Tuesday, 17 March 2026

 Anthony CIANFLONE (Pascoe Vale) (14:35): (1561) My constituency question is for the Minister for Multicultural Affairs. How can the Victorian Labor government continue supporting local multicultural festival and events, including for our incredible Greek Cypriot community? On 14 March I had the honour to represent the Premier at the sixth annual Halloumi Festival in Brunswick East. Hosted by the Cyprus Community of Melbourne and Victoria, the event celebrates the very best of the Cyprus community’s food – namely halloumi, the national food of Cyprus and a staple in cuisines around the world – its culture, dance, music, faith and community contributions. Victoria is proudly home to 60,000 Victorians with Cypriot heritage, and Merri-bek is home to some of the highest proportions of Greek Cypriot residents outside of Nicosia. The festival attracts over 7000 people from across Victoria over two days on 14 and 15 March. I was honoured to attend alongside the Honourable Theo Theophanous, the president of the Cyprus Community of Victoria; His Excellency Antonis Sammoutis, High Commissioner for Cyprus; Peter Khalil; the member for Northcote; Bill Papastergiadis; and many other distinguished guests. I am proudly married to a woman of Greek-Cypriot heritage. My father-in-law is from Kambos in the Troodos Mountains. I have visited Cyprus on two occasions, in 2016 and 2019, and visited all over the island.