Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Sunday, I had the pleasure of attending the Greek Independence Day commemoration at the Cenotaph in Sydney to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the Greek War of Independence. I was also fortunate to view the Independence Day march through Sydney with the Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Church, His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos. The Independence Day celebration brings together schools, RSLs, churches and community groups for a celebration of Greek history, heritage and culture and, of course, Australian multiculturalism. The pride of the Greek community was well and truly on display on the day, particularly the role Greeks have played in the development of modern civilisation and democracy. I am blessed with a very large and active Greek community in my area. The two Greek Orthodox churches, St. Catherine's in Mascot and St. Spyridon's in Kingsford, stand as wonderful monuments to the contribution of the Greek community to multiculturalism in Australia. I want to pay tribute to those who participated in the march, in particular to the students of St. Spyridon College, and thank Father Steven Scoutas, Elia Economou and Efrosini Stefanou-Haag for their wonderful contribution to multiculturalism in our community.