Greek-Australians to meet minister about immigration
Members of Australia?s Greek community are to meet with the Federal Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Chris Bowen after asking him to consider simplifying the process for people from Greece to emigrate to his country.
According to the Athens News Agency, Bowen accepted a request from community leaders to discuss a range of immigration issues, including the bureaucratic obstacles faced by Greeks wishing to live and work in Australia.
The Greek-Australian community newspaper Neos Kosmos reported recently that Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria (GOCMV) President Bill Papastergiadis wrote to Chris Bowen, asking for more sensitivity towards Greek migration applicants and for the process to be made more user friendly.
The newspaper also reported that the CEO of the Australian Industrial Systems Institute (AISI) Roula Tsiolas will come to Athens in May following an influx of inquiries from Greece.
“We thought it best to tap in there and have someone on the ground over there,» she told Neos Kosmos. «People are spending too much time, money and it’s all going to waste in terms of what their future plans are. They’re making very rash decisions and I think it’s reflective of the desperation of them at the moment; it’s very sad.”
