WHAT’S the real story with ice? is the title of a free community forum 6.30-9pm, Tuesday 4 August, at the Peninsula Community Theatre, Wilsons Rd, Mornington. It is being presented by Peninsula Voice. Organiser Peter Orton says there has been a significant increase in public concern about the use of crystal methamphetamine, also known as ice. “This forum will dispel some of the common myths and will counter the hysteria that has emerged in the media,” he said. “It will provide empirical evidence regarding the drug and provide people with tangible steps we can each take to move the incidence…
Month: July 2015
A PRAYER vigil is the latest action by peninsula Christians to pressure the federal government over its asylum seeker policies. More than 50 people joined three Uniting Church ministers for a 90-minute vigil outside St Mark’s Church in Mornington on a cold Sunday afternoon last week. It was organised by Reverends John Haig (Mornington), Paul Chalson (Mt Martha) and Cameron McAdam (Mt Eliza). It was followed by a sausage sizzle with proceeds going to Dandenong Asylum Seeker Centre. Rev McAdam said most Mornington churches had representatives at the vigil. He and other Christians have taken a high profile in recent…
THE debate around legalising same-sex marriage in Australia gathered pace last week after the United States Supreme Court ruled that nation’s Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage. The US is the latest in a series of western countries – including the UK and Ireland – to legalise marriage for gays and lesbians. Federal politicians are facing increased pressure to follow suit in Australia but the possibility has deeply divided politicians within both the Liberal and Labor parties. It is no different in Frankston and on the Mornington Peninsula. Flinders MP and Environment Minister Greg Hunt supports a ‘conscience vote’…
A GROUP of young people from Mornington Rotary Club have successfully pushed a Bill through the YMCA Victorian Youth Parliament to make it law for supermarkets to donate all edible, unsold food, to those in need. The group included Lucy Martin, Heap Do, Lydia Edwards and Kate Purcell. Their Bill will now be forwarded to Consumer Affairs Minister Jane Garrett and, they hope, pass through State Parliament to become law. This follows similar legislation introduced in France ruling that all unsold, edible food from supermarkets, be donated to charities or for animal feed. That legislation has garnered significant global support.…
THE removal of the Tree of Life sculpture from the Cranbourne Rd exit of Peninsula Link has sparked a social media backlash. Drivers, including many who do not usually regard themselves as art lovers, have gone out on a limb and expressed their love for the huge sculpture which has towered over the Cranbourne Rd exit section of the freeway for the past two years. Passers-by noticed workmen pulling the Tree of Life down last week. Thousands took to Facebook to publicly declare their fondness for the sculpture. The unusual looking sculpture was repeatedly described as “beautiful” and many are…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire is drawing up a list of projects it would like to be financed through the state government’s $50 million Outer Suburban Growth Fund. The government is making the money available to 10 “interface” councils, including Mornington Peninsula. The mayor Cr Bev Colomb said the fund would “help deliver important social and economic benefits”. The other interface councils are Cardinia, Casey, Hume, Melton, Mitchell, Nillumbik, Whittlesea, Wyndham and Yarra Ranges. “The interface councils group has spent a lot of time talking to the Minister [of Local Government Natalie Hutchins] about the issues and challenges we face and we…
A BATTLE is raging in Mt Martha over a retaining wall that blocks access to a road reserve. The wall was erected in December between Potts Lane and Grandview Terrace. The News was unable to contact the owner of the property last week. John and Carole Van Der Helm, of Potts Lane, say the wall should be removed and have organised a petition to present to Mornington Peninsula Shire. Last week it had 50 signatures. The petition says: “We, the undersigned, request the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council to remove the retaining wall … which blocks the road reserve between Potts…
VANDALS have destroyed hundreds of trees planted on the foreshore at Mothers Beach in Mornington twice in the same week. The trees, their stakes and plastic guards were stomped on and pushed over on Sunday night last week. Mornington Peninsula Shire contractor Naturelinks Landscape Management replanted undamaged trees and cleaned up the site last Wednesday but the trees were again vandalised the following night and removed, stakes and tree guards included. Jan Oliver of Mornington Environment Association, one of several groups working with Naturelinks to improve the town’s foreshore, said the damage was hard to comprehend. “It would appear the…
WORKERS employed by the shire’s long-term contractor Transfield Services held a day-long protest outside the company’s depot in Watt Rd, Mornington, last Wednesday. It is believed to be the first industrial action for 15 years at Transfield. James Weissmann of the Australian Services Union said employees and the company were at a standoff after negotiations for a new enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) broke down. The ASU is the main union of local government employees. Mr Weissmann said the EBA expired in April but Transfield and union had failed to agree on “three important items”: Workers asked for a 3.5 per…
AGGRESSIVE and threatening behaviour by out-of-control children is upsetting members of University of the Third Age at Currawong Community Centre in Mornington. The boys – aged 10 to 12 – reportedly bang on doors and windows while U3A members are inside attending classes, ride their bikes threateningly at elderly members, turn off the power, and harass members walking to their cars. U3A Mornington president Tom Jeavons took photographs of damage to trees at the rear of the centre he said was caused by the boys. “One of our members saw two boys aged 10 or 11 behind the portable building…
LAST week’s episode of Q&A on the ABC was a disastrous affair with far-reaching consequences. The media furore that followed is difficult to summarise – a microcosm of our national debate, born of the difficult policy decisions governments make on behalf of their citizens. It should serve as a reminder to everyone that the right to say and think what we want is easily surrendered to fear. The performance of Zaky Mallah on the program raised many issues, but the aftermath has been short on answers. Mallah made the shocking claim that Muslims were “justified” in heading overseas to join…
A van erupted into flames after a collision on Nepean Highway, Mt Eliza, this evening. Emergency services hurried to the scene after reports of an accident, leaking fuel and and then a fire were received about 5pm tonight. Traffic was thrown into chaos with reports that south-bound traffic banked back to Olivers Hill. Initially, emergency services considered airlifting an elderly man, but he was eventually conveyed by ambulance to The Alfred with back injuries.