The Voice N0. 68

The Voice of the Maltese
(thunder from down under)
Issue 68
NEWSLETTER
February 4, 2014
Edited by Lawrence Dimech - lawdimech@optusnet.com.au; & Malta desk: Joseph Cutajar - joe@createjc.com
The Apostolic Nuncio in Malta Aldo Cavalli and Maltas Foreign Minister George
Vella signing the agreeement in the presence of Bishops Charles Scicluna and
Mario Grech, and Archbishop Paul
Cremona (on left) and Parliamentary Secretary Owen Bonnici
(standing behind Dr Vella)
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n agreement described as historic has just been

signed between the Maltese government and the
Holy See. Known as the Third Additional Protocol,
it includes amendments to the 1992 Church-State agreement on marriage. It will also repeal the Second Additional
Protocol signed on January 6, 1995.
The agreement was signed by the Apostolic Nuncio in
Malta, Aldo Cavalli and Foreign Minister George Vella following discussions that led to a revision of the agreement.
The main change is that the Ecclesiastical Tribunal is no
longer superior to the Maltese Courts in marriage annulment cases.
To date, the courts had been prohibited from continuing
to hear cases for annulment if the same cases had been filed
before the Ecclesiastical Tribunal.

Informal talks regarding the future of the Church-State
agreement concerning marriage commenced when Prime
Minister Joseph Muscat visited Pope Francis I at the Vatican in June, three months after the PLs election victory.
In one of Dr Muscats first initiatives as Prime Minister
he had sent a 'note verbale' to the Holy See to initiate discussions on the abrogation of the concordat.
The Church said in a statement: Malta and the Holy See
have announced that, further to technical talks held between representatives of both sides, agreement has been
reached on a Third Additional Protocol to the Agreement
Continued on page 2
T he Voice of t he M alt ese i s a fo r tn i gh t ly p ub li cat i o n s p ec if i call y t arg e ted t o war ds all

M alt e se li vi n g abr o ad, wi t h emp h as i s o n t h e A us tr ali an s cene.
T h i s e-n ews p ap e r is s en t vi a e ma il b y r e ques t . Sub sc ri p ti o n i s free .
T h e Ed i to r i s La wre n ce Dim e ch . Jo s e p h Cut ajar i s M al ta Ed i t or a nd lay o ut des i gn er.
Tuesday February 4, 2014
Malta and Holy See sign historic

revised agreement on marriage
Continued from page 1
between the Holy See and the Republic of Malta on the Recognition of Civil Effects to Canonical Marriages and to the Decisions of the Ecclesiastical Authorities and Tribunals about the
Same Marriages signed on 3 February 1993.
The new agreement also repeals a proviso that had banned
spouses from resorting to the civil courts if an Ecclesiastical Tribunal decided that a marriage was valid.
In welcoming the agreement, Minister Dr Vella thanked the
Holy See for its willingness to reach an agreement after the
Prime Minister had declared his wish to see the original agreement changed. He said the amendments were a clear testament
of separation between Church and State, as laid down in the Constitution.
A joint committee that included Parliamentary Secretary Owen
Bonnici, Attorney General Peter Grech, Gozo Bishop Mario
Grech, and Auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna drew up the revised agreement.
The agreement provides that judgements of the ecclesiastical
tribunal will retain their civil effects if the Court of Appeal orders
their registration in the Public Registry.
In ordering such registration, the court cannot re-examine the
merits of the case, but has to ascertain that procedures had not
violated fair trial principles and the judgement of the tribunal did
not go against previous contrary judgements of the civil court.
As of now, parties will be able to continue marriage annulment
cases before the civil court notwithstanding the fact that one of
the parties may have filed an action before the Ecclesiastical Tribunal after the commencement of the civil action.
A civil court decision declaring a marriage as null will apply
even if a case regarding the same marriage is pending before the
Ecclesiastical Tribunal.
In the 'exceptional' cases where proceedings before the tribunal
are concluded before the civil proceedings, the decision of the
tribunal may be given civil effects only after it has been registered by order of the Court of Appeal.
That removes the need for the parties to continue their case before
the civil court, while the Court of Appeal will retain the last word.
The previously agreement signed by former PM Eddie Fenech
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Way back on March 22, a few days after the Labour Partys
landslide victory in the 2013 general elections, Prime Minister Dr Joseph Muscat set the ball rolling in regard to the
agreement on the Third Additional Protocol when he paid a
courtesy call on Archbishop Paul Cremona OP to discuss the
revision of the 1992 Church-State agreement.
At the time, following the meeting, Dr Muscat said that as
as part of the court reform the Maltese courts would no longer
be subordinate to the Ecclesiastical Tribunals decisions.
During the same meeting that was also attended by the Auxiliary Bishop and Vicar General, Mons. Charles J. Scicluna,
he said they had discussed the civil liberties, in particular
civil unions and that he was going to inform the Holy See of
the Maltese government intentions
Even so early in the day, Mgr Cremona had said that the revised agreement was agreeable to all parties.
Adami and Foreign Minister Guido de Marco in 1993, envisaged
a partial concession to the Ecclesiastical Tribunal over the local
civil courts when it came to the annulment of Catholic marriages.
The practical effect of the Third Additional Protocol will
be, that:
Parties will be able to continue an action for the nullity of a marriage celebrated as a canonical marriage before the civil courts
notwithstanding the fact that one of the parties may have filed
an action for nullity of the marriage before the ecclesiastical tribunals after the commencement of the civil action.
When the civil action declaring the nullity of the marriage becomes res iudicata the marriage will be annulled for all civil effects irrespective of the fact that an action for the nullity of the
same marriage may still be pending before the ecclesiastical tribunals.
In the exceptional cases where the proceedings before the ecclesiastical tribunals are concluded before the civil proceedings
the decision of the ecclesiastical tribunals may be given civil effects only after it has been registered by order of the Court of
Appeal in accordance with Articles 24 and 26 of the Marriage
Act.
In this way parties will save expenses and the need of furthering
their civil case while the Court of Appeal will retain the last
word;
The fact that an ecclesiastical tribunal would have upheld the
validity of a marriage will no longer prohibit a civil tribunal
from declaring the same marriage to be null for all civil purposes even on the same grounds of nullity.
Il-Gvern Awstraljan irid iwaqqaf

il-boats akkost ta kollox
Kummentarju:
minn Lawrence Dimech
l-Gvern Awstraljan, l-istess bal dak

ta Malta gandu problema enormi bilwasla ta dgajjes mimlija bnies, li
hekk kif jilmu l-art, jitolbu refuju. LAwstralja bal Malta hija gira u jekk
Malta hija fir-rotta ta dawk il-persuni li
qegdin jairbu mill-Afrika ta Fuq, hekk
ukoll l-Awstralja, li t-tramuntana tagha
tinsab esposta lejn l-Indonesja, pajji
magmul minn 17,500 gira bpopolazzjoni ta madwar 247 miljun persuna.
Hemm ukoll fil-qrib il-Malasja (ara lmappa).
Dawk li jairbu, jersqu lejn Christmas Island fl-oejan Indjan li hi gira territorju
Awstraljan. Din hija 344 km bogod minn
Java. Fil-fatt, Christmas Island saret
wieed mill-akbar entri gal dawk li jaslu
bla permess fi triqithom lejn l-Awstralja
jfittxu kenn
biex jou refuju.
nora l-weIl-kwestjoni
gda tietar-refujati,
gu huma
klandestini,
mgewra
illegali, sejfsegretezhilhom li trid
za kbira.
saret
bal
L-Operaballun polition Sovertiku fl-Aweign Borstralja. Dan
ders, kif
l-aar iqed isejiew partiti
lha l-Gvepolitii l-kbar
rn
hija
argu bi prommexxija
posti orox u Lt-General Angus Campbell (xelminn Ltb d e t e r m i - lug) u l-Ministru Scott Morrison
General
nazzjoni li
A n g u s
jwaqqfu dan l-assalt ta persuni li jaslu bla Campbell. Flimkien mal-Ministru tal-Impermess fuq biiet ta opri tal-baar biex migrazzjoni Scott Morrison kull tant jifjitolbu refuju.
fajaw lill-urnalisti ida jagtu tagrif
Il-Gvern preenti, jiifieri dak immexxi mill-inqas. Fil-fatt, jekk veru qed jirnexxilminn Tony Abbott, li hu koalizzjoni tal- hom jregu lura d-dgajjes, kemm, u
partiti Liberali u Nationals gamel wegda kif, jafuh huma biss.
solenni qabel l-elezzjoni li meta jirba ilDin segretezza li mhi togob xejn lillGvern se jrea lura dawn id-dgajjes u medja Awstraljana tant li afna pinewha
jagmilha diffili kemm jista jkun biex bala att redikolu u abbuiv. Jingad li ldawn jibqgu jsalpaw bl-addo lejn il- Gvern qed jibor lil dawn il-persuni minn
kosta Awstraljana.
fuq d-dgajjes li jidlu l-ibra territorjali
Qabel l-elezzjoni qatt ma qalu eatt kif Awstraljani, ipoihom fuq lifeboats li nxse jirnexxilhom to stop or turn back the traw apposta u jreaghom lura lejn l-Inboats. Illum qed jidher ar li l-Gvern ta donesja. Ida dan l-eserizzju mhux
Abbott irid idawwar lura dawn id-dgajjes dejjem jidher li qieged jigi estiz skond
bkull mezz possibbli u akkost ta kollox. proeduri normali.
Politikament jikkalkula wkoll li l-maL-Indonesja li hija kontra li dawn idoranza tal-elettorat mhux se tikkonfondi dgajjes jiu mmrea lura, ipprotestat
liema metodu se jagmel uu minnu Tony bl-arax li l-vapuri Awstraljani li qed jakAbbott to stop the boats.
kumpanjaw dawn id-dgajjes lura, dalu
Tant hu hekk, li fil-fatt il-Gvern iddikjara illegalment fil-baar li hu territorju Inli jinstab fi stat ta gwerra u galhekk l-az- donesjan.
zjonijiet li jieu huma ustifikati. Imma
L-Awstraljani gamlu apoloija immedjidher li dawn l-azzjonijiet li qed jieu jata. Saru wkoll akkui li qed ikun hemm
atti brutali fuq dawn n-nies tad-dgajjes

mill-barin Awstraljani. Kif ukoll protesti
kontinwi minn dawk maqfula fi Christmas
Island. Ida xejn min dan ma jista jii
ikkonfermat gax il-Gvern golla hajt ta
segretezza.
Il-Gvern jirrauna li la qegdin fi gwerra
mhu se jagti l-ebda tagrif lill-gadu.
Jinsisti wkoll li din hija operazzjoni militari ida, fil-fatt mhux qed jopera kontra
forza militari, imma kontra semplii boat
people li skont il-liijiet internazzjonali
mhu qed jiksru l-ebda lii billi jfittxu
refugu fpajji ieor.
Il-Gvern qieged isibha difficli jipprova
jabi dak li qieged jagmel anke jekk
jgid li din hija gwerra. Fil-gwerra ricenti
fAfganistan il-Gvern Awstraljan kien jippermetti lill-urnalisti jkunu spalla ma
spalla mal-forzi Awstraljani. Kienet iktar
gwerra miftua u brutali u mhux semplici
gwerra kontra l-people smugglers.
Il-Gvern veru li gandu mandat li
jwaqqaf dan it-traffiku illegali ida jidher
li qed jitlef il-fiduja li nbniet bejn il-militar u l-midja fil-gwerra tal-Afganistan
gax qieged iaadhom milli jkunu jafu
eatt xqed isir fl-ibra Awstraljani.
Kif jigri dejjem meta l-Gvern jimplimenta afna segretezza, ix-xniegat u lqlajja jkunu jistgu jagmlulu ferm iktar
sara. L-istess Lt-General Angus Campbell li llum qieged jimplimenta dan il-ajt
ta segretezza kien ammetta xi ames xhur
ilu li aess lill-urnalisti tal-operazzjonijiet militari hu bonn assolut u gandu
jkun parti mill-ippjanar mill-ewwel.
Il-Gvern mhux qed jittratta lill-poplu kif
hu xieraq ida jekk jirnexxilu tassew
iwaqqaf jew inaqqas it-traffikar tal-boat
people lejn l-Awstralja jkunu afna dawk
li jafrulu gall-metodi li jkun implimenta.
Dr Angelo Farrugia (circled) with the other

participants at the CSPOC in New Zealand
Malta Parliament Speaker Farrugia

in NSW, and New Zealand CSPOC
n his way to New Zealand to attend

the 22nd Conference of Commonwealth Speakers and Presiding Officers Conference (CSPOC) at Parliament
Buildings in Wellington January 21-24,
the Hon Angelo Farrugia the Speaker of
the Maltese Parliament paid a hurried visit
to Sydney where he requested to visit
other Maltese associations that he could
not visit when he was last in Sydney in
September last year.
Dr Farrugia, who was accompanied by
Raymond Scicluna, the Clerk of the House
was taken to the outer suburb of Plumpton,
46 km from Sydney, to attend the Annual
General Meeting of the St Nicholas Festa
Committee at the Good Shepard Hall by
Alfred Fenech, the president of the Maltese Community Council of NSW and Rita
ODwyer from the office of the Consulate
General in Sydney.
After the meeting they also attended for
lunch at the St Marys Band Club.
The Speaker also visited the St Pauls
Maltese Festa Committee at Richmond, 62
km from Sydney.
During his short stay in Sydney, Dr Farrugia held meetings with the NSW Parliament and senate in which he brought up
the citizens right as a remedy to the abusive behaviour of parliamentary privilege.
Also present for the meeting on the part
of NSW were, Hon Peter Phelps, a member of the Legislative Council and government whip, and Mr David Blunt and Mrs
Ronda Miller from the Legislative Council, and Mr Robert Stefanic, executive
manager at the Parliaments Services Department.
At the end of the meeting, the Maltese
delegation was shown round the halls of
the Assembly and the Legislative Council.
Meanwhile, in Wellington, Dr Farrugia
was among 180 delegates including more
than 50 Speakers and Presiding Officers,
along with observers from all over the
Commonwealth from Australia to

Zambia - participated in the conference that was
hosted by the NZ
Speaker of the
House, the Hon
David Carter.
The conference
opened on Wednesday January
22 with a spectacular procession of
Speakers wearing
their national ceremonial robes,
followed by a
powhiri on Parliaments forecourt, where the
flags of every
participating nation were flying.
The Speakers
role is important to running a good, strong
parliament that is essential for democracy, said NZs Mr Speaker. CSPOC is
a rare opportunity for us to discuss important issues and learn from each other.
The CSPOC, that brings together the
Speakers and Presiding Officers of the national parliaments of the independent sovereign states of the Commonwealth
operates on a two-year cycle, holding a
conference of the full membership every
two years, usually in January, and a meeting of the Standing Committee at the same
time the intervening year.
The CSPOC, which is an independent
group and has no formal affiliation with
the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the Commonwealth Secretariat or
the Commonwealth Heads of Government, was created in 1969 as an initiative
of then Speaker of the House of Commons
Dr Angelo Farrugia
with Bronwyn Bishop,
who was appointed Australias 29th Speaker of
the House of Representatives last November
of Canada, the Honourable Lucien Lamoureux. This is the second time that New
Zealand has hosted this prestigious event,
the first time in 1984.
In his welcoming address, while extending his warm greetings to the participants
from throughout the Commonwealth, the
Governor-General, Sir Jerry Mateparae
said he was delighted to open as the gathering highlights both the diversity and the
unity of the Commonwealth. These things
give the Commonwealth its essential character and strength.
He went on to say that the unity of the
Commonwealth is based on the free and
equal status we each hold and our shared
ideals of parliamentary democracy, adherence to the rule of law and respect for
human rights.
Continued on page 5
The Voice of the Maltese 5
Dr Angelo Farrugia in
NSW and New Zealand
Continued from page 4
He said that another feature common throughout
the Commonwealth is the role of the Speaker or Presiding Officer of each nations Parliament or National Assembly, and the connection with their Head
of State: It is a relationship that is steeped in history
and substance.
The first presiding officer at Westminster was appointed more than 750 years ago.
During the conference, besides presenting his paper
highlighting the topic about the citizens right as a
remedy to the abusive behaviour of parliamentary
privilege, Dr Farrugia also chaired the fourth workshop transparency and openness, which report was
unanimously accepted in the final conference reports.
Above: The Speaker of the Maltese House of Representatives, Dr Angelo Farrugia (centre) chairing the Speakers Conference of the Commonwealth in the Parliament
House in Wellington New Zeland.
Below: During his visit to the New South Wales parliament he had a meeting with both representatives of the
House of Representatives and the Senate. In New
Zealand, Speaker Farrugia had a bilateral meeting with
the Australian speaker of the House of Representatives,
the Hon Brownyn Bishop (see photo page 4)
Right: Dr Farrugia in a commemorative picture taken
in front of the statue of San Paul while visitng the St
Pauls Festa Committee at Richmond.
Dr Angelo Farrugia (centre) pictured at the annual general

meeting of the St Nicholas Festa Committee at the Good
Shepard Hall, Plumpton. The meeting elected the following
persons to form the next committee: President: Bill Schem-
bri, V/President: Charlie Gatt, Secretary: Danilka Gatt;

Asst. Secretary: Vicky Scicluna; Treasurer: Donna Bonnici,
Asst. Treasurer: John Beal. PRO: Joe Fenech. Alfred Fenech
acted as returning officer
Rain, wind play havoc on Malta roads
alta needs rain rather badly but the bucketfuls on Saturday, though so precious for the country, played
havoc and the rain and wind caused considerable damage
to roads and the environment in different parts of Malta.
Police even instructed the public to avoid going outdoors
unless necessary because of several reports of incidents
caused by the bad weather such as falling trees and billboards.
A whirlwind Saturday afternoon caused considerable damage near the airport, where two small parked aircraft flipped
over and a number of trees were uprooted
The inclement weather also caused the postponement on
Saturday of two Premier League football matches and on
Sundahy morning a swell at Cirkewwa's north and south
quays caused the temporary suspension of the Gozo Channel ferry trips. The 3.3 metre swell proved quite dangerous
mid-morning and the ferry had to return to Gozo.
Luckily, despite forecasts, the threatening weather did
not persist on Sunday and until late afternoon some beautiful sunny weather was the order of the day in most areas.
Malta-born Rosalie
Gets Freedom of
City of London
R
osalie Rivett (nee Dato) being awarded the

Freedom of the City of London for Services to Diplomacy by Mr Murray Craig, Clerk
of the Chamberlain's Court.
Freedom of the City of London is one of the
oldest surviving traditional ceremonies still in
existence today. It is believed that the first
Freedom was presented in 1237.
Maltese born Rosalie Rivett is CEO of the
Women in Diplomatic Service Association and
is /was a lecturer in International Relations and
Diplomatic Studies at the Diplomatic Academy of London, the University of Westminster
and at the University of East Anglia.
Rosalie chaired the Malta League and is a
member of the Council for Maltese Living
Abroad..
Imut is-Surmast
Karmenu
Baldacchino
Kitba ta
Sam Mifsud
abbret il-mewt ta' Maestro Karmenu Baldacchino li seet fit-3 ta

Jannar li gadda fi Blacktown NSW Awstralja fl-eta' ta' 97 sena. Galkemm isSurmast ilu gal snin twal jgix
fl-Awstralja xorta baqa bkonnesjoni
qawwija ma Malta, l-aktar u l-aktar
mar-raal tiegu -ejtun permezz tatteknoloija tal-internet, u ma qraba u
bieb minn fuq il-Facebook. Zgur li
kien l-ixje anzjan Malti li gamel uu
ta din it-teknoloija dida qabel mewtu.
Wara mewtu, Carmelo alla b'tifkira
gadd ta mari li sawwar gas-sojetajiet wieten u baned Maltin ora.
Is-surmast Baldacchino twieled fi-ejtun fl-ewwel ta Novembru tal-1916 iben
Rosaria (nee Busuttil) u Anthony Baldacchino.
Meta kellu 14-il sena beda jitgallem
is-senga ta mastrudaxxa. Imma gax
kien iobb afna l-muika beda wkoll
jitgallem idoqq il-kurunetta mal-kain
tal-Beland fi-ejtun.
Karmenu kien iobb jistudja afna u
gal tul ta sena-u-nofs nofs kien jieu
ewg lezzjonijet gal kull wada li kienu
jiedu l-istudenti l-ora.
Ta 21 sena iewwe lil Karmena, tifla
ta Sylvia u Francis Scorfna, (talParenta), u fSettembru tal-1939, daal
idoqq mal-Banda tar-Royal Malta Artillery, (illumil- Forzi Armati) u gal
ames snin issokta jistudja gand is-surmast G. Stivala.
Fil-1943 Karmenu a l-ewwel banda
tat id-direzzjoni tieg. Din kienet ilBanda ta Santa Marija ta Hal Ghaxaq.
Sena wara minn erba baned li kellu, issurmast Stivala tah tat idejh il-Banda
ta Fra Ant. De Paola ta Raal did.
Fl-1946 seet ix-xewqa ta Karmenu
galiex a tat id-direzzjoni tiegu lbanda li tant kien iobb, tal-Beland taejtun.
Fl-10 ta Frar tas-sena tal-1955, Karmenu emigra mal-familja lejn l-Awstralja. Il-sieb tiegu kien li jkompli
l-karriera fil-muika, imma sfortunatament, gall-ewwel ma rnexxilux galiex
kien imabbat afna jirrana d-dar biex
ikun jista jtella l-bqija ta familtu.
Matul dan i-mien Karmenu kien
jadem ma NSW Railways, fejn kien
hemm jadmu xi 900 ru. Fost dawn innies nzerta kien hemm Gordon Fisher,
eks-segretarju tal-banda ta NSW Railways (li kienet ilha li spiat gal mad-
war 10 snin). Meta

nteba li Karmenu kien
surmast tal-banda fMalta, staqsieh jekk
kellux il-pjair li jerga
jgaqqdilhom banda
dida, mill-addiema
tal-workshop.
Is-surmast Malti
aetta gax ass li
kien se jera jieu ajja dida. Mhiex
aa fali torganizza u tgallem dawk listrumenti differenti, l-aktar u l-aktar
meta l-in kien daqshekk limitat galiex
l-istudenti kellhom biss il-in tal-brejk
ta nofsinhar xin setgu jistudjaw.
Madanakollu Karmenu xorta daal gal
dik ir-responsabbilt.
Il-muika
tas-surmast Malti
Karmenu
Baldacchino se tibqa
tindaqq tul is-snin,
kemm
fl-Awstralja, fejn
qatta 59 sena minn
ajtu, u wkoll fart
twelidu, Malta
Karmenu adem gal sentejn sa
sakemm il-banda saret kapai ddoqq ftit
mari u xi muika afifa. Il-frott talidma tiegu gadu jintwera galiex ilbanda gadha wieqfa, u minbarra li
tagmel xi programmi, tieu wkoll
sehem fil-mar ta ANZAC Day. Ma
din il-banda tal-NSW Railways Karmenu dam sakemm irtira mix-xogol.
Fl-1965 Karmenu kien a fidejh ilGrupp The Sheratons magmul minn
Laurie u Sam Mifsud, u Aldo u Joe
Busuttil, kollha mi-ejtun. Kien grupp
tajjeb afna. Daqqew fafna tiijiet u
kucerti tal-Maltin. Wieed mill-aqwa
fosthom kien tal-Melita Eagles fit-Town
Hall ta Sydney.
Fl-1983, Karmenu kien ie avviinat
mill-kumitat tal-Banda Taljana Il Concerto Bandistico Italiano Giuseppe
Verdi biex jginhom fil-funeral tas-surmast li kellhom u li kien gadu kif miet.
Il-Malti aetta, u dan kien il-bidu ta
16-il sena ta surmast ma din il-banda

Taljana.
L-ewwel programm mal-komunit
Maltija kien meta l-Banda Taljana giet
mistiedna tagmel programm fil-klabb
Malti, Phoenician Club fSydney, bala
parti minn kunert ta (Fr.) David Azzopardi.
L-ahhar programm li Karmenu gamel
ma din il banda kien fil-La Valette Social Centre, fl-okkazjoni tal-Festa ta
Santa Katarina organizzata min Sam
Mifsud u utu. Fl-istess lejla, fgeluq it80 sena tiegu, Karmenu gie mogti
rigal sabi gall-okajoni
Bla dubju li s-sena 1994 kienet wada
memorabbli gas-surmast Karmenu
galiex kien niel ghal btala fpajjizu,
Malta u kellu l-unur li wara 40 sena
nieqes minn artu, kien il-mistieden talunur tat-tlett baned li kien jidderiegi,
Santa Maria ta al-Ghaxaq, Fra Ant.
De Paola ta Raal did u l-Banda Beland ta-ejtunn. Ma dawn it-tlett baned,
u best ta rikonoxxenza, fil-festi titulari l-Banda ejtun stednuh ukoll jidderiegi il-banda taghom.
Minabba l-eta tiegu, ta 91 sena,
Karmenu spia jidderiegi baned, imma
baqa jikkomponi mari allegri tal-festi u
orajn funebri. afna minnhom kienu u
gadhom jindaqqu, u anke huma rrekordjati minn baned fMalta u fGawdex.
Fl-Awstralja insibu wkoll muika tasSurmast Baldacchino li tindaqq millbaned Maltin ta Adelaide, Melbourne u
Sydney.
Jinghad li l-muika kollha ta Mro Karmenu Baldacchino, madwar tlett Sinfoniji, erba Mari Sinfonii, sitt Valzi,
Suite Fokloriku, ew Ave Maria, Serenata, xi 80 Marci Brijjui u xi 50 Marci
Funebri iet irregalata kollha kemm hi
lill-Banda Beland ta-ejtun, dik li tat u
garfet mill-ewwel it-talent ta dan issurmast hekk attiv u bravu.
Mro Baldacchino alla warajh amest
itfal, 13-il neputi u 35 pro-neputijiet.
Roundup of News About Malta
Malta Government and EC reach

agreement on Citizenship scheme
he Malta Government and European

Commission have reached an agreement on Maltas Individual Investor
Programme (IIP). This was announced by
the Prime Minister Joseph Muscat at a
press conference at Castille during which
he also mentioned that the government accepted slight changes to the original
scheme as proposed by the EU.
The applicants would now need to spend
at least half a year of effective residence
status in Malta to get the citizenship, as
compared to a minimum of six months before in the original programme.
Making the announcement, Dr Muscat
said this is a reasonable agreement with
those who wanted to reach agreement with
us, and pointed out that the Government
had said the same things to the Opposition,
but it had refused to agree.
In a joint Press Statement the EU Commisioner Viviane Redings Office at the
European Commission and the Maltese
Authorities on Maltas Individual Investor
Programme (IIP) said that representatives
of the two sides met on the issue of the Individual Investor Programme of the Republic of Malta.
It added: The Maltese representatives
presented their intentions regarding further
amendments to the regulations issued under
the Maltese Citizenship Act (L.N.450 of
2013), with a view to clarify that this Programme will confer full rights, responsibilities and a full citizenship status.
The amendments include genuine links
to Malta through the introduction of an effective residence status in Malta prior to
the possibility to acquire Maltese naturalisation.
No certificate of naturalisation will be
issued unless the applicant provides proof
that he/she has resided in Malta for a period of at least 12 months immediately
preceding the day of issuing of the certificate of naturalisation.
In addition, the Government of Malta
informed the Commissions services about
Prime Minister Dr Joseph Muscat (left) and Deputy

PM Louis Grech announcing the agreement
its intention to evaluate whether an increase would need to be made to the current capping of main applicants under the
Individual Investor Programme.
The Commissions services welcomed
the announced amendments concerning
the residence requirement done in good
faith and in a spirit of sincere cooperation
and both parties express satisfaction about
the understanding reached on this issue,
the joint statement concluded.
International tax law principles stipulate
that individuals who spend six months in
a particular country are considered residents for tax-related issues. Malta's law is
set at 183 days as well.
The MaltaToday newspaper reported that
EU-Malta Govt deal is based on the international tax residency requirements, that
is, that in practice, individuals generally
are considered resident in Malta if they
spend more than 183 days in a calendar
year in Malta. Individuals are considered
ordinarily resident if Malta is their habitual residence."
NP, ADs Reaction to agreement

n his reaction to the announcement, NP and Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said
IPNthat
the agreement proved the Nationalist Party's harsh criticism right. He said the
would give a detailed reaction to the agreement once the full details of the amended
scheme were published, however he noted that there were differences between what
Muscat and the commission declared in separate statements.
As for Alternattiva Demokratika it welcomed the latest amendments to the citizenship
scheme. Its chairman, Arnold Cassola said they were happy to see that residence has
now become a condition before the granting of Maltese and EU citizenship.
He however deplored what he called the "childish and obstinate behaviour of our political leaders who have caused serious damage to our country's reputation during the
past three months."
Pensions represent
over 33% of public
social spending
n 2012 in Malta, pensions accounted for
Iing,33.9
per cent of total government spendfollowed by spending on public services, education and health.
Total General Government expenditure
for 2012 was 2,963.1 million, an increase
of 198.9 million compared with the previous year.
There were increases in Social Protection
(60.5 million), mainly pensions; Economic Affairs (39.7 million); Health
(28.0 million); and Education (23.5 million). Partly offsetting these was a fall in
Defence expenditure (5.3 million).
Largely in line with earlier years, the
highest expenditure in 2012 was on Social
Protection (33.9 per cent), followed by
General Public Services (15.4 per cent),
Education (13.7 per cent) and Health (13.4
per cent). Expenditure on Housing and
Community amenities was the lowest, followed by Defence, representing 0.9 per
cent and 1.7 per cent respectively.
In total, General Government Expenditure
rose to 43.3 per cent of GDP in 2012 from
41.6 per cent in 2011.
For 2012, the largest expenditure was on
old age pensions (593.1 million), hospital
services (265.8 million) and public debt
transactions (218.2 million).
Roundup of News About Malta

Malta Airport exceeds Malta registers allexpectations in 2013 time Record tourist
t a press conference Malta InternaA
tional Airport said it ended 2013 with
arrivals for 2013
12 record months and a total of 4,031,502
passenger movements, and forecasts a

growth of 2% for 2014. It also outlined big
investments currently underway at the airport, which will include investing in
apron, taxiway and check-in area to increase efficiency.
MIA said that the 4 million figure was
achieved thanks in part to particularly
good results achieved in October and November which saw a combined increase of
17.8% (61,040 additional passengers) over
the same months in 2012. August also contributed significantly with an all-time high
of half a million passengers, MIA said.
Meanwhile, the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) said in a statement, the good news is that a forecasted
2.6 % growth in airline seats in 2014 will
translate into positive returns to our
tourism industry, as it will be setting the
right foundation for yet another promising
year.
Tourism in Malta in 2013 reached an alltime record of 1.6 million, which is an increase of 9.3% when compared to 2012.
Overall, there was an increase of 8.7% in
the amount of nights tourists spent in
Malta, which amounts to 12.9 million.
During the period under review, total
tourist expenditure was estimated at 1.4
billion, 8.6 per cent more than in 2012.
Increases were recorded throughout all
expenditure categories. Total per capita
expenditure stood at 910, slightly lower
than in the previous year.
According to the National Statistics Office, excluding the minimum amount of
325 passengers who stayed overnight on
board a berthed cruise ship; the increase
during December registered an increase
of 6.5 compared to the corresponding
month in 2012.
Another increase of 6.8% was registered
in the total of nights tourists spent in
Malta.
The average length of stay was 8.7
nights, at par with 2012 levels.
The NSO said arrivals in December
were estimated at 65,345. A total of
52,986 visited the island on holiday, and
8,315 for business purposes.
Most visitors came from EU states,
while tourists from non-EU countries increased by 27 per cent. Maltas main
tourism markets continued to be the UK
and Italy.
These positive results come just two
days after the EU statistics office, Eurostat, announced that during last year,
Malta placed second among all the 27 EU
members in the amount of nights tourists
spent in Malta compared to the remaining
EU countries average of 1.6% in 2012.
Government launches 31 million Call for New Scheduled Bus

Service For Malta and Gozo
vehicle registration refund scheme Tpression
ransport Malta has published an Exof Interest notice for the propproximately 40,000 eligible appli- ernment is delivering what it had promised vision of a national scheduled bus service
A
cants will benefit from the so-called and that it would be implementing the for Malta and Gozo. This follows an exit
Vehicle Registration Refund Scheme the pledge in a responsible manner. The scheme agreement negotiated between Transport
government launched recently for those vehicles registered for personal use between
May 1, 2004, and December 31, 2008. The
refund will be paid over seven years with
the first payments to be issued in April.
The scheme, to be applicable to the first
owner of a vehicle that is registered and licensed, irrespective of whether the vehicle
was later scrapped or sold, was launched
by Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Joe Mizzi, Finance Minister Prof. Edward Scicluna, and Parliamentary Secretary for Justice Dr. Owen Bonnici.
The refund is applicable to both new and
second-hand vehicles, and vehicles that
were bought from within the European
Union, and other countries outside the EU.
Announcing the scheme, Parliamentary
Secretary for Justice Dr. Owen Bonnici
said that unjustly paid registration fees are
being returned to Maltese car owners.
He said the refund is of a portion of VAT
that was charged not only on the cost of
the car, but also on the registration tax
payable on the car.
He went on to say that the Government
has managed to deliver yet another promise, so that the Maltese public receives the
redress it deserves.
The Finance Minister said that the Gov-
will cost between 25 and 31 million.

Finance minister Edward Scicluna explained that the refund scheme will cost
the government between 25 and 31 million. It was a commitment Labour promised well into the early days of Joseph
Muscat's leadership.
Malta and former operator Arriva Malta

that led to the setting up of Malta Public
Transport Services (Operations) Limited.
Transport Malta said interested parties
could bid for the exclusive concession
rights until July 2021 with the immediate
option to extend to either 10-15 years.
While visiting Malta Stay at:

The Diplomat Hotel, 173 Tower Sliema.
Email: sales@diplomat.com.mt Tel: (00356) 23497000
10 The Voice of the Maltese
Botta u risposta
al dawk li midla tal-politika Maltija, galkemm din tiri wkoll ferti
G
pajjii ora, il-partiti politii jgassu lil
l-Iskema
ta-ittadinanza....
L-UE
Tapprova
P
robabbli afna minnkom dia`

tafu li ntlaaq ftehim bejn il-Gvern
Malti u l-Unjoni Ewropeja dwar liskema ta-ittadinanza li qajjmet
daqshekk kjass u diskussjoni ma
tispia qatt fil-media Maltija. Dak li
forsi afna ma jafux bdan il-ftehim
hu, li l-iskema ta-ittadinanza
Maltija, issa hija l-unika skema taxxorta tagha li hija approvata mill-Unjoni Ewropeja.
Gidt wara afna diskussjoni... Filfatt it-tabbir ta-ftehim qabbad
polemika dida billi l-Oppoiizzjoni
qed issostni li l-Gvern malti kellu jedi
quddiem l-Unjoni Ewropeja, kif ukoll
gax gaddiet tal-Oppoizzjoni li dejjem insistiet dwar il-tiea li wieed
ikun residenti fil-Gejjer Maltin biex
jikseb din i-ittadinanza.
Attwalment l-Oppoizzjoni kienet
qed tinsisti li -ittadinanza kelha
tingata wara ames snin residenza.
Imma skont il-ftehim li ntlaaq issa,
biex wieed jikkwalifika jrid li jkun
residenti fMalta gal 185 urnata flewwel sena li japplika u bl-ebda obbligu li jibqa Malta wara li jikseb
i-ittadinanza.
xulxin gal kull botta, stenna risposta.

Eempju ta dan kienet titjira bilelikopter minn Malta gal Gawdex.
Din it-titjira saret mill-membru parlamentari laburista Gawdxija Justine Caruana li biex tilaq titjira gal Marsilja fi
Franza fuq xogol tal-Gvern, ivvjaat
minn Gawdex gal Malta fuq elikopter
tal-Forzi Armati. U l-istorja ta din it-titjira
malajr iet stampata fuq il-faata ta quddiem ta The Times of Malta.
Sintendi mal-ewwel qabe fuq din l-istorja il-Kap tal-Oppoizzjoni li tkaa
bdan l-hekk imsejja abbu. Il-Gvern
malajr wieeb li dan sar gax Caruana
kellha titla burgenza fMarsilja gal-
laqga uffijali fejn ipparrtipat fkonferenza tal-Assemblea Parlamentari.

L-uniku mezz biex tilaq it-titjira gal
Franza kien li ttir minn Gawdex gallajruport ta Malta bil-elikopter.
Ida r-risposta gall-botta tal-Oppoizzjoni waslet meta iet mxandra lista sia
ta gadd sabi tatitjiriet li saru mill-Prim
Ministru Gonzi meta kien fil-Gvern u fejn
uud mit-titjiriet saru gal xi attivitajiet
tal-partiti, ikliet, tie, funeral u kunerti,
bi spi ata l fuq minn 53.000.
Mal-1004 weel kuladd

Fil-kwistjoni ta-ittadinanza effnu fin-nofs lill-Maltin/Awstraljani, gax jidher li emga
gira ta nies iffurmaw spei ta moviment bl-isem ta Maltese Pride bil-gan li jibru lfirem gall-petizzjoni li tee lill-Gvern jirtira l-iskema ta-ittadinanza.
Il-petizzjoni ngatat prominenza fThe Times of Malta. Bilkemm laqet dehret fuq il-website tat-Times li ma bdewx il-kummenti li sfortunatament ma kienux limitati gal diskussjoni
dwar il-petizzjoni -ittadinanza, ida waqget fkummenti kultanti goffi, dwar ilMaltin/Awstraljani gax, kif jiri afna drabi, kien hemm gadd minn dawk li kummentaw
dwar l-istorja, li poew lill-Maltin/Awstraljani kollha fqoffa wada, balikieku l-400 elf
jew aktar Maltin/Awstraljan aru kontra din l-iskema.
Wara rriulta li l-petizzjoni ippreentata lill-Kap tal-Oppoizzjoni, kienet iffirmata
minn1004 Malti/Awstraljan, skont il-maltarightnow.com minn Victoria u NSW
Il-petizzjoni ma ietx ippreentata wkoll lill-Prim Ministru jew xi Ministru tal-Gvern kif
inhi d-drawwa meta tinabar xi petizzjoni, imma allew fidejn il-Kap tal-Oppoijoni irressaq din il-petizzjoni fil-Parlament, fl-istess jum li ntlaaq ftehim mal-UE.
Boomerang
wistjonijiet dwar i-ensura mhumiex
K
xi aa dida gal Malta. afna drabi
din i-ensura tii min-naa tal-Awtoritajiet. Did-darba l-storja differenti, gax
mhix ejja mill-Awtoritajiet imma minn
gaqda msejja River of Love Fellowship
li qed toezzjona gall-produzzjoni teatrali li se ssir fit-Teatru Manoel bl-isem ta
Jiena Nobb, Inti Tobb. Din tittratta
suetti ball-adozzjoni minn koppji gay,
l-IVF, is-surrogazzjoni, is-sesswalit u rreazzjonijiet tas-sojet gal dawn l-affarijiet. (lemin il-poster tad-dramm)
River of Love Fellowship ava pubblika-
Daal missier u iere nannu

Il-President ta Malta Dott George Abela daal gall-kariga tiegu bala missier ta
ewt itfal. Ida issa li wasal biex itemm il-kariga tiegu se joro mill-palazz ta San
Anton bala nannu, billi t-tifla tal-President, Maria u r-rael tagha Paolo Manconi gad
kif kellhom tifel li ngata l-isem ta' Matteo.
Dan huwa t-tieni wild taghom wara binhom Luca. Il-President huwa nannu wkoll ta'
Georgia May it-tifla ta' ibnu Robert u l-mara tiegu Lydia.
ment lin-nies biex ma jattendux gal din

il-produzzjoni gax tagti eempji
iena.
Ida l-avvi serva bal boomerang gax
sintendi l-kurita, biex ma ngidx aa
ora wkoll, gamlet bafna nies u lkonkorenza gal dan ix-xogol teatrali jidher se tkun tajba ferm.
Venerabbli Gawdxija
ara afna snin ta idma, issa l-Gawdxin se
W
jkollhom xi add mill-Gira taghom bit-titlu ta
venerabbli. Dan wara li l-Qdusija Tiegu l-Papa
Franisku fudjenza mal-Eminenza Tiegu l-Kardinal
Angelo Amato, Prefett tal-Kongregazzjoni tal-Kawi
tal-Qaddisin, laqa l-parir poittiv ta din il-Kongregazzjoni, dwar il-virtujiet eroji tal-Qaddejja ta Alla
Madre Margerita De Brinca. Huwa awtorizza lill-istess
Kongregazzjoni toro id-digriet li jiddikjara lil Madre
Margerita De Brincat uffijalment Venerabbli.
Issa jonqos biss li jsir miraklu bl-interezzjoni ta din
il-venerabbli biex tingata t-titlu ta Beata.
Preedenza lill-Qrati
F
l-1995 fMalta kien iffirmat protokoll mal-Vatikan li fost kollox kien jagti urisdizzjoni esklussiva lit-Tribunal Ekklejastiku fil-kwistjoni tal-annulament tawiijiet, u allura dan it-Tribunal kellu preedenza fuq il-Qrati Maltin.
Briutat ta dan beda jiri li l-Qrati Maltin ma setgux jisimgu kaijiet ta annulament jekk wada mill-partijiet kienet tressaq ka ta annullament quddiem dan it-Tribunal, qabel it-tribunal ikun ta d-deijoni tiegu.
Galkemm fdawn l-aar snin qamet diskussjoni sia dwar il-materja, kollox
baqa kif kien, sakemm il-Gvern preenti feta tadidiet mal-Vatikan li fi ftit mien
wasslu gal fethim biex issa ie ffirmat protokoll addizzjonali li permezz tiegu, x'in
ikun qed jiddeiedi annullament l-Istat ivili jkun awtonomu mit-Tribunal.
Hekk fi kwistjonijiet ta annulament, il-Qrati Maltin mhux se jkunu jiddependu aktar
fuq it-Tribunal Ekklejastiku.
Kif qal tajjeb il-Ministru tal-Affarijiet Barranin, George Vella, permezz ta dan ilftehim il-Gvern assigura li pajjina jkun stat lajk li jilleila gal kuladd filwaqt li
jagti pi kbir lil dak li tgid il-knisja. (Gal aktar dettalji ara wkoll pani 1 u 2)
Gandna razzimu?
afna jgidu li fMalta mgandniex
razzimu. Fil-fatt afna huma dawk ilMaltin li gandhom tolleranza kbira gal
min gandu il-ilda tiegu mhux bal
tagna.
Sfortunatament l-influs qawwi ta immigranti mill-Afrika qed jhedded din ittoleranza. U galkemm nemmen li
galkemm fil-qalb ta qalbhom afna
Maltin mhumiex razzisti, dan ilfenomenu bil-mod il-mod donnu qed jikber, l-aktar u l-aktar meta xi immigranti
jingataw ertu konessjonijiet li jkun
hemm min jinterpretahom li huma ta
dannu gall-Maltin.
Dan deher ar meta gall-ewwel darba
l-Knisja fMalta olqot kategorija biex
tfal li jkunu ejjin minn familji li applikaw gall-ail jingataw preferenza
meta jooru l-applikazzjonijiet galliskejjel tal-Knisja. Gal dawn it-tfal qed
jiu riservati erba' postijiet.
Meta tabbar dan, mal-ewwel bdew
delin kummenti xejn sbie, bal ngidu
ana:
taghmel tajjeb il knisja tghidilna meta
tkun se tigbor ghall-iskejjel alli dak
innhar ma naghti xejn
tajjeb ukoll, diskriminati f'pajjina
stess! Prosit monsignjur. Issa meta tridu
l-flus, tafu fejn gandkom tmorru !
Tajjeb ukoll! U l-postijiet gat-tfal
Maltin jonqsu. Charity begins at home!
U l postijiet gat-tfal Maltin dejjem jonqsu, mhux dia kienet difficli dawn kien
jonqos, daqt ikollhom drittijiet aktar

minnha gax forsi dis-sena bdew minn
erbga, u aktar il quddiem jizdiedu.
( il-kummenti dehru fl-iNews).
Gal dawk li forsi ma jafux, l-gadd ta
dawk li japplikaw biex jidlu fdawn liskejjel dejjem ikun ferm akbar minn
dawk li attwalment jirnexxilhom jitilgu
bil-polza, u galkemm in-numru ta erba
postijiet jidher gir fejn id-dul kollu,
xorta dan it-tnaqqis jinass minn dawk li
uliedhom ma jidlux fdawn l-iskejjel.
Statistika
D
in id-darba nibda babar li mhix statistika li tagti figuri dwar il-passat

jew il-preent, imma dwar il-ejjieni. Dan
billi issa waslana fi stat fejn jgidulek
kemm se tgix. Iva qed taqraw tajjeb.
Dan minabba li dan l-aar, minn grafika interattiva li iet imejjija mill-urnalist
Marcelo Duhalde, mill-Oman, li jispejalizza fil-urnalimu tal-istatistika, irriulta li
jekk il-kundizzjonijiet ambjentali nazzjonali ma jinbidlux, tfal Maltin li twieldu fl2013 mistennija jgixu sa 80 sena, jiifieri
gaxar snin inqas minn tfal li twieldu fMonaco, u li se jlaqu d-90 sena.
Fl-istess kategorija tat-tfal Maltin hemm
ukoll dawk tan-Norveja, l-Irlanda, il-ermanja, l-Ingilterra, il-Greja, l-Awstrija,
FJum San
Valentinu
(14 ta Frar)
Jgidu li Frar imqarqa

Xejn mhu elu, pjuttost kiefer,
U ajar toqgodlu ewwa
Gax imqit u gandu d-dwiefer!
U galkemm hu l-iktar qsajjar
Jaf ifawwar anke l-bjar;
Joloq erba fi treqatna
Wil-widien jimtlew sax-xfar.
Imma galkemm dan il-gwaj kollu
Miegu jib rajjiet sbie;
Kien fda-mien li San Pawl tfarrak
U lil ensna abb bi si.
Tul dax-xahar in-nies titbarad,
Titbanan fil-Karnival
Gax kif jgid il-qawl minn tagna
Mhux darbtejn insiru tfal?!
Il-borma fuq tlieta toqgod
Il-festa tal-mabubin
Ma Frar tasal, mistennija
Rigal nixtru lil xulxin.
Ja anini kemm inobbok
Kieku taf xnagmel galik
Kieku gandi flus bix-xabga
Villa sbeja kont nagtik!
Imma galkemm dawn bwieti vojta
Tibqa l-mimmi ta gajnejja;
Kieku nista l-jum kollu
Ma tarabx minn tat idejja!
Gax l-imabba hija l-qofol
Tal-fer kollu tal-bnedmin
Tixbah nien mimli bil-fjuri
Friefet, vjoli, iimin!
Kav Joe M Attard
Victoria Gawdex - 2014
dawk tal-Lussemburgu, tal-Belju u talFinlandja
Mhux kuntenti bli kellhom ...
Dan gax fl-aar tlett snin fMalta saru
883 operazzjoni gat-tkabbir u l-irranar
tas-sider (breast implants u breast augmentation).
Dan sirna nafuh gax deputat fil-Parlament Malti gamel mistoqsija dwar dan.
Vetturi
L-gadd ta vetturi fit-toroq Maltin kwai
laqu l-popolazzjoni ta Malta. Il-popolazjoni hija ta ftit aktar minn 418,000, filwaqt li skont ifri marua mill-Uffiju
Nazzjonali tal-Istatistika (NSO), sal-aar
tal-2013 fit-toroq Maltin kien hemm xejn
inqas minn 322,960 vettura.... madwar
tlett vetturi gal kull erbgha min-nies, li
sintendi jinkludu trabi, tfal u dawk li lanqas biss gandhom lienzja tas-sewqan.
12
A quick glimpse at Australia
People out of work

A
quarter of a million Australian jobs

have vanished since the start of the
global financial crisis - with 22,000 jobs
lost in December alone.
The chance of another interest rate cut
faded, when shocking unemployment
data drove the Australian dollar to its
lowest level in more than three years.
Job-creation in Australia during 2013
was the weakest in 17 years - and all the
extra jobs were part-time. Australia now
has 722,000 people out of work - 45 per
cent more than at the start of the global

financial crisis.
The unemployment rate, which rose 0.1
percentage points to 5.8 per cent in December, only remained stable because
thousands more Australians gave up the
search for work last month.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data released last week shows that 223,900
workers have joined the unemployment
queue since December 2008, when the
unemployment rate was 4.5 per cent.
General Peter Gosgrove (left)

with PM TonyAbbott
A new Governor General

eneral Peter Gosgrove will to Yarralumla (Canberra) and AdG
replace the current GG, miralty House (Sydney) on a fiveQuentin Bryce, the first female year appointment with a salary
GG when her term expires in
March 2014. Quentin Bryce visited Malta on November 14/15,
2008.
The General will soon travel to
Buckingham Palace to meet Elizabeth 11. He will also get the keys
Toyota workers warned

t is not all well in the car industry in Australia. Industry Minister Ian MacFarlane warned that
Iarchaic
2500 manufacturing workers at Australias last car maker must accept cuts to their pay and
conditions or face Toyotas possible exit from Australia.
It is being predicted that more than 30,000 jobs could go across the Industry if the Japanese
company exited. Toyota is trying to slash labour costs by $17 million but the Federal Court
blocked their attempts through amendments to 27 conditions in the workers enterprise bargaining agreement. The cut in labour costs are part of an overall move to reduce production costs
per car by $3800.
Toyota built 106,000 cars and 108,000 engines in
Australia last year and, unlike Holden and Ford, exported about 70 per cent of these cars.
well above $400,000 a year.

Mr Gosgroves 37-year military
career reached its pinnacle after
serving in East Timor. He was a
full General and Chief of Staff of
the Defence Forces. On appointing him, PM Tony Abbott said
that he cant think of a better person to do this important job.
The GG in waiting said, youre
no longer a private citizen in the
office of governor-general, and I
think your responsibility is to shine
light but not to generate heat.
Like the Prime Minister, the new
GG is a keen monarchist and an
avowed supporter of a constitutional monarchy.
World Economic Forum

rime Minister Tony Abbott was in Davos
P
Switzerland to attend and address the WEF. He
painted a generally bullish picture of the global
economy but noted the recovery remained fragile.

The PM broke with convention of avoiding domestic point-scoring while on the international
stage by claiming Labour had erred during the
global financial crisis (2008-09) because it had ignored the immutable economic rules. He did not
think that we should have spent our way to prosperity despite nearunanimous advice of economists and the Treasury to do just that.
The PM said that the financial crisis had been a
failure of governance rather than capitalism itself.
He also said that Australia would press the G20 for
nations to confront frankly the issue of businesses
shifting profits overseas.
Australia will chair the worlds premier economic
leadership grouping, the G20, this November in
Brisbane.
We are already in the second month

of the New Year yet our readers
keep sending us news of their activities for the New Year festivities that
always seem to unite the people. This
time it was the Maltese Guild of
South Australia Inc. They celebrated
New Years Eve at their Cultural
Centre at Jeans Street Beverly.
We have been told that a great time
was had by all, particularly thanks to
the entertainment that was provided

by Eric the disk jockey and singer of
Music to your Ears, and the well
known local singer Stacey Saliba.
The hardworking ladies of the committee provided the catering needs
and comments reaching us indicate
that it was indeed a very successful
night with the members saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the
New year
Sustaining the
A quick glimpse at Australia
welfare system The nations booze-soaked culture
re proposed welfare cuts by the Abbott Government
A
justified? According to figures compiled by the
he State of NSW radical alOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Develop- Tcohol reforms will be unment Australias spending on welfare benefits last year dermined unless the legal
accounted for 8.6 percent of national economic output

well below the OECD average of 13 per cent.
The British spent 12.2 percent while the US spent 9.7
percent of GDP on social security. The Labour
spokesperson said that the federal governments claim
that Australia is heading for some sort welfare crisis is
just scare tactics.
The Government is looking at huge cuts but is saying
that age pension will not be touched, yet this cost the
government $36 billion a year and accounts for
roughly half the welfare budget.
The Newstart Allowances and the Disability Support
Pension cost respectively $7.5 billion and $15 billion
a year. The Coalition will still go ahead with the $5.5
billion paid parental leave scheme that has been described as middle class welfare.
drinking age is raised to 20

years and advertisement is
reined in. This call was backed
by Ita Buttrose, former Australian of the Year and the
Royal Australasian Collage of
Physicians.
Lockouts last drinks rules
and minimum mandatory sentences for alcohol-related crimes were important steps but more was required to change the nations booze-soaked culture.
Professor Tulley from RACP said, I applaud the state government but I do
not think the reforms will be sufficient to deal with this complex issue, we
need a suite of steps to change the culture.
He believes that raising the drinking age to 20 would likely have health
benefits for the community. Such a move will not be politically palatable.
The OFarrell Government has proposed a multimillion-dollar social media and advertising campaign, partly funded by the alcohol industry, to
address binge drinking but they are against raising
he Melbourne dailies and suburban newspapers seem to mention many Mal- the age limit.
tese sounding names and their activities. Chef, Shane Delias SBS show
Spice Journey will continue in 2014 with partner Peter Rowland.
Cabaret artist from Brunswick West, Danielle Asciak will pay homage to Earth
Kitt. She is touring her show nationally, Just an old fashioned Girl, started in Mel- PM Tony Abbott has promised to finalise by September a draft for amending the constitution to
bourne then at Perth Fringeworld, and Adelaide Fringe Festival.
The Herald Sun also mentioned Dr Jaclyn Gatt being in the team that saved Sitting recognise Aboriginal people as the first Australians.
Bull and Eve from being smothered in cranberry sauce as turkeys for Christmas. However he warned against rushing the changes,
Lort Smith Animal Hospital in Melbourne adopted the huge birds as pets and wants saying national debate was needed after the amendment was drafted to ensure it was a unifying moothers to consider turkeys as friends. I suppose they are not just meat on a plate.
Even Mons Charles Scicluna had his picture in the world news section with Arch- ment in Australias history. Australians, old and new,
from everywhere have to be comfortable with it.
bishop Tomasi, when they appeared in a UN Conference on human rights.
Maltese Sounding Names in Melbourne Press

T
The first Australians
The 1951 Refugee Convention
ednesday, January 22 last marked the 60th AnW

niversary of Australias signing of the Refugee
Convention. Australia, as the sixth signatory to the
convention, was the final nation required to bring the

convention into effect three months later on April
22nd 1954.
Since the signing of the convention Australia has accepted over 610,000 refugees, and a total of 800,000
since Federation.
On this anniversary it is crucial to recognise the importance of supporting refugees; they certainly seem
to need it at the moment.
14
Australians
Australians Celebrate
Celebrate
their
their National
National Day
Day
A
ustralians celebrated their National Day across the country

with high spirits and as a unified
nation. In a flag raising citizenship ceremony in Canberra the Prime Minister
Tony Abbott said it was a fitting day to
celebrate new citizens as Australias first
modern migrants had arrived on the First
Fleet in 1788, and acknowledge that his
family was amongst those who has since
migrated to Australia.
Mr. Abbott heard pledges from the 24
who hailed from New Zealand, the UK,
Canada, Argentina, the US, Tanzania,
Kenya, Sri Lanka, Philippines, France
and Denmark. To the men and women
taking the citizenship pledge here today and to the almost 18,000 taking the
pledge around Australia - I say welcome
to the team.
Mr. Abbott, fresh back from the World
Economic Forum in Switzerland, said
being Australian was one of the greatest
gifts imaginable.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten in Melbourne paid tribute to the contribution of
migrants from different cultures. You
have added your cultural energy to ours
and enriched our national identity, welcoming migrants is the driver of our national prosperity and the foundation of
our national success.
Almost 18,000 people from 155 nationalities across the country celebrated Australia Day by taking Australian
citizenship. Since the Nationality and
Citizenship Act created the status of Australian Citizen 65 years ago, more than
4.5 million people have become citizens.
Having been crowned Australian of the
Year, Adam Goodes, the 34-year-old
AFL Sydney Swans star, dual Brownlow
medallist, revered figure in indigenous
and footy communities and national inspiration said he finds it hard to buy into
a celebratory notion of Australia Day
''because of the sadness and mourning
and the sorrow of our people and a culture that unfortunately has been lost to
me through generations''.
Adam Goodes grew up believing Australia was founded on a summer's day in
Parading ithrough the main streets of Melbourne
They become new Australians

on Australia Day
(Report compiled by
Lawrence Dimech)
January 1788 when Governor

Arthur Phillip staked the flag
of the British kingdom in the
sand of Sydney Cove. ''I've
obviously learnt different since
then,'' he says.
West Australian Fred
Chaney has been named Senior Australian of the Year for
his contribution to indigenous
reconciliation and human
rights.
The 72-year-old was a federal Liberal minister in the
Fraser government in the
1970s and '80s.
Paralympics gold medallist,
Jacqueline Freney was chosen as Young
Australian of the Year while boss of children's charity TLC For Kids, Tim
Conolan was named Australia's Local
Hero for 2014.
Celebrating
Australia Day
T
housands of people lined the streets

of Melbourne to kick off Australia
Day festivities in Victoria's capital and
largest city, Melbourne.
Revellers waving Australian flags celebrated cultural diversity with a parade
involving more than 60 cultural and
community groups along the main
streets of Melbourne.
A flag-raising event was held at the parade with performances from choirs,
groups and bands.
Addressing the crowd, Victorian Governor Alex Chernov said the day was
about celebrating aspects of the nation
that make Australians proud.
We have a lot of freedom and choices
in this country, he said.
In homes and parks across the state

people celebrated with barbecues and
backyard cricket.
A 21-gun salute and a wreath-laying
service were held at the Shrine of Remembrance.
In the same city, Opposition Leader
Bill
Shorten
reflected on
wo free concerts were held at

the Sidney Myer Music Bowl,
while on the foreshore in Torquay,
a world record was attempted for
the longest line of giant inflatable
thongs joined in the water.
The Docklands hosted a fireworks display on Sunday evening
and Australian open title tennis
winner Li Na of China was
commended by Lord Mayor
Robert Doyle for her win in
Melbourne.
In the Kings Domain Gardens more than 450 vintage
cars were on display with activities, food stalls and entertainment.
We live in the best state in
the greatest country on earth,
Premier Denis Napthine said
at the parade.
Governor-General Quentin
Bryce said she found it exciting to be part of these ceremonies. Sundays formalities
were her last before her term
ends. It has been officially announced that she will be replaced

by General Peter Gosgrove. He
will take office in March.
There is something very, very
special about welcoming new
members to our community and
uniting all Australians under the
values we share, she said.
how the finest moments in Australian

history had come from turning national
will towards ending exclusion and
bringing people in from the margins.
Our challenge is to continue the Australian anthem of inclusion, he said.
From this day on, instead of talking
about migration as a threat to the peaceful, multicultural nation we have built,
let us see it as the irreplaceable element
in the making of modern Australia.
ydney Harbour was the focus of the citys celebration. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered during the day to watch the annual ferryton, the
tall ships race, the Australia Day regatta and an aerial display by the RAAF. Similar celebrations were
held in all other capital cities.
The Governor-General, Quentin Bryce AC CVO,
Chancellor of the Order of Australia, approved the
awards announced in the Australia Day 2014 Honours List. They included 683 recipients in the general division of the Order of Australia, recognising
their diverse contributions and service to fellow citizens in Australia and internationally.
I want to give my strong support to the awards
made through the Australian Honours System, Ms
Bryce said.
They elevate the concept of giving to others.
They heighten our respect for one another, and they
encourage Australians to think about the responsibilities of citizenship in our democracy.
Awards in the Australian honours system represent the highest level of
recognition accorded by our
nation for outstanding
achievement and service.
The Honours recognise
community values and celebrate what is important and
unifying in Australian life.
In the 2014 list we find one
person with a Maltese
sounding name, Joan Helen
Formosa for service to
sports as a gold medallist in
the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
The Maltese Community in
NSW celebrated the Day at
the Parramatta Town Hall
16
Community News
Tune In to Radio and Television
Maltese Radio Programmes
In MELBOURNE, on 3ZZZ 92.3FM or on

www.3zzz.com.au. Mondays 5pm, Fridays 5pm, Saturdays 10am.; Last
Wednesday each month at 1pm.
In SYDNEY, listen to the MCC radio
programme Sunday 11 am 2GLF FM89.3
In BRISBANE listen to the Maltese Program on 4EB on Tuesday 6.00am to
8.15am and Sunday 4.15pm to 5.15pm
To listen to the Maltese Radio of
UNCLE SAM DJ from Australia tune in
to link: www.unclesamdj.com
FRED FENECH: Every Thursday from
5.00pm till 6.00pm on 2RRR FM 88.5
VIVA MALTA
VIVA MALTA on Central Coast Radio
NSW on Thursdays February, 13 and 27
from 6pm to 7pm on COAST FM 96.3
Community Radio in Gosford. NSW.
Presenter: Nathalie Gatt.
Web streaming is also available on:
www.coastfm.org.au.
On SBS Radio - Latest schedule

Day Time Analogue Digital
Tuesday: 12:00 - 13:00 SBS Radio 3
Thursday: 12:00-13:00 SBS Radio 3
Friday: 12:00-13:00 97.7fm SBS Radio 2
Saturday: 14:00-15:00: 97.7fm SBS Radio 2
To tune into digital radio you will need a
new receiver or device with a DAB+ chip.
Tuning in is by station name not frequency. Digital radio can also be heard on
digital TV. SBS Radio 2 is on Channel 38
and SBS.
Radio 3 is on Channel 39. Analogue is the
present FMwavelength. Digital radio can
also be accessed by a smart phone and/or
by going online at HYPERLINK:
http://www.sbs.com.au, www.sbs.com.au
Maltese Programmes TV, Web
The GDAY MALTAUSSIE SHOWon
TVS is broadcast in Sydney.
Every Saturday at 2pm; Repeats on Mondays 5 pm and Tuesdays 7.30 am
Watch direct via HYPERLINK:
http://ww.tvs.org.au; http://ww.tvs.org.au
The PBS MALTESE L-Abarijiet on SBS TV twice a week nationwide Sunday at

NEWS
8.00 am on SBS2 (Chan. 32); Thursdays at 8.05 am on SBS2
Avvi gall-Komunita` mill-MW (NSW)

Ta kull sena l-Maltese Welfare (NSW) jorganizjorganizzaw il-Quiet Achiever Night of Recognition fejn
madwar 12- il persuna jiu mogtija garfien
gax- xogol li jwettqu bala karit fil-kofil-komunit tagna.
Jekk taf lil xi add fdan is-sens, nistednuk li
tinnominah gall-avveniment ta nhar l-Erbga
19 ta Marzu 2014.
Il-persuni nnominati jridu jkunu l fuq minn 60 sena,
ta nisel Malti u residenti fi NSW.
Gal aktar tagrif jew biex tinkiseb il-formola tannominazzjoni wieed gandu jempel: 9631 9295.
Il-formola tista wkoll tinkiseb minn fuq il-website:
http://www.maltesewelfare.com.au
Meetings of Maltese Seniors

Fairfield Active Maltese Seniors
Meets on the first Tuesday of the Month
from10:00am to 12 noon.
The group meets in the Parish Hall, cnr
of Stella Street & The Boulevard, Fairfield Heights.
Daceyville Maltese Seniors
Come and join us and make new friends.

For more information on any of the
Groups please contact the Maltese Welfare Officer, Marisa Previtera, JP, on:
0414 863 123
Greystanes Maltese Seniors

Meets on the second Monday of the
If you live, work or travel near bushland areas, you need a Bush Fire Survival Plan.
Your Bush Fire Survival Plan will
help you make important decisions
like when to leave, what to take, and
what to do with animals.
Making your plan is easy. Don't put it
off. Planning to make a plan is not a
plan.
Coming Up
Activities of note
Sunday 9th February

Festa ta Don Bosco at the
Parish Church at Horsley
Park NSW from 11 am.
Reception at the Hall afterwards.
Wednesday March 19
Seniors Week:
Quiet Achievers, Night of
Recognition at 7.15 pm
at Annunciation Hall, St
Dominics at 171 Walters
Road Blacktown NSW
For details Email:
leonmaureen@msn.co
Jekk tridu tagmlu est li
biebkom ert li japprezzaw
garrfuhom bdin in-Newsletter li permezz tagha jkunu
mgarrfa bdak li qed ise
fostna u fart twelidna, Malta
month in the Youth Room of OLQP
Church, 198 Old Prospect Road,
Greystanes from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.
Llandillo Maltese Seniors

Meets on the first Wednesday of the
month at the Llandilo Community Hall,
Seventh Avenue, from 11am to 1pm.
The Sutherland & St George Maltese Group
Ongoing: We meet every First WednesMeets on the last Wednesday of the day of the Month from 10:00am. to 1:00pm
month in the Meeting Room One, No. 3
Our Meetings/Get Togethers are interGeneral Bridges Crescent, Daceyville.
esting, informative & entertaining.
Note: The Groups also arrange regular
We also have regular outings.
Bus Trips.
Come Join us and make new Friends
For more information one should contact

our Coordinator Charles Mifsud
J.P.Phone (02) 9501 5525 mobile 0421
662 298
*(All Groups are Sponsored by The Maltese Community Council, NSW)
Community
News
Continued
The Maltese Resource Centre (MRC)

Get Togethers will be resuming on the first Fridays of the Month
beginning on Friday February 7, from 11am 1.00pm.
Please bring a plate with you. Give a Senior or a friend a Lift to the Centre.
Free just turn up.
Address: Headmasters Cottage, enter from Pitt Street Merrylands corner
Franklin & Young Streets, behind Parramatta East Public School at Mays Hill.
Parking close by, ramp at back of building.
- Nancy Serg
18-Day US Holiday
(with Charlie Camilleri)

Departing 19TH May 2014
Please note:
As of now, those wishing
to send their community
news or any material di rectly related to the
newsletter for publica tion, under this heading
are kindly requested to
start sending them to:
maltesevoice@gmail.com
More Community
News on page 16
MEMPHIS - 3 NIGHTS: Visiting Elviss home and resting place GRACELANDS: Sun studio, where Elvis recorded his first song; Board Elviss plane
The Lisa Marie. TUPELO Elviss birth place.
NASHVILLE 3 NIGHTS MUSIC CITY of USA: Visit Johnny Cash Museum;
Country Music Hall of Fame and a show at the
GRAND OLE OPRY.
LAS VEGAS 5 NIGHTS of fun. Try your luck at gambling. Optional day at
GRAND CANYON.
LOS ANGELES 3 NIGHTS, 1 day DISNEY LAND, 1 day UNIVERSAL
STUDIOS.
Phone Charlie on: 0410-523-476
Maltese Language Schools
Maltese Language & Cultural Schools
St Nicholas Festa Committee NSW

2014 Calendar:
If you wish to learn Maltese in SYDNEY

call: 0402 002 454malteselanguageschoolnsw@hotmail.com
In MELBOURNE, contact:
Edwidge Borg, MCCV Maltese Language Classes
http://www.mccv.org.au/index.php/language
http://federationofmalteselanguageschoolsaustralia.com
edwidgeborg@excite.com
Also in MELBOURNE, contact Emma Navarro on 0406 215 990 or
HYPERLINK mailto:learnmaltesevic@gmail.com learnmaltesevic@gmail.com
30th March: Autumn Fiera

7th July: L-iMnarja
19th October: Spring Fiera
29th November: Night of Entertainment ( Rock n' Roll)
7th December: San Nicholas Festa
The Friends of Providence House NSW

(Official Ambassadors for
Id-Dar tal- Providenza)
The organisation wishes to advise that
there are still vacancies left for the 21Day Fly/Cruise/tour departing Sydney
May 17, 2014.
We will be visiting Athens, cruising
the Greek Islands, then to London touring England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales,
back to London and then on to Malta.
For all enquiries or bookings please
contact the Co-ordinator, Jim Borg on
Books for Sale

Telqu g al G onq it-Triq
( Book 2 )
by Lawrence Dimech
Call: Australia 61 2 9631 929
Malta 356 2144 1545
(02) 9636 7767 / Mb: 0418 82 5591 or

email foph@bigpond.com
The official bank details for donations
are: Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Name of Account: Friends of Providence House NSW Ac No: 1019 9448
BSB: 062 416.
Thanks for your support.
----------------------10-Day Tour to Tasmania

Join Monica Ledger on a 10-day tour
to Tasmania, The Island
of untamed beauty
Dates: February 15 to 25, 2014
All inclusive: tours, flight, hotels,
together with breakfast and dinner
daily (half board basis)
Transfers in Sydney and comprehensive insurance
This is a very popular tour so be quick
and call Monica:
on 98960712 MB 0414859386
18
Aged care in South Australia

During the festive season, the
Hon Jack Snelling MP the
Minister for Health & Ageing
and Multicultural Aged Care
in South Australia issued an
invitation to Joseph Briffa,
the energetic secretary of the
Maltese Guild of SA to attend
the 20th anniversary celebrations of MAC at the Balcony
Room at Parliament House,
North Terrace Adelaide.
Mr Briffa was offered the
opportunity to share his experiences with many other ethnic groups doing the same
kind of work as his organisation, in the area of aged Maltese in his State. Joseph
Briffa is seen here (on right)
with Hon Jack Snelling MP
and Margota Pukitis from the
Latvian Aged Care.
rs
Readee Note
Pleas receiving o?urIf
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Are yotter regulaneed back
e
newsl iss out or t us know.
m
le
u
yo
pleaseimes when you
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e
u
s
t
s
i
are
ull or
There oxes are ft in touch
b
.
email e away. Ge after you
b
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o
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o
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ccess
and w can also altese
You f the Ma ging to
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Voice letter by lo tesewell
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new /www.ma d clicking
http:/ om.au an gn
fare.c e Voice si The Voice
on Thhe Team
T
Sunday 9th February 2014

Programme
5.00 pm Mass in the main hall.
Procession with the statue of St Paul from the
hall to the Chapel accompanied by OLQOP
Maltese Band.
After the procession O.L.Q.O.P Maltese
band will perform Marches for ones enjoyment at the Centre
Sam Mifsud will wrap up the programme.
The bar and the kitchen will be open for
your convenience.
Admission is free and everyone is welcome.
For any information phone the centre:
96225847
Attivitajiet Gaqda San Gejtanu (Melbourne)
Is-Sojeta` San Gejtanu ta Melbourne gadhom kemm ippubblikaw kalendarju bl-attivitajiet li gandhom ippjanati
gal tul is-sena 2014.
Ikun sewwa kieku jkollna iktar gaqdiet Maltin li jippublikaw bil-quddiem l-attivitajiet taghom alli kemm jista
jkun jonqsu l-attivitajiet tal-istess xorta fl-istess jiem.
Il-add 16 ta Frar: Over-the-Bay trip
Is-Sibt 8 ta Marzu: Seafood Night 7.30 pm
Il- add 23 ta Marzu: NSW bus trip
Il- add 27 ta April: Mothers Day Lunch 12 pm

Is-Sibt 10 ta Mejju: Festa San or Preca 7 pm
Il- add 18 ta Mejju: Laqga u ikla 12 pm
Il- add 15 ta unju: NSW bus trip
Is-Sibt 19 tal-Lulju: Anniversary Dinner 7.30 pm
L-attivitajiet (barra l-bus trips) isiru kollha fSt Martin de
Porres Avondale Heights (Melbourne)
Ikkuntatjaw lil: jJmmy Chirkop: 0435847173; Rita Hili:
93311430 jew Joe Cassar: 93742767.
It-tieni parti ta dan il-kalendarju jabbruh aktar tard.
Sports
Melbourne Heart get new owners

- Man City acquire majority stake
elbourne Heart may be bottom of

the A-League, but their hopes have
been boosted with the confirmation that
the club has been acquired by a consortium led by English Premier League club
Manchester City who themselves are
owed by by Abu Dhabi United Group
who purchased the club in 2008 to make
it one of the wealthiest in the world.
The 80 per cent acquisition will be completed by another consortium - which includes the owners of the NRL's
Melbourne Storm - in a 20 per cent minority share. The Football Federation
Australia (FFA) approved the acquisition
on January 23.
At the conclusion of the current seasonMelbourne Heart will be renamed Melbourne City FC, with the club's new
ownership keen to bring the A-League
team into line with its other properties.
Meanwhile Heart have been saying they
are excited about the opportunity to make
the club one of the most successful football clubs in Australia and throughout the
region.
Manchester City CEO Ferran Soriano,
who is Spanish, says the English Premier
League club is excited by the opportunity
to invest in the A-League.
He said in a statement: We are excited
about the opportunity to make Melbourne Heart one of the most successful
football clubs in Australia and throughout the region.
We believe the strong sports culture of
Melbourne combined with the football
and commercial expertise within our
consortium will make for a powerful
combination both on and off the pitch.
Immediately the Abu Dhabi United
Group took over at Manchester City,
there followed a flurry of bids for high
profile players, something that Heart fans
hope will also happen at their club.
However, the first thing the new ownership group said they would do is, to
ootball Federation Australia is looking

to strengthen its ties with Asia with the
Hyundai A-League contemplating the implementation of a designated Asian only
visa position with FFA CEO David Gallop, saying that the time is right to capitalise on the impact Western Sydney
Japanese star footballer Shinji Onohas
made on the competition
Gallop said that by 2020, its estimated
there will be 400 million people playing
football in Asia, and football can help the
nation build political and economic ties
take the time to listen

and learn and then to
develop their strategy
for strengthening the
club over time. The
group went on to say
that out of respect for
the coaching staff and
players in the middle of
the A-League season, it
would not be making
any major announcements until mid-2014.
Meanwhile, FFA chief
executive David Gallop
said the acquisition was
a huge vote of confidence in the A-League's
future. He said: Football has moved into the
mainstream of Australian sport and is ideally placed to benefit
from the boom in football across Asia. Manchester City and their
Australian
partners
have made a strategic
investment and I welcome them to our
growing competition.
It's another sign that the
world is taking notice
Man. Citys Spanish CEO Ferran Soriana exof Australian football.
cited by opportunity to invest in A-League club
He believes that Manchester City and their partners would bring Heart follows its establishment of New
a high level of expertise in football and York City Football Club in May 2013,
sports business matters, and that can only which will enter Major League Soccer in
strengthen the Melbourne Heart and the ... the United States in the 2015 season.
Heart players, among them Malta interA-League as a whole, he added.
Storm owner and chairman Bart Camp- national Michael Mifsud, and Australias
bell said the NRL club was relishing the own, Harry Kewell also seem to have
chance to strengthen its relationship with welcomed the move and are said to be
a fellow Melbourne sporting franchise, looking forward to the new partnership,
and are excited to be a part of what he de- that most certainly could in the end, also
involve some changes in the playing
scribed as a unique project.
Manchester City's investment in the staff.
FFAwants to Strengthen ties with

Asia by changing visa regulations
with Asia. He believes he A-League

would benefit from fostering opportunities
for Asian players.
He added that having a spot for an Asian
player definitely fits with the FFAs strategic direction but any change is unlikely to
be implemented for next season though, as
clubs will have foreign players already
contracted. It might also take some time
given the existing rules for visa places,

which are for five foreign players.
*Melbourne Heart are said to be leading

the race to sign Socceroos 23-year-old
midfielder Aaron Mooy, being described
as the best young talent from the A-League, who reportedly wants to leave Western
Sydney Wanderers.
20
Sports 2
Valletta halt Birkirkaras

14-match winning streak
n front of a record crowd for this season

at the National Stadium, one match to go
before the end of the first phase of the Premier League on Sunday, Valletta brought
to an end Birkirkaras impressive streak of
fourteen successive victories by beating
them 2-1.
Goals by Ryan Fenech and Hamza Barry
enabled Valletta to register this important
win that helped them reduce the gap between them and the leaders, Birkirkara to
just three points. At the end of the first
phase, the points accumulated in the first
22 matches will be halved for the second
phase in which the top six will play in the
championship Pool and the other six in the
Relegation Pool.
Birkirkara got theor goal from a penalty
scored by Haruna Shola Shodiya.
Therefore if both teams win their remaining match, against Balzan and Vittoriosa respectively, Birkirkara will start the second
part of the campaign only a point ahead.
The goals were scored two each by Diego
Malta Premier League Results
Following are the Premier League results since the last issue of
The Voice of the Maltese. Matches from Rounds 20 and 21.
Round 19
3-2 Standings P W D L F A Pts
Mosta v Qormi
6-1 Birkirkara 21 17 2 2 47 18 53
Valletta v Rabat
21 16 2 3 51 14 50
Sliema W v Vittoriosa 2-1 Valletta
Hibernians v Floriana 4-0 Hibernians 20 13 2 5 49 24 41
1-0 Sliema W. 20 10 7 3 37 22 37
Balzan v Naxxar L
21 11 2 8 43 35 35
Birkirkara v Tarxien R. 3-1 Mosta
Balzan
21 8 4 9 24 30 28
Round 20
Naxxar L
21 8 3 10 27 36 27
Vittoriosa S v Rabat A. 1-0 Floriana
20 8 3 9 27 30 21
3-2 Vittoriosa S. 21 5 3 13 23 43 18
Balzan v Tarxien
4-0
Mosta v Naxxar L.
Tarxien R. 21 4 4 13 27 45 16
Valletta v Birkirkara 2-1 Qormi
20 4 3 13 23 38 15
pos. Rabat A.
Hibernians v Qormi
21 1 3 17 16 59 6
Sliema W. v Floriana pos.
Pereira and Bojan Kaljevic, one of the latters

from a penalty.
Another important result was Balzans over
Tarxien by 3-2. That
helped them leapfrog over Naxxar, losers
by 0-4 against Mosta Sunday into sixth
place, with a point more. In the decisive
games, Balzan face Valletta and Naxxar
taken on Hibernians.
In the other match, Vittoriosa had goalkeeper Mario Muscat making his debut
after joining them from Hibernians in a
loan deal until the end of the season. Mus-
More Football Results

Parramatta FC v Wollongong U. -U/18 win
5-0; U/20 draw 2-2; First grade win 3-1
Next trial game: Feb 9: v Bankstown at
Jensen Park from U/16 to first grade.
Kick off: 5.p.m.
UEFA U/17 Championship in Malta in May
n Saturday the Malta FA lanched The

2014 edition of the finals of the UEFA
Under-17 Championship tobe held in May.
This is the largest tournament ever the
MFA has been entrusted with by UEFA,
thus providing both administrative and
Michael Mifsud misses out

on Hearts Dramatic Victory
A last-minute strike from Adam Taggart
ichael Mifsud was not even on the
M
substitutes bench for Melbourne secured the NewHearts 17th Round 2-1 dramatic home castle Jets a 2-2
win over Alessandro del Pieros Sydney

FC at AAMI Park. It was Hearts first victory under new coach John vant Schip.
They not only came from behind to
achieve it, but also managed it despite
playing for half of the game with ten men.
His absence has started speculations that
the Maltese international strikers days at
Melbourne Heart could be numbered as he
has failed to deliver with only a goal to
show in what is turning out to be a very disappointing season for the A-League club.
Heart enjoyed some of their best play of
the season until new signing Orlando Engelaar, in just his second start for the Club,
was shown a straight red card for an awkward tackle.
Sydney FC looked intent on following up
on last weeks victory against Melbourne
Victory. They drew ahead through Gamiero after Engelaars dismissal, but Heart
levelled through Germano substitute
Williams produced a sublime individual
effort to score the all-important goal.
In other matches, Brisbane Roar opened
up a seven-point buffer on Western Sydney Wanderers at the top of the ladder after
beating Central Coast Mariners 2-1.
The two teams will meet on Friday th at
Parramatta Stadium. This game will determine who will win the premiership.
cat leaves the Paolites after two decades as

the Hibs number one goalkeeper.
draw with Western

Sydney W.
The team coached
by Kevin Muscat,
Melbourne Victory
put consecutive 5-0
losses behind them
as they obtained a
creditable 1-1 draw away to Perth Glory
at Nib Stadium. Following their fighting
performance, Kevin is confident his team
will become a potent outfit once it finds
some consistency and gives Tom Rogic,
on loan from Celtic until the end of May
more chances to shine. The 21-year-old
impressed in his first start for Victory.
Perth had William Gallas the 36-year-old
French defender limping off in the 84th
minute. If he fails to recover for the next
match, it would
be a hard blow RESULTS for Perth as the Round 16
U v Melbourne H.
former Arsenal, Adelaide
Brisbane R. Wellington Ph.
Chel-sea and Central Coast v Newcastle J.
Tottenham de- Western Sydney v Perth G.
fender already Melbourne V. Sydney FC
missed seven Round 17
weeks earlier in Melbourne H. v Sydney FC
G. v Melbourne V.
the season with Perth
Newcastle J. v Western SW.
an even more Brisbane R. v Central Coast
serious injury.
Wellington Ph.v Adelaide U.
technical challenges to the association.

This first international exposure to some
of the administrators is bound to bring to
Malta around 5,000 people, plahyers, technical staff and supporters, all connected
with the sport.
Round 16
The Australia Daylong weekend that
marked the 16th roun d of the A-League,
was no good news to Kevin Muscats Melbourne Victoria. They were beaten well
and truly by their arch rivals Sydney FC
by 5-0, while Central Coast Mariners registered a decisive 3-0 victory in the F3
derby against Newcastle Jets.
Western Sydney Wanderers regained second spot I the league ladder by beating
Perth Glory 3-1 at home.
In other results Adelaide snatched a lastgasp goal against Michael Mifsuds Melbourne Heart to eventually share the points
in a 2-2 draw. Heart were leading 2-1 until
the 90th minute. The Maltese international keeps finding the going so tough
and has only scored one goal in 13 appearances for the Harry Kewell led team.
The match featuring the table-topping
Brisbane Roar against a Wellington Phoenix side fresh from a 5-0 triumph lived up
to the pre-game hype, with the hosts
snatching all three points in an absorbing
encounter which they won 2-1.
2-2
2-1
3-0
3-1
0-5
2-1
1-1
2-2
2-1
2-1
Standings
Brisbane Roar
W. Sydney W.
Cent. Coast M
Melbourne V.
Sydney FC
Adelaide U.
Perth Glory
Wellington Ph
Newcastle J
Melbourne H.
P
17
18
17
18
17
17
17
17
17
17
W
12
8
7
6
7
5
5
5
5
2
D
1
6
6
6
1
6
6
5
5
6
L
4
4
4
6
9
6
6
7
7
9
F
32
21
18
23
23
25
17
23
17
16
A
15
17
17
28
24
24
18
21
22
29
Pts
37
30
27
24
22
21
21
20
20
12

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The Voice of the Maltese

(thunder from down under)

n agreement described as historic has just been

before the Ecclesiastical Tribunal.

T he Voice of t he M alt ese i s a fo r tn i gh t ly p ub li cat i o n s p ec if i call y t arg e ted t o war ds all

The Voice of the Maltese

Tuesday February 4, 2014

Malta and Holy See sign historic

Tuesday February 4, 2014

The Voice of the Maltese

Il-Gvern Awstraljan irid iwaqqaf

l-Gvern Awstraljan, l-istess bal dak

atti brutali fuq dawn n-nies tad-dgajjes

The Voice of the Maltese

Tuesday February 4, 2014

Dr Angelo Farrugia (circled) with the other

Malta Parliament Speaker Farrugia

n his way to New Zealand to attend

Commonwealth from Australia to

Tuesday February 4, 2014

The Voice of the Maltese 5

Dr Angelo Farrugia (centre) pictured at the annual general

bri, V/President: Charlie Gatt, Secretary: Danilka Gatt;

The Voice of the Maltese

Tuesday February 4, 2014

Rain, wind play havoc on Malta roads

osalie Rivett (nee Dato) being awarded the

The Voice of the Maltese 7

Tuesday February 4, 2014

abbret il-mewt ta' Maestro Karmenu Baldacchino li seet fit-3 ta

war 10 snin). Meta

16-il sena ta surmast ma din il-banda

The Voice of the Maltese

Tuesday February 4, 2014

Roundup of News About Malta

Malta Government and EC reach

he Malta Government and European

Prime Minister Dr Joseph Muscat (left) and Deputy

NP, ADs Reaction to agreement

The Voice of the Maltese 9

Tuesday February 4, 2014

Roundup of News About Malta

passenger movements, and forecasts a

Government launches 31 million Call for New Scheduled Bus

will cost between 25 and 31 million.

Malta and former operator Arriva Malta

While visiting Malta Stay at:

Email: sales@diplomat.com.mt Tel: (00356) 23497000

10 The Voice of the Maltese

Tuesday February 4, 2014

robabbli afna minnkom dia`

xulxin gal kull botta, stenna risposta.

laqga uffijali fejn ipparrtipat fkonferenza tal-Assemblea Parlamentari.

Mal-1004 weel kuladd

Daal missier u iere nannu

ment lin-nies biex ma jattendux gal din

The Voice of the Maltese 11

Tuesday February 4, 2014

jonqos, daqt ikollhom drittijiet aktar

in id-darba nibda babar li mhix statistika li tagti figuri dwar il-passat

Jgidu li Frar imqarqa

The Voice of the Maltese

Tuesday February 4, 2014

A quick glimpse at Australia