Italian connection

The Advertiser - 18 JUN 2009, Page 16
Italian connection

PREMIER Mike Rann, who has written to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi expressing concern at the proposed closure of the Italian consulate in Adelaide (The Advertiser, yesterday), has my support.

Yet, judging by recent accounts of Mr Berlusconi's private life, I fear he may be too busy to read Mr Rann's letter in time to prevent the consulate closing.If this occurs, perhaps the Premier could write again, this time to the Italian Government (which may not be so busy), in order for it to consider making a donation towards the proposed McLaren Vale Piazza.

The Piazza, which will be located in the centre of McLaren Vale, will be a permanent reminder of the valued and positive contribution of Italian migrants and their descendants in the Southern Vales.

In addition, it will give the heart of McLaren Vale a wonderful, formal public space.
RICHARD BENNETT, McLaren Vale.

Rann’s outrage at closure

Rann’s outrage at closure
Gavin Lower
Backward step: Sandy Cennotofanti at work

PREMIER Mike Rann has blasted plans by the Italian government to close its consulate in Adelaide, describing the move as a ‘‘slap in the face’’ to South Australia. Mr Rann used the social networking service Twitter at the weekend to express his outrage at the move, and pledged to help with a petition against the closurebeing organised by state Labor MP Vini Ciccarello.Italy’s consul in Adelaide, Tommaso Coniglio, said yesterday that while the closure had been announced, the decision was technically not final until theministers of finance and foreign affairs had signed off on the decree.He said the announcement was made in Italy last week and that Adelaide was one of 20 Italian consulates around the world, including Brisbane, earmarked forclosure as a cost-cutting measure. The Italian government was planning to consolidate its presence in the country with consulates in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne and its embassy in Canberra, Mr Coniglio said. Mr Rann wrote on Twitter: ‘‘Slap in the face to Sth Aus that Italian govt is closing its consulatein Ade. Announced days after Ambass and I opened Punto Italia centre.’’He added that he was pleased that Ms Ciccarello, who represents the inner-city electorate of Norwood, which had strong Italian connections, was organising apetition against the closure. Ms Ciccarello said the decision to close the consulate ‘‘beggars belief’’. ‘‘(The decision comes) at a time the South Australian government, in particular the Premier, in the last couple of years, has been doing a lot to strengthen our links with Italy,’’ she said.Mr Rann, whose in-laws are Italian, is learning the language and is a wellknown Italophile. Sandy Cennotofanti, who was making coffees at her nephew’s cafe, Caffe Buongiorno, in Norwood yesterday, said it would be sad for Adelaide’s Italian community if the consulate closed. ‘‘Since I came, it was there,’’ she said. Ms Cennotofanti, 60, came to Adelaide as a nine-year-old with her parents, and is well known in the community.She said she had friends in the consulate and many in the community used it to renew their passports.‘‘It will be a bit of a hassle for Italians if they have to go to Melbourne if they have to do it,’’ she said. Mr Coniglio, 28, who has been the Italian consul in Adelaide for21/2 years, said Italians made up the largest ethnic group in South Australia, with about 14,000 people holding Italian passports andabout 100,000 of Italian origin.

The Australian

Anna Bligh intervention in Consulate Closure

Bligh won’t say ciao to Italian consulate

Premier Anna Bligh has personally written to playboy Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in a bid to prevent the closure of the Italian consulate in Brisbane.

The Italian government has decided to close the consulate and withdraw its staff from early 2011, in a move that has upset the state’s Italian community.

In her letter, Ms Bligh urged Mr Berlusconi to reverse his decision to close the consulate, taking into consideration Queensland’s strong cultural ties and large Italian-Australian community.

Brisbane Central MP Grace Grace, herself a first generation Italian Australian, said the decision would relegate Queensland to “second cousin” status, despite an Italian consulate in Queensland for more than 80 years.

“Normal consular functions involving migration, visas and passports, together with services to the elderly and language activities, may suffer should this planned closure go ahead”, she said.

“There is no doubt that the closure of the Italian consulate would mean that the hub that draws the Italian community together in many areas would be lost and the Italian culture in Brisbane and Queensland would be the poorer.”

Earlier this year, Mr Berlusconi announced plans to close 21 of Italy’s 119 consulates as a costcutting measure.


From: The Courier-Mail
Wednesday, August 5, 2009