporta t-talent kulturali Maltibarra mix-xtut Maltin.

Il-presepju fih 17-il figura magħmulaminn Manwel Grech li bena l-presepju.Did-darba kellu jċekknu minħabba li l-pjazza hi pjuttost żgħira mqabbla ma’ diktal-Vatikan. Qal li hu pjuttost sinifikantili l-presepju Malti jinsab f’Betlem, il-beltfejn seħħet il-ġrajja tat-twelid.

Il-presepju Malti f’Betlem

Filwaqt li dawk kollha li kellhom jar-maw prespeju fid-dar ilhom li għamlu

dan, u meta ilhom il-ġimgħat li bdewjixxandru avviżi fejn wieħed jista’ jmurjara u jammira presepji li jkunu għall-wirimadwar Malta, fi kważi kull belt u raħal,hemm minn diġa` beda jaħseb x’sejagħmel għall-Milied tas-sena 2018.

Fost dawn hemm l-Għaqda Ħbieb tal-Presepju li għadha kif ħabbret li f’No-vembru 2018, gġall-ewwel darba, Maltase tospita’ l-ewwel Konvenju ta’ Ħbiebtal-Presepju Ewropej.

Għal dan il-Konvenju mistennija jat-tendu madwar 200 dilettant tal-presepjiminn pajjiżi u kulturi differenti fosthomSqallija, l-Olanda u l-Isvizzera.L-għaqda tal-Ħbieb tal-Presepji għandna

l-għan li taħdem, biex fost kollox, il-pre-sepju jsib postu f’kull dar Maltija fil-Mi-lied, li tlaqqa’ flimkien u tkabbaril-ħbiberija fost id-dilettanti tal-presepjukif ukoll li tħeġġeġ kittieba u artisti Maltinbiex jinkludu l-presepju u/jew il-Miliedfix-xogħol tagħhom billi jagħtu pubbliċitàxierqa lil dawn ix-xogħlijiet.

Fl-2018 Konvenju ta’!bieb tal-Presepju Ewropej f’Malta

L-inawgurazzjoni tal-presepju Malti f’-Betlem, bl-artist Manwel Grech jieħub’idejn il-Ministru Bonniċi. Jidher ukolll-Arċisqof Emeritu Pawlu Cremona

Saret tradizzjoni mal-festital-Milied jiġi l-ġbir ta’ flus

mingħand il-poplu Malti uGħawdxi għal diversi għanjiet. L-akbar ġabra dejjem tkun dik favuril-Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation fis-26 ta’ Diċembru.

Iżda fl-istess żmienijiet isir ukoll ġbir mill-partiti politiiċi uattwalment il-partiti ewlenin, dak Laburist u dak Nazzjonalistagħamlu l-ġbir ta’ fondi fl-istess jum u ħin.

It-tnejn i rnexxielhom jiġbru aktar minn nofs miljun Euro, bil-Partit Laburista jiġbor €611,497, u dak Nazzjonalista €620,319.

Kien ġbir rekord għaż-żewġ partiti, li jfisser li l-poplu li ħafnaqed jgħidu li tilef il-fiduċja fil-politika, kien lest li jagħti aktarminn €1miljun lill-partiti.

Kien hemm min ipprova jinterpreta l-għotjiet f’termini politiċiu jgħid li l-għotjiet jirriflettu s-saħħa tal-partiti.

Hemm dubju serju kemm il-ġbir jista’ jiġi msarraf fl-għadd ta’nies li jappoġjawk għax jiddependi jekk l-għotjiet ikunux żgħar,minn numru kbir ta’ nies, jew kbar, minn ftit nies.


F’ wieħed mill-artikli tiegħi danl-aħħar semmejt kif l-Isqoft’Għawdex kien ikkummenta

dwar il-kritika tal-Papa lejn dawk liwaqt il-funzjonijiet reliġjużi jurunuqqas ta’ rispett u etika meta jużawil-mobile.

Issa fil-gazetta Maltija “The inde-pendent” tfaċċa ritratt (lemin) meħudminn qarrej tal-istess ġurnal, tal-Ar-ċisqof Mons Charles Scicluna jurihjuża’ l-mobile waqt funzjoni fil-Bażi-lka ta’ Sant’Elena f’Birkirkara metakienet qed issir il-funzjoni tal-ħatratal-Propostu l-ġdid ta’ din il-Bażilka.Mar-ritratt dan il-qarrej ikkummenta

dwar il-fatt li l-Papa, waqt waħda mill-funzjonijiet tiegħu fil-Pjazza tal-Vati-kan, kien ħadha kontra dawk li jużawil-mobile, saħansitra anke biex jiġbduritratti, waqt funzjonijiet reliġjużi. L-ist-ess qarrej insista li l-Arċisqof kien mistennili jagħti eżempju tajjeb.Dan ir-ritratt u l-kummenti wasslu biex kel-

liemi tal-Kurja jsostni li l-Arċisqof kien qedjuża l-mobile biex jgħid it-talbiet ta’ filgħaxijatal-Brevarju. L-istess kelliemi kompla (u nġibil-kliem eżatt bl-Ingliż kif deher fil-ġurnal)

“Pope Francis was speaking about peo-ple, priests and bishops included, takingphotos of him during Mass, coincidentallyas your reader did to take the photo of theArchbishop before Mass.”

Fil-fehma tiegħi l-fatt li l-Arċisqof kienqed jaqra l-Brevarju fuq l-artal waqt fun-zjoni reliġjuża ma tantx tibdel is-sitwaz-zjoni. Fuq kollox min kien qed jara dinix-xena ma kienx jaf x’kien qed jaqra l-Arċisqof, imma, bħall-qarrej li bagħat ir-ri-tratt, kien qed jara lil dan juża’ l-mobile.

Jekk se nieħdu din il-linja, nistgħu nis-piċċaw biex waqt il-quddiesa u l-funzjoni-jiet reliġjużi tidħol l-użanza li n-niesjispiċċaw bil-mobile f’idejhom bl-iskuża liqed jaqraw xi talb... veru li wħud jistgħujkunu qed jagħmlu dan, iżda oħrajn ma jku-nux. U anke jekk ikunu jaqraw it-talb ma

naħsibx li dan hu xieraq, għax min iridjisma’ l-quddiesa u jara t-talb, illum fil-Kne-jjes kollha hemm sistemi elettroniċi biexwieħed jimxi ma’ dak li jkun qed jingħad.

Inħoss li l-aħħar parti ta’ dak li qal il-kel-liem tal-Kurja ma jagħmilx sens, għax jekkil-Papa kkritika lildawk li jkunu fil-kongregazzjoni lijużaw il-mobile,ma naħsibx li seikun kuntent jekkxi ħadd li jkunpropju qed jmexxil-funzjoni jew jie-ħu parti diretta fil-funzjoni juża’ l-mobile.

Irrid ngħid b’dis-pjaċir li dik li wie-ħed juża’ l-mobilewaqt funzjonijietreliġjużi jew mhu-miex, naraha nuq-qas ta’ etika urispett lejn il-postfejn qiegħed.

L-Ar"isqof u l-Mobile

Shops 3 & 4, 398 Hamilton RoadFAIRFIELD WEST NSW

PO Box W210, Fairfield West, NSW, 2165P (02) 9604 0710 F (02) 9609 3873 E [email protected]

This is a paid advert

Merry Christmas!

FEDERAL MEMBER FOR MCMAHON

Ferm bogħod mill-valur reliġjuż, dawniż-żmienijiet huma wkoll magħrifagħall-kummerċ li jiġi ġġenerat minn

kull kważi kull negozju. Huma ħafna dawkli minkejja li jkunu qed jagħmlu xi dieta,minħabba raħunijiet mediċi jew kosmetiċi,jiġuhom tentazzjonijiet kbar biex għal mu-ment iwaqqfu din id-dieta u huma ħafna lijaqgħu għax jgħidulek, li wara kollox dawnil-festi jiġu darba fis-sena.Ħalliha li fejn għandhom x’jaqsmu l-mot-

tivi mediċi, l-aktar dawk li jbatu mid-dieabeta, it-tobba jgħidulhom li d-dijabetem’għandiex festi.

Hu fatt li l-ħwienet tar-rigali u r-ristoran-tiżidu ikunu fl-aqwa tagħhom mhux bissbil-klijentela tagħhom, u ħafna drabi jap-profittaw ruħhom u wkoll iżidu l-prezzijiet.

Hu wkoll żmien meta l-infieq jiżdiedsewwa tant li jkun hemm min imur ‘ilbogħod minn dak li jiflaħ b’konsegwenzixejn sbieħ.Minħabba dan in-nuqqas ta’ ħsieb fl-infieq

tal-flus l-Awtoritajiet ħassew il-ħtieġa lijagħmlu kampanja qawwija ta’ edukazzjonital-poplu. Kulħadd qed jiġi mħeġġeġ biexjekk irid jonfoq għandu jagħmel dan b’re-sponsabbilta’.

Beda l-ġbir

Onfoq b’responsabbilta`

Final result from the Queensland

State Election 2017As expected, Labor Party obtained the

majority to win the November 25Queensland State Election. Labor won 48seats from a total of 93 The Liberal Na-tional Party won 39 seats, Katter Aus-tralian Party 3 seats, and Pauline HensonOn Nation Party, the Greens and Others,one each.

After five years of inquiry into the in-stitutional responses to child sexualabuse and cover-ups over decades,

the Australian royal commission has pub-lished its final report and made 189 newrecommendations.

The report was compiled after hearing evi-dence from almost 8,000 witnesses in privatesessions, and 1,344 written accounts it re-ceived after 444 days of public hearings.Among its recommendations it says that the

federal government should establish a Na-tional Office for Child Safety, sitting within thedepartment of Prime Minister and cabinet. Itsfirst job should be to develop a national frame-work to prevent child sexual abuse. The fed-eral government should also create a portfoliooverseeing policy towards childrenIt adds that all institutions should implement

a list of child safe standards identified by theroyal commission, to be enforced by federal,state and territory governments, and that Parishpriests should no longer be the employers ofprincipals and teachers in Catholic schools.

Other recommendations include that thereshould be no exemption to mandatory report-ing for child sexual abuse disclosed during areligious confessionThat the Australian Catholic bishops confer-

ence should request the Holy See to amend aseries of church laws relating to child sexualabuse, including removing the requirement todestroy documents under certain circum-stances, and to consider introducing volun-tary celibacy for diocesan clergy

That Anglican bishops should be account-able to an appropriate body in relation to theirresponse to complaints of child sexual abuseFederal, state and territory governmentsshould make laws to protect people who re-port child sexual abuse in good faithThat institutions that engage in child-related

work should retain records relating to childsexual abuse for at least 45 years

That the government should conduct andpublish regular surveys on the extent of mal-treatment of children in institutional and non-institutional contexts

That the federal government should estab-lish and fund a legal advice and referral serv-ice for victims and survivors of institutionalchild sexual abuse.

The evidence relating to 3,489 institutionsshowed that most survivors (63.6%) weremale; 93.8% were abused by a male; 83.8%of survivors said an adult abused them.

More than half of survivors were between10-14 when tfirst abused. The average age ofvictims when first abused was 10.4 years.Abuse took place mostl in an institution man-

aged by a religious organisation (reported by58.1% of survivors). Government-run institu-tions accounted for 32.5% and non-govern-ment, non-religious institutions for 10.5%.

Of those abused in a religious institution,61.4% were in a Catholic institution, 14.8%Anglican, 7.2% Salvation Army and the restin various denominations As a proportion of all survivors, 35.7% were

in a Catholic institution and 8.6% in an An-glican institution.

The most common occupations of thoseidentified as perpetrators were a person in re-ligious ministry (31.8%), teacher (20.4%),residential care worker (13.5%) and fostercarer (11.3%).More than one in five (21%) said they were

sexually abused in more than one institution.Leaders of the Catholic church in Australia

quickly dismissed calls that the Vaticanshould make celibacy for priests voluntaryand end the secrecy of confession.

In their reaction, Melbourne archbishopDenis Hart and Sydney archbishop AnthonyFisher rejected a recommendation that thereshould be no exemption to mandatory report-ing for child sexual abuse disclosed during areligious confessionHart said the sacredness of communication

with God during confession should beabove the law.


While visiting MaltaWhile visiting MaltaStay at: Stay at:

The Diplomat Hotel, The Diplomat Hotel, 173 Tower Road Sliema173 Tower Road Sliema

Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Tel: (00356) 23497000Tel: (00356) 23497000

A children’s book for ShaunShaun Micallef (above) the writer, come-

dian, producer and actor father of threeboys and husband of Leandra has just pub-lished a children’s book Tales from a TallForest billed as “more grim than Grimms,less soppy that Aesop”.

Shaun the eldest of four children of Fredwho migrated to Australian from Malta atage 15 and local girl Judy is back at the helmof Talking ‘Bout your Generation’ which isset to air on Channel 9 next year.

He previously hosted it for four years onChannel 10. After ten years practising lawShaun turned to acting and is one of the lead-ing presenters on TV with World AroundHim, The Micallef Program and a real vari-ety show Micallef Tonight.

Royal commission into institutionalresponses to child sexual abuse

Same-sex marriage will be legal inAustralia, with Parliament agreeingto change the Marriage Act and end

the ban on gay and lesbian couples marry-ing. Four members of the House of Rep-resentatives voted against the bill andsome abstained, but an overwhelming ma-jority voted for the bill.

Liberal senator Dean Smith's bill willnow become law after a day of cheers,tears and applause in the Lower House.People queued for access to the publicgallery to witness the law being changedand by the time of the final vote, they werepacked into every spot.

Same-sex marriage supporters wearingcolourful "Yes" T-shirts clapped andcheered as amendments were voted down,prompting repeated warnings they shouldstop their barracking. The public galleryled a chorus of We Are Australian after thefinal vote, with members of the parliamentjoining in from the floor of the House intears.

There had beenlittle doubt that thisbill would passwith sweeping sup-port from Nation-als, Liberals, Gre-ens, the crossbenchand Labor.

Opponents ofsame-sex marriage including Liberals An-drew Hastie, Kevin Andrews and TonyAbbott pushed for changes, but none oftheir amendments succeeded.

The legislation passed the Lower Housethree weeks after Senator Smith stood inthe Senate and declared "it was not just avote about a law but a vote about who weare as a people".

Prime Minister MalcolmTurnbull said after the votethat he was "so proud thatthis has occurred while Iam Prime Minister whilethe Liberal and National

parties are in Government". "It is a greatmoment in our history, a great moment inour political history."

The House of Representatives has over-turned the change made by the Howardgovernment in 2004 to limit marriage tobeing between a man and a woman. The deision was most welcomed.

Some 200 pages of welfarechanges have been delayed

by several months after hittinga snag in the Senate on the finalparliamentary sitting day of theyear, SBS News reports.A grab bag of welfare changes

has been set back severalmonths after hitting a hurdle inthe Senate, despite controver-sial drug tests being put onhold.Social Services Minister Christian Porter (pictured above)

hoped to push 200 pages worth of welfare measures throughparliament on the last days, but they were snagged in theupper house and will have to wait until next year. Severaltime-sensitive aspects, including scrapping some payments,have been kicked down the road.

“I would have liked to see it get through,” Mr Porter con-ceded to reporters in Sydney. “But all indications are the wel-fare reform bill will have a majority of votes and we will getit through as soon as we resume in February next year.”

Labor and the Greens are fierce critics of most of thechanges, but Mr Porter is confident he has the crucial back-ing of the Senate cross bench.“The only part of the bill we've been having difficulty with

is the drug testing trial, which is designed to use the welfaresystem to compel people into treatment and break down bar-riers to employment,” Mr Porter said.

His widely-panned plans to drug test 5000 unemployedwelfare recipients from January next year were shelved afterthe Senate shot down the idea. Anyone who tested positivewould have been shunted onto cashless welfare cards, whilethose who failed more than once would be referred to med-ical professionals for treatment.Mr Porter will try again to win over the cross bench during

the long summer break, believing the proposed trials in NSW,Queensland and Western Australia are still within reach



Controversial welfarechanges delayed until the new year

Christian Porter

Australia approvessame sex marriage

Emotional Australian lawmakers’ reaction to the new law


Wasal il-Milied u miegħu tasal b’mod qawwi ħafna l-mużika tal-Milied; dik li takkumpanja lill-knejjes tagħnaf’dawn il-jiem sbieħ tas-sena; il-mużika tal-Milied li tin-

stema’ b’mod grandjuż f’xi pjazez, waqt kunċerti, fuq ir-radjijiet uteleviżjonijiet, u anke f’ħafna mill-istabbilimenti kummerċjalitagħna.Il-mużika tal-Milied tassew tferraħ il-qlub tal-bnedmin u tor-

botna ma’ dawn il-jiem sbieħ tas-sena u tfakkarna fit-twelid ta’Ġesù Bambin.Naturalment, it-twelid iġib il-ferħ u l-ferħ huwa marbut maċ-ċel-

ebrazzjonijiet. U dan il-ferħ tal-Milied jintrabat sewwa mal-għan-jiet tal-Milied li fil-biċċa ‘l kbira jfakkru fit-twelid ta’ Ġesù f’għarfqajjar f’Betlem bil-Madonna u San Ġużepp, baqra u ħmara,flimkien ma’ xi ftit rgħajja jġorru n-nagħaġ tagħhom. Dan u xenarju mill-isbaħ li ħafna mid-dilettanti Maltin tal-pre-

sepji jissieltu sa minn xhur qabel biex għal dawn il-jiem iwasslub’mod viżiv l-istorja tat-twelid ta’ Ġesù Bambin. Mhux hekk biss,imma s-sena li għaddiet fil-Vatikan, u dis-sena f’Betlem, il-Maltin sa wasslu, u qed iwasslu dawn it-tifkiiet tal-presepju barraminn xtutna.Bla dubju li fost l-aktar għanjiet Maltin popolari hemm ‘Il-Ben-

niena ta’ Ġesù Bambin’ li takkumpanja d-diversi okkażjonijiet lijsiru f’dawn il-jiem. Dak hu l-isem ta din l-għanja tal-Milied.Imma wieħed josserva li fil-fatt din l-għanja hi aktar magħrufa bl-ewwel vers tagħha, ‘Ninni, La Tibkix Iżjed’ milli bl-isem oriġi-nali tagħh. ‘Ninni, La Tibkix Iżjed’ hi dik l-għanja li twassal fik xenarju ta’

Milied Malti fl-imgħoddi. Hija meqjusa ħafna wkoll bħala taħn-ina (lullaby), Ninni, l-għanja tal-benniena jew aħjar l-għanja li l-omm tlissen minn taħt l-ilsien lit-tarbija tagħha ħalli torqod ħeluħelu bħal ‘Ġesù Bambin’.Patri Indrì SchembriDin l-għanja nkitbet mill-patri Ġiżwita Indrì Schembri minn Ħal

Luqa. Patri Indri` twieled fl-1 ta’ Settembru tal-1805 u miet fl-eta`ta’ 67 sena fis-26 ta’ Settembru tal-1872. Interessanti wieħedifakkar li l-Patri kiteb din l-għanja fl-Algiers għall-Maltin li kienujgħixi fl-Alġerija tmien snin qabel mewtu, fl-1864.Huma ħafna x-xogħlijiet mużikali u mill-aktar magħrufa li

nkitbu mill-kompożituri meta dawn kienu ’l bogħod minn arttwelidhom. Pereżempju t-Taljan Francesco Paolo Tosti kkomponaħafna mill-isbaħ għanjiet Taljani (u anke Naplitani) tiegħu metakien jgħix l-Ingilterra. Miegħu hemm ħafna oħrajn. Dan Patri Indrì kien intelliġenti ferm u meta kien jieħu ħsieb il-

Maltin li kienu jgħixu fl-Alġerija (għax f’dawk iż-żminijiet il-Maltin kienu jemigraw għax-xogħol lejn l-Afrika ta’ Fuq) kienjiktbilhom poeżiji u innijiet biex għalkemm bogħod minn arttwelidhom kienu jħossuhom li għadhom Maltin. Fil-fatt, l-għanja

‘Ninni, La Tibkix Iżjed’ hija frott din il-ħidma siewja ta’ dan il-Patri li studja Ruma u kien ukoll wieħed mill-għalliema tal-Ġiżwiti meta dawn kellhom l-iskola fl-Imdina. San Ġorġ PrecaImportanti wkoll wieħed isemmi lil Dun Ġorġ - illum San Ġorġ

Preca - il-Fundatur tas-Soċjetà tal-Mużew - li kien introduċa dinl-għanja ħelwa tal-Milied f’pajjiżna kważi mal-bidu tas-Soċjetàfl-1907. Anzi, Dun Ġorġ tant xtaqha din l-għanja u tant ried jgħal-limha lit-tfal u lill-poplu Malti li saħansitra fil-posta tar-Rużarjutal-Ferħ (fejn nimmeditaw dwar it-twelid ta’ Ġesù Bambin) kienxtaq li titkanta. Għalhekk illum jiddispjaċini meta nara anke xi membri tas-Soċ-

jetà tal-Mużew jinfatmu xi ftit minn din l-għanja ħelwa Maltija uflokha jintroduċu xi għanjiet oħra tal-Milied importati lejn pa-jjiżna. Darba ġbidt l-attenzjoni dwar dan lil soċju tal-Mużew u t-tweġiba tiegħu kienet “biex aħna naġġornaw !!!”. Fil-fehma tiegħi, is-Soċjetà tal-Mużew għandha sehem impor-

tanti x’tilgħab ħalli żżomm ħajja dawn l-għanjiet sbieħ Maltin tal-Milied. Qed ngħid ‘għanjiet’ u mhux ‘għanja’ għax għall-fatt lif’pajjiżna għandna ħafna oħrajn tal-Milied, fosthom uħud bl-In-gliż li għamilniehom tagħna. Minħabba l-versi sbieħ tagħhombħal donnu tajniehom libsa Maltija.Għanjiet tal-Milied bħal ‘Ninġabru Insara’, ‘F’Lejl ta’ Xitwa’,

‘Qed Jinfirex mal-Widien’, O lejl ta’ Skiet, ‘O Ġesù Ħelwa Tar-bija’ u oħrajn donnhom li saru Maltin minħabba l-vrus sbieħtagħhom bil-Malti. Allua hawnhekk ma nistax ma nagħtix ukollħajr lill-poeta Dun Frans Camilleri li ħadem ħafna biex sawwarb’Malti mill-isbaħ lil xi għanjiet barranin tal-Milied, u anke lilDun Karm Farrugia ta’ Ħal-Għargħur li wkoll ta krontibut siewilil dawn l-għanjiet barranin tal-Milied b’versi Maltin.Meta kont żgħir u għadni ngħix Ħaż-Żebbuġ, fil-kor tat-tfal tal-

Mużew li kien jieħu ħsiebna Nikol bil-vjolin, akkumpanjat bl-ac-cordion minn Nikol Balzan, kienu jgħallmuna għanjiet tal-Miliedbil-Malti u xi waħda jew tnejn bil-Latin. Niftakar ukoll li kien hemm xi wħud minnhom (illum ngħid xi

waħda) li kont nismagħhom biss fil-Purċis-sjoni tal-Milied fl-istess raħal. Donnu likienet biss tar-raħal tagħna biss. Meta tkel-limt mas-Superjur Joseph Muscat (magħrufħafna għall-istorja marittima ta’ pajjiżna)kien qalli li anke r-Rabat hemm għanja lititkanta biss fir-Rabat u ma ssibha mkienaktar. Skont hu l-bidu tagħha kien, “Min jafkif waslet fit-taqsima tar-Rabat?”Nappella lir-riċerkaturi li jinteressahom

il-Milied Malti - li jfittxu u jagħrblusewwa dawn l-għanjiet li huma parti mill-għeruq tas-soċjetà u l-ħajja Maltija. Dawnl-għanjiet jagħtu stampa ħelwa tal-MiliedMalti l-aktar fl-imgħoddi, fi żmien dawnil-jiem sbieħ tas-sena, tal-Milied. Nawgura lill-qarrejja u lill-familji

tagħhom il-Milied it-tajjeb.

Il-Benniena ta’ $esu`Bambinu għanjiet oħra tal-Milied

PeterPaulCiantar

Kor fil-knisja tax-Xagħra ’Għawdexwaqt il-kant ta’ għanjiet tal-Milied


The Confectioner’s Daughter

When "uditta Vassallo inherits her father’s bakery afterhis death, she employs young Alfio Visconti, a Sicilian tohelp her out. From the very start of his employment Alfiowishes to turn the bakery into a confectionery, somethingthat does not eventuate in his lifetime. Left on her own,with a daughter to raise, "uditta manages to build herwealth through hard work and determination. The set-backs that come her way, rather than bringing her downstrengthen her.Frances, her granddaughter escapes the strictures of

family life and migrates to Sydney after she marries byproxy. Here she finds herself alone in a world of deceitand corruption. Rather than freeing her, migration bindsher even further. Just like her grandmother, Frances raisesherself above all this and becomes a successful woman. The Confectioner's Daughter is a novel that tells the

story of four generations of women.It is a story of love, lost innocence and struggle. It payshomage to Maltese women and celebrates their lives,their resilience and their courage. In his comments written after the National Book Awardnight, Mark Camilleri, head of the National Book Council(Malta) writes that, ‘Drofenik’s book will form an impor-tant part within the body of Maltese literature, a book

which reads justlike a film fromTornatore andwithout doubtcould be turnedinto an amazingmovie.’Lou Drofenik(Zammit) wasborn in Maltaand lives in Aus-tralia. Her novelsdeal with Maltesemigration andthe issues womenface when theyleave their cul-ture. Her novelshave won variousawards both in Malta and in Australia.Those who want more information regarding this novelcan email the author: [email protected]@hotmail.com or Hori-zons in Malta.

(Winner of the 2017 National Book Award (Malta) for the best novel written in Maltese or English which was published in 2016)

Publisher: Horizons

The author, Lou Drofenik

Rita Zammit OAMand

Paul ZammitFAICD wish all our

friends in the Australian-Maltese

community aMerry Christmas

2017 and a healthy,safe and

prosperous 2018

Ftit tal-jiem ilu l-iSkola tal Malti taNSW i##elebrat l-a$$ar jum tat-tag$lim tal-ilsien Malti g$all-2017

billi l-istudenti kollha flimkien ma xi%enituri tag$hom iltaqg$u lkoll fl-iskola ta’ Horsley Park $alli jg$addu

Il-Gradwazzjoni fl-iskola tal-Malti ta’ NSW


The Committee of the Maltese Welfare (NSW)on its 40th-anniversarywishes to extend to all

the Maltese community in Australia and

friends around theworld,

a Holy Christmas and the very best for

the New Year.

The Maltese Past Pupils and Friends The Maltese Past Pupils and Friends of Don Bosco "NSW# would like to extend of Don Bosco "NSW# would like to extend

the season!s best wishes to all their the season!s best wishes to all their members and benefactors.members and benefactors.

Thank you for your support during 2017Thank you for your support during 2017Mark Caruana (President)

“At th is special t ime of remembering the bir th of“At th is special t ime of remembering the bir th ofJesus, may His message br ing you and your fami lyJesus, may His message br ing you and your fami lyhope and joy at Chr istmas and into the New Year”hope and joy at Chr istmas and into the New Year”

ftit sig$at flimkien u jir#ievu #-#erti-fikati tal-gradwazzjoni..

Fil-ftu$ ta#-#erimonja l-Prin#ipal ta’l-iskola Mary Pace-Feraud tat mer$balis-Sur Emmanuel Camilleri, il-Presi-dent tal-Kunsill Malti ta NSW u lis-Sinjura tieg$u Therese li kienu l-mis-tednin spe#jali.

Il-programm segwa billi l-klassi ta!-!g$ar immexxijjaj mill-g$alliemaMaria DeCarlo tat pja#ir lill kul$addbil-poe!iji, taqbiliet u kant bil-Malti lippre!entaw. Il-bniet kienu lebsin il-kostum Malti u kienu akkumpanjatiminn s$abhom subien ta’ l-klassi.G$alliema o$ra tal-iskola, MartheseCaruana kienet pre!enti tifra$ lill-istu-denti tag$ha.Wara is-Sur Emmanuel Camilleri %ie

mistieden jippre!enta i#-#ertifikati lill-istudenti b’erbg$a minnhom ji%umog$tija #ertifikat fi studju avvanzattal-ilsienMalti. L-okka!joni ntemmet b’ri#eviment.

Sadanittant, il-Prin#ipal tal-iskolaxtaqet tav!a li min hu nteressat li jit-

g$allem il-lingwa kif ukoll il-kulturaMaltija, li-Enrollment Day se tkun is-Sibt filg$odu tat-3 ta Frar li %ej bejn id-9:30 u l-11:00 fil-Horsley Park PrimarySchool, The Horsley Drive kantunierama’ Wallgrove Road.

Dawk li jixtiequ Enrollment Form jewiktar tag$rif g$andhom jibag$tu [email protected]

Il-!ar"a li jmiss fid-9 ta’ JannarNgħarrfu lill-qarrejja li l-ħarġa li jmiss ta’ The Voiceof the Maltese, (Nru. 170) litkun l-ewwel waħda għall-2018 se tkun fid-9 ta Jannar.

Is-sensiela Tagħrif dwar il-kitbaMaltija f’The Voice of the Maltese

tissokta fil-ħarġa li jmiss

Tag!rif dwar il-kitba Maltija

Uħud mill-istudenti li ggradwaw mill-iskolatal-Malti ta’ NSW bil-kostum Malti

Nhar l-Erbgħa li għadda 13 ta’Diċembru l-ġens Malti fakkar it-43sena ta’ Malta Repubblika b’ħafna

mill-attivita` ikkonċentrata fil-kapitaliMaltija Valletta. Fil-jum ta’ qabel filgħaxijal-Prim Ministru Joseph Muscat kien poġġakuruna fuq il-Monument tar-Repubblikafil-Marsa.

Fil-jum proprja fil-belt Valletta saret iċ-ċerimonja ewlenija ta’ din il-festa nazzjon-ali fejn saret il-parata mill-qawwiet armati,ingħata s-salut lill-Prim Ministru JosephMuscat u lill-President Marie LouiseColeiro li min-naħa tagħha wkoll spezjonatil-gwardja tal-unur.

Wara, fil-Palazz saret iċ-ċerimonja tal-għoti tal-unuri ta’ Ġieħ ir-Repubblia (arapaġna 12) u l-President għamlet diskors im-portanti li ddedikat partijiet minnu dwar is-saltna tad-dritt, u ttrattat temi soċjalifosthom il-housing, id-droga, u anke l-pros-tituzzjoni. Tkellmet ukoll dwar l-aspiraz-zjonijiet u t-tħassib tal-ġenituri għaluliedhom, u l-biża’ li s-solidarjeta’ li dejjemwera l-poplu Malti titmermer u monfloktidħol kultura individwalista.

Il-President Marie-Louise Coleiro Precaqalet li bħas-snin l-imgħoddija, id-diskorstar-Repubblika kellu jirrifletti l-ħsibijiet, it-tħassib, il-weġgħat, kif ukoll il-ferħ u s-sodisfazzjon tagħna bħala Poplu. Żiedet tgħid: “Din ir-riflessjoni kritika,

hija mibnija fuq id-diskursati u l-esperjenzi

tagħkom ….. u nista’ nagħmilha,għax iltqajt ma’ eluf ta’ Maltin uGħawdxin.

Hija osservat li l-aħħar tnax-ilxahar kienu movimentati fosthombit-tkabbir ekonomiku, bl-inqasrata ta’ qgħad f’kull żmien u bil-kisbiet ta’ aktar drittijiet ċivili.Qalet li min-naħa l-oħra l-pajjiż if-faċċja l-qtil brutali tal-ġurnalistaDaphne Caruana Galizia, li fikliemha kexkex lil kulħadd.

Fl-istess waqt qalet lil l-iżviluppili seħħew fl-istħarriġ għandhomjagħtu bidu ta’ tama biex issir ġus-tizzja. Hija esrpimiet solidarjeta’mal-ġurnalisti u ħeġġithom jissok-taw ifittxu s-sewwa bi skruplu kbiru mingħajr għamad jew parzjalità.Dwar is-saltna tad-dritt hija qalet

li din hija b’saħħitha daqs kemmil-poplu jagħrafha, jemmen fiha u jsostniha,u li jekk bħala poplu nispiċċaw nemmnufid-dritt tas-saltna ikun diffiċli li din tis-saħħaħ u tieħu postha bħala l-elementewlieni f’demokrazija b’saħħitha.

Il-President ukoll appellat biex jibda l-proċess tat-tiġdid kostituzzjonali ħalli d-demokrazija tibqa’ tissaħħaħ b’istituzzjoni-,jiet li jiksbu l-fiduċja ta’ kulħadd. Innutat lil-aħħar elezzjoni ġenerali ġabet magħha rep-lika ta’ sitwazzjonijiet antiki fejn il-partiġ-janiżmu sfrenat reġa’ kien fl-aqwa tiegħu.

Hija saħqet kontra l-kultura li l-mezzi tal-komunikazzjoni socjali jservu biex jumil-jaw u jkasbru lil dawk b’fehmiet differenti.

Il-President qalet, “Ejjew ma nħallux l-għaqda nazzjonali tiġi ttraduta u mhedda ta’kuljum bl-użu ħażin tal-mezzi ta’ komu-nikazzjoni moderni, li qed jintużaw, sfortu-natament, biex jifirdu flok biex jedukaw,jinfurmaw u jħallu liċ-ċittadini, jirraġunawu jaġixxu ta’ ċittadini ħielsa u sovrana.”Appellat ukoll lill-poplu biex jibgħat mes-

saġġ ċar li mhux se jittollera atteġġjamentu kliem li jhedded id-demokrazija.

Meta semmiet id-droga, “li m’għandha l-ebda valur rikreattiv” faħħret il-forzi tal-ordni li taw sehemhom biex ifixklu l-ħidmatat-traffikanti; u entitajiet bħall-Caritas u s-Sedqa f’Malta u l-Oasi f’Għawdex, li jnisslut-tama f’min jinqabad fil-vizzju.Dwar il-prostituzzjoni l-President appellat

għal diskussjoni nazzjonali miftuħa ħallima jkunx issugrat li Malta jkollha kon-tradizzjonijiet fil-kamp tad-drittijiet ċivili.

Hija wkoll esprimiet solidarjeta’ mal-im-migranti li, qalet, xogħolhom huwa żvalutatu li jgħixu fi prekarjat u f’kundizzjonijietdeplorabbli. Fl-istss waqt stqarret sodisfaz-zjon li l-awtoritajiet nedew il-politika ta’ in-tegrazzjoni.

Temmet tgħid: “Ejjew għeżież Maltin uGħawdxin, inħarsu b’kuraġġ lejn il-futur,għaliex konvinta li kapaċi, f’għaqda sħiħabejnietna, nagħmluh futur isbaħ, għal kullwieħed u waħda minnha, iżda l-aktar għaluliedna.”


A proud sponsor of A proud sponsor of The Voice of theThe Voice of the

MalteseMaltese

Breakaway Travel 94 corner of Main & CampbellStreets, Blacktown NSW

...... for all your travel needs.

website: www.breakawaytravel.com.au

[email protected]

Tel (02) 9622 7799

ED HUSIC MP Federal Member for Chifley6/15 Cleeve Close (PO Box 259) Mt Drui" NSW 277002 9625 4344 I [email protected]

Dear friendsI wanted to take this opportunityto thank everyone in the Maltesecommunity for their con#nuedfriendshipMerry Christmas and bestwishes for a happy 2018.

Il-President ta’ Malta tappella biex l-għaqda nazzjonali ma tiġix ittraduta u mhedda



Community NewsCommunity News

Join us on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevoiceofthemaltese

The President & The President & Committee of the Committee of the Maltese Cultural Maltese Cultural

Association of NSWAssociation of NSWwish everybody a wish everybody a

Happy Christmas andHappy Christmas anda Prosperous and a Prosperous and

Peaceful New YearPeaceful New Year

Christmas &New Year

wishes fromMCA NSW

Anybody interested in advertisingon The Voice of the Maltese magazinein order to reach the widest audiencepossible, partcularly among the Mal-tese diaspora is requested to write to:[email protected].

--Please Note--

STEDINA mill-Fathers ta'Stanley Street East Sydney

Il-kommunita` Maltija hi mistiedna għaċ-ċelebrazzjoni tal-Milied, nhar il-Hadd 24 ta’ Diċembru fil-Kappella ta'San Pawl De Piro House 19 Stanley

Street East SydneyFil-11.30 pm: jibda l-kant u xi għan-jiet tal-Milied, immexxija minn John

Beale.F'nofs il-lejl: tibda l-quddiesa bil-

priedka tal-Milied, minn Adam Cilia.Wara kulħadd mistieden għal kikkra

kafe` jew te` bħas-soltu.Għal xi informazzjoni, ċemplu lil

Fr Tarcisio Micallef MSSP fuq:9380 8398.

Nixtiequ lil kul!add il-Miliedqaddis, barka u sena gdida 2018,

mimlija b’hena u risq.

La Valette Social CentreChristmas Programme

La Valette Social Centre 175 Walters Road, Blacktown Tel. 96225847Sunday December 24:

10.30 p.m.: Procession with the statue of Baby JesusChristmas Carols by the La Valette Choir under

the direction of Frank ZammitBoy’s Sermon (Il-Priedka tat-Tifel) by Noel Muscat

Followed by Midnight MassCheck with Centre for latest information. Phone: 9622 5847

Sunday December 313-course meal, fruit platters & wine

Entertainment by Charlie Camilleri and the Rockin MustangsBook early to avoid disappointment!

Tickets: Members $50 – Non Members $55Children (8-12 yrs) half price – (Under 8 yrs) Free

For tickets contact: Frances 0412 320 432 – Antoinette 96712992 – the Centre 9622 5847

*$500 Travel Voucher*donated by Breakaway Travel Blacktown will be reffled on the

nightMASS TIMES

Saturday: St Francis Chapel: 4.45 p.m. and 6.15 p.m.Sunday: St Dominic’s Chapel: 9.00 a.m.

Xaghra Association of NSW Inc.INVITES YOU TO COME & CELEBRATE

AUSTRALIA DAY, 2018 with a Dinner DanceDate: Saturday January 20 2018;

Time: Doors open 6:30 pm for 7:00pm start; Place: Mandavilla Function Centre1788 The Horsley Drive, Horsley ParkEntertainer: Joe Apap; Dinner: 3-Course Meal, Beer, Wine,Soft Drinks, tea, coffee, pastizzi & fruit plattersContact: Ray & Josephine Bigeni: 9627 4182, Mob: 0439 974182 M'Anne Teuma: 4579 6771

May I offer my warmest wishes for Christ-mas and the New Year to the Maltese Com-

munity. Christmas is a season of joy andwarmth. It is also a special time of the year

when so many of us come together with their familiesand friends in a spirit of sharing.

The MCC of NSW also wishes the best for the festive season to The Voice of the Maltese and its readers

E. Camilleri, President MCC NSW

Maltese Radio ProgrammesMELBOURNE, on 3ZZZ 92.3FM oron www.3zzz.com.au. Mondays 5-6 pm, Fridays 5-6 pm and Satur-days 10-11am. MELBOURNE on 98.9 North WestFM, every Friday 6.00 - 7.00p.m. andMondays 7.00 to 8.00pm. Presenter:Emmanuel Brincat.MELBOURNE: STEREO 974(93180930): 97.4FM Wed (MalteseMagazine) & Thursday (Mer˙ba):6.00pm to 8.00 pm Co-ordinator – RayAnastasi

On SBS RadioDay Time Analogue and Digital

Friday: 12:00-13:00 97.7fm SBS 2Saturday: 14:00-15:00: 97.7fm SBS 2To tune into digital radio you need a re-ceiver or device with a DAB+ chip. Tun-ing in is by station name not frequency.Digital radio can also be heard via dig-ital TV.In SYDNEY, listen to the MCC radio pro-grammes on 2GLF FM 89.3.

Tune In to Radio and Television

The SBS MALTESE NEWS: L-A˙barijieton SBS TV twice a week nationwideSunday at 8.00 am on SBS2 (Chan. 32);Thursdays at 8.00 am on SBS2Isma’ l-programm tar-radju bil-Maltimill-Kunsill Malti ta’ NSW minn fuq

l-istazzjon 2GLF 89.3FM.Jista’ wkoll jinstema’ On Demand

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

(On Demand >Ethnic >Maltese Council 11am)Il-Ħadd 11.00 am: l-aħħar aħbarijietminn Malta, mużika, tagħrif, kultura,avviżi u suġġetti ta’ interess. UNCLE SAM DJ (Maltese Radio)tune in to link: www.unclesamdj.com

SBS Radio 2 on Channel 38.Programmes can be accessed online(live or catch up) at sbs.com.au/malteseand via mobile phone, using the SBSRadio app. For television news fromMalta - SBS 2 TV on Thursdays andSundays at 8am.

VIVA MALTA on COAST FM 96.3Community Radio in Gosford Central

NSW. Aired on Thursdays every fortnight from 6 pm -7 pm. Presenter: Nathalie Gatt.

Web streaming on: www.coastfm.org.au.In BRISBANE listen to the MalteseProgramme on 4EB on Tuesdays 6.00-8.15am; Sundays 4.15pm to 5.15pm

Merrylands Social Maltese SeniorsMeets every second Friday of themonth: Miller Room, Memorial Av-enue Merrylands from 10.30am to12.30 am

Llandilo Maltese SeniorsMeets on the first Wednesday of eachmonth at the Llandilo Community Hall,Seventh Avenue, from 11am to 1 pm.

Maltese of Bankstown Group meets 3rd Wednesday of monthat New BCRG offices 15 Kitchner Pa-rade, Bankstown NSW (opposite RSLClub). Every other 3rd Thursday anouting. Enquiries call: Sam 9534 2357

Greystanes Maltese SeniorsMeets on the second Monday of eachmonth at the George Preca Centre ofOLQP Church, 198 Old Prospect Road,Greystanes from 10 am to 12 noon

The Sutherland & St George Maltese Group

Meets every First Wednesday of theMonth from 10:00am-1:00pm. Meet-ings/Get Togethers are interesting, in-formative & entertaining, so come Joinus and make new Friends

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

Maltese Seniors Social Welfare Day Groups

Fairfield Active Maltese SeniorsMeets on the last Tuesday of the Month.Group meets in Parish Hall, cnr of StellaStreet & The Boulevard, Fairfield Heightsat 10 am.Maltese Seniors Central Coast

Have to contact our Welfare Officer foran appointment. For all informationand referral matters call Cen-sinaCefai: 02 439 000 12 or 0414 267 652

Daceyville Maltese SeniorsMeets the last Wednesday of the mon-th in the Meeting Room One, No. 3General Bridges Crescent, Daceyville.Note: The Groups also arrange regular Bus TripsJoin us and make new friends.

*(All Groups are co-ordinated by The Maltese Community Council of NSW) with asponsorship from Multicultural NSW. Please contact the MCC Welfare Officer: MarisaPrevitera JP on 0414 863 123. The MCC offices are at 59b Franklin Street (corner withYoung St) Parramatta West NSW (next to West Parramatta Primary School).


The Australian High Commission’s in Malta now has a new Facebook page, andthe High Commissioner a Twitter account that could both be accessed by the

readers.The High Commission’s Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/AusHCMalta/The Commissioner’s Twitter handle is: https://twitter.com/AusHCMalta

Australian High Commission on facebook; HC on twitter Il-PBS ta’ Malta tforni lill-SBS fl-Awstraljabis-servizz tagħha, imma l-qarrejja xor-

ta huma mħeġġa biex x’ħin iridu jistgħujidħlu fil-website tal-istazzjon Malti bil-Malti u bl-Ingliż: www.tvm.com.mt. Il-website hija aġġornata tul il-jum kollu għal-

hekk wieħed jista’ jieħu stampa ċara tal-ġrajjietli anke jkunu qed iseħħu dak il-ħin stess.

Classes are available for students fromsix years to adults at all levels of ability

in the Maltese language. We havetrained and experienced teachers qualified in language teaching and with Mal

tese study creden#als.Learn the Maltese language, the culture,

lifestyle, cuisine, tradi#ons and about theamazing history of the island.

Teachers urgently needed - Paid positions

For more informa#on and enquiries Phone 9601 2189 or Email:

[email protected] by the Minister of Educa!on and

Training and the NSW Community LanguagesSchools Programme.

Member of the NSW Federa!on of Community Language Schools of NSW;

Member of the Federa!on of Maltese Language Schools of Australia;

Supported by 16 Maltese associa!ons a"liated with the MCC of NSW.

The Maltese Language School of NSW is a Not#For#Profit organisa!on.

Lear! Maltese!

MALTESE LANGUAGE SCHOOL OF NSW

A Division of the Maltese Community Council of NSW Inc.

L-a!barijiet tal-PBS (Malta)

Community NewsCommunity News

That was Balzan’s seventhsuccessive victory but the runwas halted when they couldonly figure in a scoreless drawwith Naxxar.

For Hibernians the past twoweeks have in fact not be goodthen as on Sunday they suffereda surprise defeat against lowlySt Andrews.

This setback came on top ofanother 1-0 defeat in midweekwhen they lost to Floriana inthe BOV Super Cup. As a resultFloriana lifted the first majorhonour of the season. Ii is the second timethe Greens won the trophy after a first suc-cess in 1993. Back to the Premier League, Sliema Wan-

derers who have been having quite a satis-fying campaign, first dropped points in a1-1draw against Mosta and then lost 3-0 to

newly promoted Senglea.In the past weekend’s top match Birkirkara

defeated Floriana with two goals scored inthe first 17 minutesAt the end of Day 14, Balzan enjoy a one-

pont lead over Valetta. Gżira are third threepoints further behind.

In the A-League, at the Allianz Stadium-champions Sydney FC made it 22 un-

beaten games in succession at home afterthey defeated Melbourne City 3-1. Thescoreline didn't reflect the closeness of thecontest but Sydney FC are full of class andthey showed that by taking their chanceswhen it mattered. With this victory Sydney FC have opened

an eight-point gap at the top of the A-League ladder over Newcastle Jets whowere 2-1 himevictors overAdelaide. Theleaders are on28 points.

MelbourneCity are in thirdnine points ad-rift of the lead-ing team. Thencome Adelaide.

Just 10 days after taking over as coach of Floriana, in midweek, Nicolas Chiesa ledthe club to its first trophy win, the BOV Super Cup by beating League Champions

Hibernians 1-0. The final is played between the previous season’s champions and theFA Trophy winners.

This is the Greens’ first win of the competition since 1993. It was achieved with agoal scored after 37 minutes by Mario Fontanella.Picture above shows the Floriana players celebrating the victory.

Valletta are set to name their formerplayer from Serbia, Danilo Doncic

(picturbelow), as their new coach for the re-mainder of the Premier League season tak-ing over from Zoran Popovic.The citizens were not happy with the per-

formances of their team under Popovic whowas given the job on June.

Danilo Doncic played for three seasonswith Valletta wining all possible Maltesetrophies in one season. He also played forfive years with Sliema Wanderers. He was known as a prolific goal scorer for

both Valletta and Sliema, and broke therecord of goals in a season with both Val-letta, in the 1996/97 season, and SliemaWanderers in season 2001/02 with 32league goals. In his 63 matches for Vallettahe scored 58 goals Valleta would be Doncic’s seventh club as

coach having also coached San Ġwann,Floriana, Sliema Wanderers, Tarxien Rain-bows, Mosta and St Andrews.


Spor tsSpor ts

Floriana win season’s firsttrophy, the BOV Super Cup

Balzan in sole command

RESULTS – DAY 14Balzan v Naxar LValletta v MostaSt Andrews v HiberniansBirkirkara v Floriana Senglea v Sliema W. Ħamrun S.v TarxienGżỉra v Lija A.

0-01-01-02-03-02-1lko

DAY 13Balzan v HiberniansGżira U. v VallettaFloriana v Lija A Sliema W. v MostaBirkirkara v Ħamrun SSenglea v Naxxar L. Tarxien v St Andrews

1-02-16-01-11-02-12-0 3-1

2-10-21-01-2

0-51-21-00-01-2

DAY 11Sydney FC v Melbourne CNewcastle J v Adelaide UCC Mariners v W Sydney WPerth G v Wellington Ph Brisbane R v Melbourne V DAY 10 W Sydney W v Sydney FC vPerth G v Newcastle JMelbourne C v CC MarinersBrisbane R v Wellington Ph Melbourne V v Adelaide U

TEAMSBalzanVallettaGżira UFlorianaHiberniansSliema W.Ħamrun S.BirkirkaraSenglea AMostaNaxxar LS. AndrewsTarxien R.Lija A.

P W D L Pts14 9 4 1 3114 9 3 2 3013 8 3 2 2714 7 5 2 2614 7 3 4 2414 7 4 3 2414 7 5 5 2314 6 1 6 1914 4 3 7 1514 4 3 7 1514 2 4 8 914 3 1 10 1014 3 1 10 1013 1 2 10 5

The past two days of the Football Premier League progamme in Malta the last fort-night produced a few unexpected result. But at the end of them, Balzan sole com-mand of the League ladder, mostly due to Valletta’s defeat by 2-1 at the hands of

Gżira and Balzan’s narrow victory by 1-0 against defending champions Hibernians.Sydney FC increase leadto eight points in A-League

Doncic to be named asValletta’s new coach

Malta Football Premier League

Premier League ladder

The Voice of the Maltese...Tuesday December 19, 20 7 The Voice of the Maltese 3 The editors of The...

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