Filipino community in Australia's capital capped celebration with an Independence Ball

Philippine Embassy Charge d’ Affaires Mary Anne A. Padua and other officers and staff of the Philippine Embassy joined the annual Independence Day Ball organised by the Filipino Community Council of ACT (FCCACT) last Saturday, June 18 at the Corrina Ballroom of the Southern Cross Club in Woden.

In her message, Ms Padua said that the “sacrifices of our national heroes have allowed subsequent generations to pursue their dreams” and laud the “substantial achievements of Filipino communities abroad echoing that of our forefathers”.

Guests who attended the annual Ball were welcomed by the Rondanihan rondalla group led by its Musical Director Camille Tagaza. The program started with the singing of both the Australian and Philippine national anthems played on the piano by Hildegarde Palafox-Mendoza.

FCCACT President Perlita Swinbank welcomed more than 350 guests who attended the Ball and thanked the Executive Committee and their families for supporting the 6th Philippine Independence Day Ball.

Mr Steve Doszpot, Shadow Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Member of Legislative Assembly Canberra, delivered his message on behalf of the Australian government and hailed the Filipino community for their contribution to Australian society. He also supported FCCACT’s objective to “foster cooperation, friendship, and unity”.

Guests were entertained with traditional Filipino muslim and tinikling dance presentations. Youth and Project Beats displayed their hiphop dancing prowess. Singers Marilyn Mendez, Marilyn Escamis and Dianne Emalay delighted the audience with popular tunes.

The winner of the Best Stall at 7th Pasko sa Canberra and Mutya ng Kalayaan 2011 Patricia Ryan, daughter of Philip and Judy Ryan, were presented. Emcees Hannah Albarece and Hardy Vargas also announced the winners of the President’s Belle of the Ball, Best in National Costume and Best in Contemporary Gown. Raffle prizes were also drawn.

This year’s Philippine Independence Day Ball was organised by FCCACT’s board of directors which includes Ian Bull, vice president internal of Rondanihan; Cecilia Flores, vice-president external of Sampaguita Ladies; Elizabeth Garrett, secretary and public officer of the ACT Filipino Association; Modesto Umali, assistant secretary of the Filcom Sports Club; Norman Kalagayan, treasurer and from the Filipino Christian Fellowship; Dina Ivakovic, youth director of the FilOz Youth; Sorin Clenci, director of the Pinoy Football Aid; Ariel Pattugalan, immediate past president of Filcom Sports Club; and Volet Carolan, internal auditor and associate member.

Filipino Communities Council of Australia president Marisa Vedar in her message urged Filipinos in Australia to unite and show that they are “significant contributors both to the Filipino community and mainstream Australia”.

The Census aims to accurately measure the number of people in Australia on Census night wherever they are, from Australia’s research hubs in Antarctica to remote Indigenous communities in northern Australia.

The ABS said that next year’s Census remains the most comprehensive way of providing a snapshot of Australia, the country’s key characteristics and the population concentration.

“The Census helps define who we are and what your community looks like now and into the future. Census data supports planning, decision-making and funding at all levels of government, and is behind the services and facilities you use in your community every day,” the ABS elaborated.

The first results from the 2011 Census will be made public a year after in June 2012.

Migration intake expected to be reduced... // TFA Photo

Mr Burke has been tasked to develop within a year the country’s first population plan, including a review of immigration levels.

Australia’s annual migration intake is expected to be reduced as a stop-gap measure to address traffic congestion, housing, hospitals, water and the environment concerns.

Based on the figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the total population of Australia is now 21.9 million and is expected by the government to grow to 35.9 million by 2050. The 2008-09 growth rate of was 2.1% compared to the average annual growth rate of 1.8% for the five years to June 2009.

The world’s population growth rate in 2008 was 1.17% based on World Bank’s World Development Indicators data.

Last financial year, net overseas migration contributed 298,924 to population increase compared to 157,792 from natural birth.

Based on the 2006 census by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the proportion of people who were born overseas is 22% with England and New Zealand representing the two largest overseas-born groups but the size of the European-born population has decreased.

China is now the third largest birthplace group relegating Italy to the fourth position. Vietnam, India, Scotland, Philippines, Greece and Germany are the other countries in the top 10 countries of birth.

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The historic agreement will span 12 economies with over 600 million people and a combined GDP of $3.1 trillion. The agreement includes the immediate elimination of a tariff on $25 million worth of exports to the Philippines.

“The commencement of this agreement is a major milestone and opens up significant opportunities for Australian businesses in one of the fastest growing regions in the world,” Mr Crean said.

“With Asia leading the global recovery and six out of ten ASEAN markets expected to grow at rates at least double the forecast OECD average in 2010, there is great potential for Australian exporters to enter new markets.”

“This agreement is also an important building block towards deepening Australia’s economic integration with the dynamic Asian region.”

The agreement includes:

• The immediate elimination of a 10 per cent tariff on $9.6 million of Australian processed cheese exports (in 2008) to Malaysia
• The immediate elimination of a 5 per cent tariff on $7.2 million of exports of fresh grapes to Malaysia
• The immediate elimination of a 3 per cent tariff on $22 million of wheat exports to the Philippines
• The immediate elimination of a 5 per cent tariff on $3 million of sheepmeat exports to the Philippines
• An immediate expansion from 7 to 36 subject areas that Australian education providers can deliver in Vietnam.

“By 2020, the deal will eliminate tariffs on 96 per cent of our current exports to ASEAN nations,” Mr Crean said.

ASEAN accounted for 15 per cent of Australia’s trade, valued at $83 billion in 2008-2009.

The last time Australia saw higher growth rates was in the 1950′s and 1960′s as a result of post war migration and high birth rates, the ABS reported.

These rates compare with a 1.2% growth rate recorded five years ago.

The ABS also reported that as at 31 March 2009, Australia’s population had grown to 21,779,000, an increase of 439,100 people over the previous year.

Australia’s net overseas migration contributed to more than half of this growth at 63% or 278,200 people.

Natural increase (the excess of births over deaths) contributed 160,800 (37%).

In the same period, Western Australia continued to record the fastest population growth at 3.1%, followed by Queensland (2.6%), the Northern Territory (2.2%), Victoria (2.1%), the Australian Capital Territory (1.8%), New South Wales (1.6%), South Australia (1.2%) and Tasmania (1.0%).

Queensland and Western Australia gained the most people through net interstate migration from the other states and territories (20,000 and 5,900 people respectively).

The states that lost people to interstate migration were New South Wales (loss of 21,900), South Australia (loss off 5,000), the Australian Capital Territory (loss of 310) and Victoria (loss of 300).

The population of each State and Territory was: New South Wales 7,076,000; Victoria 5,403,000; Queensland 4,380,000; Western Australia 2,224,000; South Australia 1,618,000; Tasmania 501,800; Australian Capital Territory 349,900; and Northern Territory 223,100. // Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) recently announced the passage in Senate of the Migration Amendment (Abolishing Detention Debt) Bill 2009.

The Bill abolishes the system of imposing charges on immigration detainees and waives all existing debts for current and former detainees with the exception of convicted people smugglers and illegal foreign fishers who will still be liable for their costs of detention and removal. The liability for costs associated with the removal or deportation of unlawful non-citizens will also remain unchanged.

The Bill, according to DIAC, is in line with the unanimous recommendation of the Joint Standing Committee on Migration in December 2008 that the Government repeal the liability of immigration detention costs and waive existing debts.

‘The detention debt regime has proved to be totally ineffective,’ Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Senator Chris Evans said.

‘Less than three per cent of the detention debt invoiced since 2004-05 has been recovered, with the vast majority of debts incurred under this system either waived or written off because they are uneconomical to pursue.’

In addition, if a person is granted a permanent protection visa or a humanitarian visa, then in keeping with the spirit of Australia’s obligations under the UN Refugees Convention, the debt is written off and no further action is taken to recover it.

‘The detention debt regime has not acted as any form of deterrent nor has it minimised the costs of immigration detention to the Australian community,’ Senator Evans said.

For the 2008-09 financial year, a total of $21 million in immigration detention debt was raised, of which $19.6 million was written off as uneconomical to pursue and $400 000 was waived. Receipts from the repayment of detention debts was $700 000 while it cost nearly $1 million to administer the debts.

During 2006-2007 and 2007-2008, $54.3 million in detention debt was raised of which $1.8 million was recovered. A total of $48.2 million was written off while $4 million was waived.

‘These figures are clear evidence that the detention debt scheme currently costs the taxpayer more than is returned in receipts,’ Senator Evans said.

‘This Bill strikes an appropriate balance by abolishing an ineffective system that unfairly penalises detainees with enormous debt burdens, while ensuring that liability for detention costs remains a deterrent for illegal foreign fishers and convicted people smugglers.

‘The Government considers that fair and effective immigration detention policies and strong border security measures are not incompatible.’

The life expectancy of a boy born today is 79.0 years, while for a girl it is 83.7 years.

Since 1987, life expectancy at birth has increased by around six years for men and four years for women.

The Australian Capital Territory recorded the highest life expectancy for males (80.3 years), while the highest life expectancy for females (84.0 years) was recorded in both Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. The Northern Territory experienced the lowest life expectancy for both males (72.4 years) and females (78.4 years).

The standardised death rate in 2007 was the same as in 2005 and 2006, which was the lowest on record at 6.0 deaths per 1,000 people. In 1987 the rate was 9.1 deaths per 1,000 people.

There were 137,900 deaths (70,600 men and 67,300 women) in 2007.

There were 1,200 infant deaths in 2007. This was a decrease of 60 infant deaths (or 4.7%) over the number registered in 2006. The infant mortality rate in 2007 was 4.2 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, 11% lower than the 2006 rate (4.7). Infant mortality rates for Indigenous Australians were around twice the rates for all Australians.

Further details are available in Deaths, Australia, 2007 (cat. no. 3302.0) for free download from the ABS website <www.abs.gov.au>.

Almost 60 new Australian citizens added to the spectacle of Floriade today in a ceremony which started a week of celebrations across the nation for Australian Citizenship Day 2008.

Governor-General Ms Quentin Bryce AC participated in the Canberra ceremony in which people from Ethiopia, India, the Philippines and United Kingdom were among those who became citizens, joining more than 2500 people in the ACT who embraced Australian citizenship in 2007-08.

In the coming week, more than 1,600 people will receive citizenship in dozens of events for Australian Citizenship Day 2008 (celebrated on September 17).

The Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), Andrew Metcalfe, said Citizenship Day was an opportunity for all Australians to celebrate citizenship and think about its significance to the nation.

‘Citizenship binds Australians together through our common commitment to the nation and our shared values,’ Mr Metcalfe said. ‘As citizens, we share a commitment to mutual respect, equality, freedom, the rule of law and democracy. We share responsibilities to the nation and the opportunity to have a say in its future through voting.

‘I welcome all of our new citizens and I urge all those who are thinking about becoming Australians to apply now.’

On September 17, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, will preside at a citizenship ceremony for 17 people at the National Museum of Australia.

Other Australian Citizenship Day events around Australia will include conferrals in Brisbane City Hall, on the Spirit of Tasmania in Devonport, in the grand ballroom at Sky City Casino in Darwin, at a scout hall in Albert Hall in Melbourne, in Ayers House in Adelaide and at DIAC’s Parramatta office in Sydney. #

Registered not-for-profit organisations are those organisations registered with an ABN on the Australian Business Register.

The main findings of the ABS study are:

Other findings include:

The ABS release also reported that in 2006-07, not-for-profit organisations incurred $68.3 billion in expenses. Against the $74.5 billion receipts, a surplus of $6.2 billion were chalked by not-for-profit organisations. #

The ACCC chairman, Mr Graeme Samuel, said that the consumer watchdog is aware of the increased pressure on families resulting with higher mortgage commitments who may be defaulting in their repayments.

There are reports, according to the ACCC chairman, that some businesses may be employing unscrupulous practices to take advantage of this situation.

Mr Samuel said the purpose of the new section, “Managing your mortgage” is to provide some practical steps that homeowners may take if they are experiencing financial difficulties.

Before homeowners consider selling their home, the ACCC chairman said that homeowners should first consider the following tips:

(a) seeking independent advice from a financial counsellor, community legal centre or legal aid office to identify possible courses of action

(b) talking to the lender as soon as a problem is identified to discuss options

(c) checking all the terms and conditions of new loans before deciding to refinance, and

(d) if a sale is necessary, arrange a number of valuations to get the best deal.

The new section is located on the For Consumers pages at the ACCC website located at www.accc.gov.au