Bligh won’t say ciao to Italian consulatePremier 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
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Brisbane QLD
Your correspondent Ursula Heger deserves lessons in good manners, politics and finally journalism.
In her article of the 5th August 2009 calling "Play Boy" the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi elected by a great majority , over ten million, of Italians, is a stupid gratuitous insult. How we should call your QLD premier ? Has she addressed the letter to the Italian Premier :” Dear Playboy Silvio” ?
Can I have information of the private life of your Ursula H. who is she?
Is this the kind of journalism you are after in Queensland?
If you Australians want to be respected by the Italians start with respecting us.
Or you better prefer to return to the ethnic clashes of last century?
The intervention of your premier is totally out of contest. She should stay out from ethnic problems, first of all. She is Australian and not Italian. Is she at the head of a state holding diplomatic relations with Italy?
Does she know that Italy is represented in Australia by the Italian Ambassador in Canberra ? This means that she should refer to the Ambassador her comments. She has wrongly interfered in diplomatic matters, and I would say in the most improper way, not at the high of her responsibilities and duties.
Are you aware that Queensland has closed the Agent General Office in London. That the Queensland Agent General in London was also in charge of the development of Queensland relations with Italy, we in Italy have worked very closely with the Agent General of Qld in London and we have never said anything about the decision made which had jeopardise years of collaboration to build Australian presence in Italy? What about the desertion of Qantas from Italy at the advantage of Germany and France at a time?
Is your premier aware that there is not a Queensland representative delegation in Italy? So what she is complaining about? Is she aware that the Australian Embassy in Rome has in the few past years heavily reduced personnel and visa services transferring them to Berlin and we have not said anything about?
Is your premier aware that there are thousand of Italians interested in knowing more and better about Queensland to settle there to study and work and that there is only one independent, free, autonomous, self sufficient association in Italy made and sustained by private Italians ?
Consult: www.australiaitalia.it to know who are the Italians interested in Australia. and how they deserve consideration and respect, starting from respecting the premier that they have democratically elected.
Vincenzo Romiti