NEW regulations being introduced in December mean backyard pool and spa owners must pay $37 registration fees to Mornington Peninsula Shire Council. The shire says it knows of about 17,000 combined pools and spas on the peninsula – the most of any municipality in Victoria. Under the state-wide rules, owners must shell out $20 for compliance certificates from qualified surveyors and arrange three-yearly inspections of pool fences and safety barriers. Fines of up to $330 will be levied if pools are found to not comply. Owners will have 20 days to fix safety issues. The deadline for registrations is 14…
Month: August 2019
A farm at Boneo has been given permission to build motel type accommodation for foreign farm workers. The workers will come to Australia under the federal government’s seasonal worker program. Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors have been told that it is hard to find workers locally and that allowing workers from overseas will “further underpin” the viability of the land for agriculture. The development approved by shire in May includes eight units with a total of 32 bedrooms, a common study, laundry and amenities block with a kitchen and entertainment area. A condition of the permit is that the buildings cannot…
SOLO Resource Recovery has been hired to collect Mornington Peninsula Shire’s household recycled waste. The new contract means recyclable waste collected for the shire will not go to landfill. The change comes after discredited former contractor SKM put a sudden stop on all incoming material late last week. The company was wound up by the Supreme Court last Friday (2 August). The signing with Solo means there will be no disruption to kerbside collections. The shire and 30 other municipalities was told on Thursday night 25 July that SKM would “cease accepting recyclable material effective immediately”. The mayor Cr David…
THE female partner of a man who blew more than three times the legal limit blasted police for “wasting our time”. Somerville Highway Patrol members pulled over the 51-year-old Skye man in McClelland Drive, 9.15pm, Wednesday 31 July. After blowing positive he was asked to return to Carrum Downs police station for an evidential breath test. There the woman “became abusive towards the testing officer, setting a poor example for the young teenage girl in the back seat”, Senior Constable Greg Wolfe said. The man blew 0.159 per cent – or more than three times the limit – and had…
POLICE Operation Reset held over the weekend was aimed at encouraging drivers on the Mornington Peninsula to reset their attitudes towards road safety. Southern Metro Region Acting Commander Tony Silva said Operation Reset provided a “highly visible presence of police with a particular focus on known road trauma locations”. “We are incredibly saddened by how many lives have already been lost in Victoria’s south east this year, with 24 people not returning home to their families.” This is double the number of lives lost at this time last year. Acting Commander Silva said: “We are seeing reckless speed, failure to…
A “UNDERSTATED and simplistic” house in rural Dromana has been awarded the building design of the Year. Moat’s Corner was praised by the judges for its understated and simplistic design as well as its emphasis on ensuring views of the manicured gardens and natural vegetation can be seen from every angle. Results of the annual Building Design Awards – formerly known as the Building Designers Association of Victoria (BDAV) Building Design Awards – were announced on Saturday 27 July at the National Gallery of Victoria. Designed by the Vibe Design Group, Moat’s Corner is described as acting as a centrepiece…
A MAN who allegedly twice rammed police patrol cars spent the night under guard in Frankston Hospital before fronting Frankston Magistrates’ Court last week. Police cornered the 21-year-old around 1.30am, Thursday 1 August, in a Moorooduc Highway service road near Humphries Road, Frankston South. They said he deliberately reversed the stolen car he was driving into them and attempted to run off but was caught after a brief chase. Police searched the vehicle and allegedly found a quantity of knives and stolen number plates. They said the man had earlier rammed a police car in Frankston South and attempted to…
The future course of a Mornington Peninsula-based study into the causes of the flesh-eating Buruli ulcer could depend on the outcome of a public meeting next Saturday. Organisers are hoping for “a reasonably civilised event” to fully explain the Buruli study so “concerned groups and individuals can decide where to take it from there”. In a letter to the mayor Cr David Gill last week, Flinders MP and Health Minister Greg Hunt said Mornington Peninsula Shire had “total control” over “mosquito control activities” and “a broader public health responsibility to its residents to ensure that all necessary actions are being…
ALTHOUGH the mayor is Mornington Peninsula Shire’s “lead spokesperson”, councillors have been cleared to “express their own independent views” in the media. The new media policy adopted by councillors earlier this year came nearly two years after they rejected moves by senior management to limit the release of information about the shire to three people, the mayor, CEO and the media and events manager (“Revolt over shire ‘muzzle’ bid” The News 19/6/19). The CEO at that time, Carl Cowie and the media and events manager, Mark Kestigian, are no longer with the shire. The media policy now followed by the…