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COMMUNITY NEWS
Calls for submissions on aged care , migrants
THE Federation of Ethnic Communities ’ Councils of Australia ( FECCA ) has urged organisations involved in aged care to make written submissions to the Federal Government on its Aged Care Workforce Strategy ( ACWS ).
The Department of Health is offering extensive consultation on the Strategy , via its ACWS Taskforce .
The Taskforce is offering a series of community consultations with its chairman John Pollaers in Brisbane , Melbourne , and Hobart .
“ This is a great opportunity for our communities to have their say on this important issue ,” said FECCA chairwoman Mary Patetsos .
“ We urge interested organisations to offer their views to the Government , particularly on the special challenges facing aged care workers of culturally and linguistically diverse ( CALD ) background .” FECCA has called for : + Workers in aged care to be properly remunerated , respected and provided with professional pathways ; + Well-resourced , quality capability training as a requirement through the diversity framework and staff trained and supported in cultural competency ;
+ A bilingual and bicultural aged care workforce , to match the needs of the diverse people in their care ; and
+ Australia ’ s migration program to support the needs for a diverse and skilled aged care workforce .
In a submission to the Federal Government on Australia ’ s migrant intake , FECCA ) has again taken the opportunity to affirm that migration is central to Australia ’ s continuing economic , intellectual and social success . “ Migration brings new skills , knowledge and experience to this country ,” said chairwoman Mary Patetsos .
“ And migrants help to build a productive and culturally rich Australian society .” In its submission , FECCA argued that : + Australia ’ s migration program should ensure a balance between skills and work-related visas and humanitarian and family visas .
+ Priority be given to improving recognition of migrants ’ overseas qualifications .
+ Temporary and seasonal visa workers be better protected from abuse and exploitation by employers .
+ Medium and long-term visas include a pathway to permanent residency and citizenship .
+ There should be no changes to either the waiting period or English language requirements for permanent residents to apply for Australian citizenship . •
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OBITUARY
Ricardo ‘ Chiquito ’ Asensio Crame
January 9 , 1944 – February 26 , 2018
By FRANCISCO CRAME
MY brother " Chiquito ", as we fondly called him , had many friends who loved him and cared for him .
He studied at De La Salle and had many friends there , not only among his classmates but also the faculty .
He formed a group called The Galahads and perhaps some of that group might be here or listening from above .
He married his first wife Reggie Misa in 1966 and they have three children : Francis , Jose Mari and Angelica .
Many years later , they divorced . And years later he met Rebecca Aurelio , known to us as Vicky , and they married in 1986 here in Australia .
Chiquito ’ s work life started with Velbros , the Veloso Brothers Company . He was a very good salesman . He sold their bagoong and chile con Carne thrroughout Manila and the outlying provinces
Later , he worked for Connell and worked through the ranks all the way to brand manager .
In 1977 , he worked for the Philippine General Merchandising Corporation ( PGMC ) as their sales manager of Metro Manila . He was well liked by all his co-workers , his subordinates and bosses .
In fact his ex-boss from PGMC , Ben Sison , flew in from Manila a couple of weeks ago especially to see Chiquito in hospital and to give him support to fight on ; but sadly it wasn ’ t to be .
Chiquito emigrated to Australia to be with his family in 1985 .
He left many friends behind but kept in contact and remained close to his friends till the end .
He started work in Australia as a prison officer and reached the rank of first class prison officer and retired in 2008 after working for over 20 years for the Department of Corrective Services .
He was a tough guy all the way to the end ; he feared no one and feared nothing .
My brother Miguel told him once , after he ( Chiquito ) got mugged in a women ' s prison where he worked , that he was slowing down because he got beaten up by three women .
He laughed and replied that they weren ' t women ; they were monsters with long hair . I told him it was okay to get old . And boy , he hated that . I know he made jokes about all of us , but that was his way of telling you he cared about you . Miguel says he will never forget the times he depended on Chiquito to bail him out of trouble .
He played basketball with a few older kids and was quite an athlete back then but his problem was he had a big mouth and he always challenged the older kids .
Once in a while though he would get his ass kicked or his face slapped by the older kids but they would soon regret it because you didn ' t mess with the Crame boys , or girls for that matter , because then you had to deal with all five of us boys and we always had our very own “ equalizer ” who was my eldest brother Chiquito .
When you think of my brother , please think happy thoughts and remember the good things he did . The fun times we had with him .
I know God is caring for his soul . A prayer for him would not go astray .
Take care , my big brother , and may you rest In Peace . •
ASCON raises issue with Mayor
IN a meeting with Cumberland Council Mayor Greg Cummings recently , Auburn Small Community Organisation Network ( ASCON ) led by Cen Amores raised a number of issues directly affecting small and struggling communities in the delivery of their respective projects .
Cumberland Mayor Greg Cummings , centre , flanked by ( from left ) Glorina Papaioannou , Pet Storey , Sarangapillai Nava , S Kanesorajah , S Velupillai , Shweta Sharma , Ron Storey , Cen Amores , Izeta Zecevic and Saada Abdikarim .
By RICHARD FORD
Mrs Amores said ASCON raised the issue of confusion about the new booking procedure for accessing Council ’ s facilities
“ This involved their feeling of being left out , and the difficulty of accessing one-on-one support from Council staff ,” Mrs Amores .
“ Their desire to bring back the one-day Flavours of Auburn ’ s sharing of culture in cooking authentic food and sharing them with multicultural communities , cultural performances was important .
“ Further , ASCON wanted the valuable opportunity to actively participate with CALD communities working effectively as a team from project planning , execution , monitoring and evaluation stages to promote community harmony .”
Mayor Cummings said that he would take up the issues raised to the Council for deliberation and make action .
Among the successful projects initiated by ASCON with the participation of CALD communities and refugees were employment initiatives such as Connect To Work and My First Job , Refugee Camp I My Neighbourhood , Flavours of Auburn , Walking Food Tour , Training for Food Tour Guides , cooking food from diverse cultures , and publication of a Cooking Food Book . •
Register to vote
THE Philippine Consul in Sydney , Melanie Diano , is calling on Filipino expatriates and dual citizens to register as overseas voters at the Philippine Consulate if they have intentions of voting at the senatorial elections on
May 13 , 2019 .
Candidates are required to bring their passports and dual citizenship documents when applying for registration . •
14 MARCH 2018 | AK NewsMagazine , Vol 8 No 6 www . kalatas . com . au Celia Rodriguez is a Filipina veteran actress known for her roles as an evil step mother .