At a well-attended reception hosted by the Maltese Community Council of Victoria held at the Maltese Centre in Parkville on Saturday 9 November 2013 the Maltese community in Melbourne welcomed the new Malta High Commissioner for Australia, His Excellency Mr Charles Muscat, and the new Consul General for Malta in the State of Victoria, Mr Victor Grech.
Among the guests present at the reception were the High Commissioner’s wife Mrs Victoria Muscat; the Consul General’s wife, Mrs Patricia Grech; Mr Don Nardella MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition in the Victorian State Parliament; Mr Chin Tan, Chairman of the Victorian Multicultural Commission; Dr Edwin Borg-Manché, Honorary Consul of Malta for Victoria; Mr Mario Sammut OAM, Honorary Vice Consul of Malta for the Latrobe Valley; Mr Hasan Sayar, Manager Victorian School of Languages; Fr Mark Grima mssp, Superior General of the Missionary Society of St Paul; Fr Ivano Burdian, Provincial of the Missionary Society of St Paul in Australia; and Mr George Portelli, Representative of Bank of Valletta in Australia.
In his welcome address in English MCCV President Professor Maurice Cauchi said that the Maltese Community Council of Victoria has always recognised the importance of the position of both the High Commissioner as well as the Consul General.
“We recognise that they represent the Government of Malta and they are available to help all Maltese who need their help. We should remember that Malta House in Canberra is indeed part of Malta, and it is our earnest hope that forever it remains so,” said Prof Cauchi.
“We have had excellent relationships with both. It is enough to mention the great help received by the previous incumbents in relation to issues such as the SBS radio problems that we had last year, as well as issues relating to maintaining Maltese language and culture within the community. I am very confident that we will be having the same support in the years to come.”
In closing, Prof Cauchi wished both the High Commissioner and the Consul General them a smooth entry into this new field of endeavour, and to continue and enhance the role of the Maltese Government in Victoria. “We, as Maltese Community Council, look forward to working together in our role as representatives of the Maltese people in Victoria” he concluded.
Prof Cauchi then gave a summary in Maltese of the key points of his address.
In his address in English the new Consul General for Malta in Victoria, Mr Victor Grech, said that he had taken up his new position only a month before and he already felt at home in Melbourne. His stay has been facilitated by the welcoming spirit of the Maltese community. He said that he was deeply touched by the warmth, fervour and love that the Maltese in Australia still feel towards our homeland.
“It is indeed an opportunity for me, which I did not want to miss, and therefore here I am at your service, to serve the Maltese community, to the best of my ability,” said Mr Grech.
The Consul General said that his presence among the Maltese community was a sign of commitment and in the interest of all the Maltese community, which established itself many years ago. While most of those present had left Malta many years ago and consider Australia as their home, Mr Grech was confident that Malta and its cultural traditions would continue to be treasured by them. “You have worked hard and raised your families, ingraining in them our traditional Maltese values,” he said.
Mr Grech said that “since Malta is a very small nation, it is very important that all of us preserve our identity and cultural roots. The Maltese community in Australia has always been regarded as an asset to the Maltese economy and will continue to be valued as such, once we all continue to respect and safeguard our values and traditions.“
“It is well known that there are various Maltese festas being celebrated throughout the year in Australia, whilst the Maltese language remains our means of communication amongst the community. Indeed it is our unique language, which we are proud of. We do enjoy eating Maltese food, listen to traditional Maltese music and reminisce about the Malta that we left behind,” he said.
Mr Grech commented on how the Maltese community had integrated well in the fabric of multicultural Australia. “The Maltese are well known for their generosity, hard work, close family relations and for their sound religious faith, all important values that form a sound foundation for a better society,” he said.
Mr Grech said that he felt obliged to thank his predecessor, Mr Charles Mifsud, who served in the position of Consul General with dedication and passion. “Each time I spoke to him, he spoke highly of the Maltese community especially, notably the respect which you have constantly extended to him and his wife Anna. Charles Mifsud has also contributed to my smooth transition from my former responsibilities within the Ministry to our Consulate in Melbourne. I assure you that his contacts and lines of communication have been always open,” said Mr Grech.
Mr Grech then thanked the staff at the Maltese Consulate in Melbourne, Ms Miriam Cassar and Ms Pauline Theuma, who were both present in the audience. “They are both hard working employees, full of dedication and commitment, and perform their duties in the best interest of the community and our country,” he said.
Mr Grech wished every success to the Maltese Community Council of Victoria, which is a non-profit organisation that provides social, cultural, recreational and welfare support to all members of the Maltese community in the State of Victoria. He said that he looked forward to be of service to all, in close cooperation with the MCCV, as well as with all the other Maltese Associations.
Mr Grech finished by saying a few words in Maltese for the occasion. He concluded by auguring that, through the Maltese Centre, the MCCV continues with its useful work for the benefit of the Maltese community.
In his address in English the new High Commissioner, H.E. Mr Charles Muscat, said that this was not his first time he visited the Maltese Centre in Parkville that had been built with very hard work of the Maltese community in Victoria. He said that it was a pleasure to visit such a centre.
Mr Muscat said that he wanted those present to know that he was appointed High Commissioner to Australia “because the Prime Minister, the Minister [for Foreign Affairs] and the Government of Malta thought that at this stage I would be one of the best [to] represent the Maltese people in Australia. And that is because I have been [living] in Australia for 55 years. I have worked and experienced life the way all of you have lived. I am one of you. I am proud that I am still Maltese.”
Mr Muscat explained that he is no longer an Australian citizen as he had to relinquish his Australian citizenship to take up his appointment. “It was a little bit hard to relinquish it but there was no other way than to relinquish the Australian citizenship,” he said.
“I promise every one of you and every Maltese and Gozitan in Australia that my intention is to give every attention to every one of us, everybody. I always did, even though in my previous life, everyone knows whom I represented, I always gave all I had in me as a Maltese and I was always proud and still am proud to represent that little jewel in the Mediterranean. Therefore, I will give it my all to make sure that we together will get what is there for us and for you all,” said Mr Muscat.
Mr Muscat referred to the Council for Maltese Living Abroad and said that he will “follow [its workings] right through to make sure that we will achieve whatever we could achieve for all of us in Australia. Even though I now belong to the Maltese government, I am here to look after all the Maltese.”
Mr Muscat said that he had visited the Maltese community in Sydney two weeks before. “I have to explain right around Australia wherever I go, so that there are no misunderstandings of what is happening here, this is a serious matter, this is a serious job, and I am giving it whatever it deserves to be a High Commissioner,“ he said.
“Hopefully at the end of the period, at the end of my time, none of us will be disappointed. I am sure that once you see the way I can work and do my work accordingly, then everyone will be more than happy,” said Mr Muscat.
“I need to mention too that in the five weeks that I have been in Canberra I have already had some dealings with my past experiences that I had in business. So we have already started the road to see what we can acquire for Malta. I haven’t been appointed just to look after the Maltese only, but also we need to help Malta continue to prosper under this government and the government in the future,” he said.
Mr Muscat thanked his predecessor, Mr Francis Tabone, for an excellent job that he performed as well as “other High Commissioners previous to him to keep these excellent relations that we have with Australia. I can assure you that, when I was briefed by the Australian government before I have taken this appointment, they showed me that, yes, things have changed. The only thing that I had to give [up] was my citizenship, but other than that, the Maltese here in Australia are held in very high esteem. And this is thanks to all the past High Commissioners.”
Mr Muscat said that he has “a job to keep building on these good relations and there is no other way but to look forward.”
Mr Muscat also thanked Mr Charles Mifsud, the former Consul General of Malta in Victoria, whose term of office was terminated last September, for doing an excellent job.
“With my past business experiences, I can assure you that I have a lot of contacts here in Australia that we can use for the benefit of Malta. I have started using these contacts. We have something in the pipeline. It is too early to elaborate on things but this will be one of my fortes that I have to really work hard [on] what we can gain for Malta from this beautiful rich land that we live in here and that we have lived in for such a long time,” said Mr Muscat.
Mr Muscat then concluded with a few words in Maltese. He urged those present to assist him and the new Consul General to promote Malta as an island that we are all proud of, and as a potential destination for Australians, and not just Maltese living in Australia. He said that he and the new Consul General are there to assist the Maltese community as required.
Prof Cauchi then presented a copy of his book Under One Umbrella, a history of the Maltese Community Council of Victoria, to Mr Muscat and Mr Grech.
Mr George Saliba OAM was MC for the evening.
Serving the Maltese community in Victoria, Australia since 1958
