President Bill Papastergiadis says settlement puts community “in a position of strength” as it plans three new cultural centres, the AGM also raised questions on the distance between general meetings and what seems now like a recurring cloud dampening the future of La Trobe’s Greek program

The executive board of the GCM, with the Treasurer, Manuel Tsirmiris, President Bill Papastergiadis, and Secretary, Assoc. Prof. Marinis Pirpiris in the middle. Photo: Supplied

A sparkling winter sun outside had well thawed the 0 to 4 Celcius morning as 108 members of the Greek Community of Melbourne and Victoria (GCM) gathered at Alphington Grammar School assembly hall on Sunday, August 2, for the organisation’s Annual General Meeting.

After accepting the minutes of the previous meeting, President Bill Papastergiadis delivered his report, which was followed by the treasurer’s report. There were some questions from the floor, and both reports were accepted.

The AGM’s headline moment was the president’s formal announcement to members of the $6.02 million out-of-court settlement with the North East Link Authority. The arduous, Sisyphean task took five years, as KCs battled from court to court until the matter reached the Supreme Court.

“Can you believe”, Papastergiadis said, pausing for a moment as he looked out to the members, “We went to the Supreme Court. That is how convinced we were.”

The compensation dispute, between the GCM and the Authority, arose from the government’s compulsory acquisition of the Community’s Greenaway Street property in Bulleen. The out-of-court settlement has bolstered the Community’s bottom line, from a $3 million estimated deficit, well into the black. The money will allow for the start of planned development of new community cultural centres.

During general business, Bill Papastergiadis, on a call from former board member, Theo Marcos, now representing the Pharos language advocacy group, committed the Community to underwriting what seems to be an increasingly frail Greek language program at La Trobe University.

This is the second intervention by the Community to ensure the survival of the Greek program. The call seemed to be broadly supported by the membership and board of the GCM.

The program as a whole is not under immediate threat but needs a cash injection for its major program, which is essential to its long-term viability in a crowded and competitive academic market. Marcos pointed to how Italian is supported by the Italian government and has been embedded in the mainstream curriculum of secondary and tertiary institutions

Marcos said that Pharos has had the “support” and “help” from Professor Joseph Lo Bianco, one of Australia’s very few experts on language policy. Lo Bianco, Professor Emeritus, at the University of Melbourne, was the architect of Australia’s 1987 National Policy on Languages.

Marcos asked for the support of the Community, and for a time to meet with Pharos, Greek program and the La Trobe dean and others.

“We embrace all other organisations” President Bill Papastergiadis

Papastergiadis outlined the “extensive work the community had undertaken over the past year across sporting, cultural, faith and educational programs.”

He highlighted the July cultural camp to Thessaloniki for 18- to 24-year-olds, and the inaugural September program in Attica for 14- to 16-year-olds, “delivered for the first time with support from the Governor and Prefecture of Attica,” he said.

The biggest news was confirmation that Northeast Link Authority will pay the GCM $6 million to settle, out of court, its compensation dispute over the compulsory acquisition of the community’s Greenaway Street property in Bulleen.

Papastergiadis said the settlement ended “Five years of an operationally stressful period”.

“This settlement” he said, “allows the Community to plan its programs from a position of strength and to set deep foundations for the future generations.”

He thanked his fellow board members, volunteers, benefactors, supporters and staff for their “contributions”, “tireless work”, and “commitment”.

The GCM president lauded the success of the Greek Film Festival, which “expanded into Balwyn and Pentridge cinemas to capacity audiences”.

He celebrated the annual Antipodes Festival, which he said, “brings hundreds of thousands to Lonsdale Street and continues to draw growing interstate and international attendance.”

We are a beacon

Reflecting on his most recent visit to Greece, Papastergiadis said, “It became clear that the Greek authorities, the government and institutions, view the Greek Community of Melbourne as a model of success and unity”.

“We stand out in comparison to other Greek diaspora communities, including those in the United States, as a beacon of unity, not because we seek to lead, no, because we embrace all other organisations.”

With proceeds from the settlement, the GCM, he said, will begin development within the coming months of three community cultural centres attached to various churches. Papastergiadis said, “It was because of our unity, maintaining that local, state and federal governments invest in us”.

“Unity gives us the ability to speak for our community to all levels of government, and that is essential in securing continued funding and investment in infrastructure.

“We do this for the future, to ensure the benefits of Hellenism are intergenerational, benefiting third and fourth generation members,” the GCM President said.

Guts and patience win against the odds

He then took stock of the five-year legal process that ultimately reached the Supreme Court against Northeast Link Authority. It was a difficult decision and many communities, he said, avoid protracted court battles for good reasons: “cost, time and operational burden.”

The GCM received an initial offer for the old Bulleen Drive-In site of $11.5m in 2021, with the Authority unwilling to make any more offers. This forced the GCM to issue legal proceedings in the Supreme Court. In turn, the Authority filed numerous expert reports as evidence that the earlier offer of $11.5 m was, it said, excessive and that it was not compelled to make any further monetary offer for the compulsory acquisition.

King’s Counsel were retained by both parties. However, one month before the matter was due to be heard in the Supreme Court, the GCM succeeded in an out-of-court settlement that saw a payment to the GCM of an additional $6.02m.

Papastergiadis thanked the centre director, Jorge Menidis and his fellow executive board members Marinis Pirpiris, Manuel Tsirmiris and Jim Bossinakis “for their assistance at the mediation.”

He said he had a “strong conviction and belief, from the outset, that the original offer for the Bulleen property was unfair and praised the board.”

“You need guts and patience to see the case through against well-resourced opposition,” he added.

A member rose and asked whether the community had a contingency plan if it lost the case. Papastergiadis said the community was “prepared to appeal”, citing strong confidence from its KC advisors.

Papastergiadis then closed by thanking the executive board: Hon. General Secretary Assoc. Prof. Marinis Pirpiris, Assistant Secretary Sofia Siahos, Treasurer Manuel Tsirmiris, Assistant Treasurer Mina Giannelis, and Vice Presidents Leo Vlahakis, Paraskevi Kyritsis and Anthie Sidiropoulos. He noted the GCM board’s near 50-50 gender representation, and thanked additional members including Dr Spyridoula Demetriou, Dr Nick Dallas (who runs the community’s historical lecture programs), Helene Hiotis, Dr Dora Papamakarios, Nikolaos Koukouvitakis, and others.

A $6 million boost to bottom line

Treasurer Manuel Tsirmiris presented the financial report, noting the community’s position was stronger than anticipated due to the $6.02 million settlement. He said all overdrawn accounts and deficits would soon be cleared.

The net position for the 2024–25 reconciliation of profit and loss stood at close to $6 million, with the community’s total estimated capital assets approaching $30 million.

GCM member and past board member, Dr Christos Nicholas Fifis, raised his concerns about the timing of the $6 million entry. He asked why it was recorded in the 2024–25 financial year, rather than 2026 – 27. He said that without the injection of $6 million, the financial reporting period would have shown a $3 million deficit.

“We had no plan to put the $6 million in this report period; that decision was the auditors’,” Papastergiadis said

Members take in the reports. Photo: Neos Kosmos

The treasurer then interrupted and said that the accounting treatment reflected an auditor’s determination: under note 22 of the financial statements. “The deed of release signed with the government constituted a material change requiring disclosure in the current reporting period, ahead of the scheduled payment date of 7 August 2026.”

Dr Fifis then moved to why there was such a significant lapse of time between General Meetings. The treasurer said it was a matter for auditors being ready with reports. Papastergiadis committed to a general meeting in six months, “around February.”

La Trobe Greek under a cloud, again

Under general business, Theo Marcos representing Pharos, a language advocacy group, raised the risk facing La Trobe University’s Greek Studies program. The GCM funds the program $30,000 per annum, yet it now needs $95,000, according to Marcos, to sustain its majors’ program.

In a statement to Neos Kosmos last week, Dr Stavroula (Stephie) Nikoloudis, the coordinator of the Greek Studies program, said that the course is not in direct danger; however, what is in danger is its ability to offer Greek as a major. This naturally places the whole program in jeopardy for the future.

Greek Australian media and the Community have known about the challenge facing La Trobe for a little more than a month; however, Marcos indicated discussions began three months earlier.

Pharos, Marcos said, assumed La Trobe would sustain Greek. “It has become clear that programs such as this need support and advocacy from the community.”

108 GCM members attended the AGM. Photo: Neos Kosmos

The majority of the members, and the committee, agreed to support the program.

However, Papastergiadis said that “the funds would not be paid upfront to the university.”

“We will underwrite the program, but we will not allow La Trobe to collect interest on our money.”

Questions were also raised from the floor, including one from Neos Kosmos’ Fotis Kapetopoulos, the author of this report. He was speaking as a GCM member as well, when he asked about any strategy that may exist, or need to be found, to make the program sustainable.

Given the recurring need for Community intervention, he said, “Will La Trobe and the Greek program look to new programs, communication and engagement strategies, to augment income and numbers. Kapetopoulos’s question was met with spontaneous applause from the membership.

Former board member Jeanna Vithoulkas then rose and said that universities need to be increasingly “entrepreneurial” and develop income-generating strategies.”

At the AGM, President Papastergiadis committed just over $90,000 as an underwriting, and as already mentioned, the GCM also funds the Greek Program $30,000 annually.

The meeting ended on a positive and high note as the Greek Community of Melbourne is $6 million better off, which will be invested in infrastructure and programs.

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Unity and a $6m windfall: inside the Greek Community of Melbourne's Annual General Meeting