Michelle Ananda-Rajah (Higgins, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

For many migrant communities, maintaining the cultural and linguistic connection with one's heritage while integrating into our modern Australian culture can be a challenge, particularly through each generation. This is a challenge that Father George Adamakis and his committee at the St Catherine Greek Orthodox Church in Malvern East have embraced.

St Catherine's has a growing constituency that comes from further afield. It is testament to its welcoming culture and strong community focus, with multigenerational gatherings at church services or in language classes, where teachers with decades of experience teaching youngsters serve to preserve culture and bonds between the generations. Thanks to Father George's efforts, St Catherine's is bridging the gap between the community's Greek-speaking migrants and their first- and second-generation Australian children, keeping them in the tent. It's about making Greek culture and heritage accessible for young people to keep that tethering secure—a foot in each camp but secure in both. Young people were everywhere at a recent Palm Sunday luncheon I attended, with food prepared by the army of ladies supported by the generosity of successful local businesses that are Greek in origin.

That's the story of Australians of Greek heritage. Early generations forged businesses, overcoming barriers to their participation, and went on to create lanes for younger generations. That's social mobility in action, created by community for community.

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