SAE Oceania Co-ordinator Costa Vertzayias has returned to Australia after attending meetings in Thessaloniki and Athens.  He also participated in the delegation that attended the enthronement of the new Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Theophilos III.   In Athens he met with Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis and President Karolos Papoulias and also had the opportunity to address a session of the Interparliamentary Committee for Hellenes Abroad in the Hellenic Parliament.

This is an important moment in SAEοΏ½s history as its powers are being defined in a new law which is to be approved by Parliament in the coming months.

Vertzayias said:  οΏ½SAE was instrumental in making favourable changes to legislation relating to military service for the Apodimoi.  This demonstrates the value of SAE for the Apodimoi.  It also demonstrates the need to entrench in the new law the GovernmentοΏ½s obligation to refer bills to SAE prior to their debate in ParliamentοΏ½.

The next SAE World Conference, which was scheduled for this month, will be postponed to the end of 2006 so that it may be held pursuant to the new law.