Author: Neil Walker

A BRUTAL week in Canberra as the Liberal Party bickered over its leadership has seen local federal MPs support different potential leaders. Dunkley MP Chris Crewther nailed his vote publicly to incoming prime minister Scott Morrison who defeated Peter Dutton 45-40 in Friday’s second Liberal party room leadership spill. Flinders MP Greg Hunt kept a lower profile but it was widely reported he was positioning himself to run as deputy to Mr Dutton. Mr Hunt started the week as both Health Minister and “a supporter” of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and ended the week outside of cabinet losing a bid…

THE “chrome gnome” that towers over the Cranbourne Road exit of Peninsula Link will leave the roadside next year. The shiny sculpture, officially called Reflective Lullaby, will head to Langwarrin’s McClelland Sculpture Park and Gallery in August next year. Perhaps pre-empting a public outcry similar to that which followed the gnome replacing the previous Tree of Life sculpture in July 2015, the gallery announced last week well ahead of schedule that the Reflective Lullaby gnome by Slovenia born artist Gregor Kregar will be leaving its existing Peninsula Link home next year. The Southern Way McClelland, a public-private partnership between the…

THE high-profile sand sculpting exhibition that lured millions of visitors to Frankston is moving back to the Mornington Peninsula. The annual sand sculpting exhibition, hosted at the Frankston waterfront for the past decade, will not return next summer. Failed negotiations between commercial event organiser Sandstorm Events and Frankston Council about making the sculptures exhibition an all-year round event are believed to be partly behind the decision for the event to leave Frankston. Sandstorm Events did not return calls from The News before publication but council did confirm the sand sculpting exhibition’s exit. “The end of the major event contract with…

THE electrification of the extension of the Frankston line to Baxter now has bipartisan support from both the Liberal and Labor parties. Federal Labor shadow transport spokesman Anthony Albanese visited Langwarrin’s McClelland Gallery last Tuesday (31 July) for a Committee for Greater Frankston “roundtable lunch” and used the occasion to announce a Shorten government will “move quickly to deliver the much-needed Frankston to Baxter rail upgrade”. The federal opposition’s pledge to back the rail duplication and electrification from Frankston to Baxter comes two weeks after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced the Liberal National Coalition federal government’s promise to provide $225…

COUNCILS across Victoria are uniting to demand changes to pokies laws but the plea seems to have fallen on policymakers’ deaf ears. The Labor state government, led by Premier Daniel Andrews, and Liberal National Coalition, headed by opposition leader Matthew Guy, have not given any indication that they intend to limit maximum pokies bets to $1 a spin or reduce pokies venue operating hours from 20 hours a day to 14 hours. Mayors and councillors from “major metropolitan councils” joined Alliance For Gambling Reform representatives including director and spokesman Tim Costello to launch “The Pokies Play You” campaign lobbying all…

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillors will meet their counterparts from Frankston Council next week at a “working dinner” to chew over their differences in policy over the electrification of the Frankston line to Baxter. The dinner, to be held on Wednesday 8 August at Frankston Football Club, comes after shire councillors in May called on the federal and state governments to recognise the shire “as a major stakeholder”, since talks have mostly been conducted between politicians and Frankston Council. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and state opposition leader Matthew Guy visited Baxter station on 17 July to announce the Liberals, if elected…

A PRELIMINARY report into the fatal plane crash in Mordialloc last month has found the single-engine Cessna 172 was making its first flight since an engine replacement. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is investigating the cause of the crash that killed pilot Anthony Liddell, 50, when the plane crashed onto Scarlet Street, Mordialloc at about 5pm on Friday 8 June. The Mount Martha resident, an employee of a maintenance company, was piloting the Cessna as the sole occupant after scheduled maintenance. In its preliminary report released on 18 July, the ATSB said Mr Liddell broadcast an “engine failure” mayday…

LIBERAL politicians were out in force at Baxter train station last week spruiking a $450 million plan to electrify the Frankston line to Baxter. The announcement will come as a disappointment to Mornington Peninsula Shire Council which in May announced that it wanted the line electrified to Hastings. The shire says Baxter – which lies within its municipal boundary – would be an unsuitable terminus for the electric train service. An “advocacy paper” prepared by the shire says moving train stabling and maintenance and car parking “down the line” to Baxter “appears to be primarily to free up land in…

A MEMORIAL to remember the three victims of the 1993 Frankston murders will be held this month amid a community-led push to now help the “unknown victim” of the murders. Jake Blair, now 25, was just 12 days old when his mother, Debbie Fream, 22, was murdered in 1993 by Paul Denyer who also killed Elizabeth Stevens, 18, and Natalie Russell, 17. In this year of the 25th anniversary of the murders, true crime book author Vikki Petraitis has updated her best-selling The Frankston Murders book to remind people of the lives lost and the ongoing impact on the victims’…

A MOOROODUC artist won a top award at this year’s Chelsea Rotary Art Show, taking out first place in the oils/acrylic category. Janis Barbieri’s Tropicana was deemed best in show in its category by judges at the 43rd annual Chelsea Rotary Art Show held at Chelsea Hall on 9-11 June. Barbieri, who signs her maiden name Janis Taber on her artworks, said it is the first arts award she has won since taking up inks and oils six years ago after working in the fashion industry. She said her art is “creative botanical and inspired by nature”. “I love combinations…

A SPORTING group criticised by federal Dunkley Liberal MP Chris Crewther in Parliament earlier this year wants electorate boundaries changed in a move that would put the seat within reach of a Labor Party win at the next federal election. The Frankston & District Basketball Association (FDBA) wrote to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) on 14 May to support a proposed Dunkley electorate boundaries redistribution that would see Dunkley lose Mornington and the north of Baxter in the south to the Flinders electorate but gain Sandhurst in the north from the Isaacs electorate. The FDBA’s stadium is located at council-owned…

COUNCILLORS and mayors who seriously misbehave could be suspended for up to a year under new provisions in an amended Local Government Act introduced by the state government. Victorian Local Government Minister Marlene Kairouz introduced a bill into Parliament last Wednesday (23 May) to replace the Local Government Act 1989 in a move the Labor state government says “will modernise” councils across the state. “Clearly defining” sexual harassment has been included in a revised councillors’ code of conduct included in the new Local Government Act. The inclusion of the clause follows a high-profile investigation of former Melbourne lord mayor Robert…

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire council has lodged objections to boundary changes to the Dunkley electorate that would see Mornington and the northern part of Baxter move into the Flinders electorate. Shire mayor Cr Bryan Payne wrote to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) on 4 May to voice concerns about proposed electorate boundary changes to both Dunkley and Flinders. “In particular, we are concerned about the separation of Mount Eliza from the neighbouring township of Mornington,” Cr Payne stated in a letter to the AEC. “Mount Eliza benefits from being part of the same federal electorate as the township of Mornington, which…

FEDERAL Liberal MP Chris Crewther is lobbying the Australian Electoral Commission to prevent boundary changes to his electorate of Dunkley. Mr Crewther, who won the seat at the 2016 federal election with a slim majority, would face a tight fight to hold the seat if proposed AEC electorate boundary changes are made later this year. The Dunkley electorate will lose Mornington and the northern part of Baxter in its south to the seat of Flinders, held by Liberal MP Greg Hunt, and gain Carrum Downs, Sandhurst and Skye to the north from the Isaacs electorate, held by Labor MP Mark…

A PLEDGE to spend $225 million to electrify rail tracks from Frankston to Baxter was the big ticket item for the region in last week’s federal budget. Federal Liberal Treasurer Scott Morrison confirmed the federal government’s commitment to the project as part of a $7.8 billion package for new roads and rail lines across Victoria. But it seems construction works to extend the metropolitan line to Baxter are still some way down the track. The project is not yet fully funded and a business case has not been completed before the federal and state governments can agree on a funding…

THE days and nights of drink drivers who fail alcohol breath tests keeping driving licences on the Mornington Peninsula and across the state are over. From 30 April, any driver recording a Breath Alcohol Content reading of more than 0.05 will lose their licence for at least three months. There will be no leniency for first offenders. Previously, drivers providing a “mid-range” reading between 0.05 and 0.069 could be fined but keep licences in some circumstances. Alcohol interlock devices will also be fitted to the vehicles of all drink drivers for six months after they are back on the roads.…

IT seems like it is finally game over for a long-anticipated $12.7 million upgrade to the Frankston Basketball Stadium after sensational comments made in Canberra last week by federal Dunkley Liberal MP Chris Crewther. Mr Crewther made several allegations under parliamentary privilege on Tuesday evening (27 March) about possible misconduct at the Frankston & District Basketball Association. In his parliamentary speech, Mr Crewther said Frankston Council was aware of several troubling matters involving governance at the FDBA and would no longer negotiate with the association over lease terms for an upgraded stadium to include four new basketball courts. He called…

A TEENAGER has been charged with attempted murder after a man had a hand hacked off during a machete attack in Frankston North. Police called to a “domestic incident” at a home in The Pines at about 1.30am on Tuesday (27 March) found a man in his 40s missing a severed hand. The man’s 19-year-old nephew allegedly cut off the hand, located nearby by police, during a fight after an argument. Police seized a machete at the scene. Frankston crime investigation unit detective Senior Constable Ashley Eames said a 19-year-old Frankston North man was arrested and interviewed at Frankston Police…

HONOURING a father’s memory is on the mind of the family of a former manager at Frankston’s Peninsula Aquatic Recreation Centre. Ex-PARC building and asset leader Sam Newman, a Skye father of five, passed away last April after a long and difficult fight against leukaemia. Two of his sons Deagan, 6, and Kaden, 8, joined pa Michael Tinetti at the swim and sports centre on Friday 16 March to participate in the World’s Greatest Shave to raise money for The Leukaemia Foundation. Mr Tinetti plans to take part in the charity event each year and about $3500 was raised from…

A NEW police unit will tackle the scourge of drug dealing and trafficking across the Frankston and Mornington Peninsula region. The newly merged unit of Frankston and peninsula-based officers will be based at Mornington Police Station and will share information about dealers to crack down on drug-related crime. Detective Senior Sergeant Michael Lamb will lead the unit and has a simple message for drug traffickers. “If you’re a drug dealer rest assured we’re coming for you,” he said. Detective Lamb, also the Liberal Party preferred candidate for Frankston at November’s state election, said merging resources between Frankston and the peninsula…

WHEN Maria Peters looks back on a 30-year career at Chisholm TAFE Institute she says it is the camaraderie between staff she will miss most of all in retirement. The CEO decided last year to step down at Chisholm Institute on 31 December and hand over the chief executive officer reins of the vocational education college’s campuses to successor Dr Richard Ede. “I know I’ll miss the people and I’ll miss the intellectual stimulation but I’m just looking to have some time to re-energise and I’ll always have my eye on Chisholm and I’m sure it’ll go on to bigger…

CHAMPION boxer Johnny Famechon is finding a newfound appreciation of his sporting achievements among younger generations in the wake of the unveiling of a sculpture in his likeness and honour at Frankston’s Ballam Park. The 72-year-old former boxer visited the Mt Eliza Boxing Centre late last month after the statue’s official unveiling and was greeted with lots of questions from children about his boxing heyday in the late 1960s when Famechon was a champion of the world. The longtime Frankston resident has inspired and mentored young people since retiring from boxing in 1970, the year after taking out the World…

A NEW writers’ festival is set to make its debut in Mornington. The Mornington Peninsula Writers Festival will be hosted by the Frankston Writers and Poets Society at the Peninsula Community Theatre on Saturday (10 March). Several established writers including Andrew Rule (co-author of the Underbelly and Chopper books), Paul Kennedy (ABC journalist and author of books including Fifteen Young Men about the tragic 1892 drowning of Mornington Football Club players), Garry Disher (author of several crime novels set on the peninsula), The Age scribe and author Anson Cameron and Nicky Johnson (author and illustrator of several children’s books including…

FRANKSTON train station was a honeypot for politicians on both sides of the political spectrum last Monday (19 February). The Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull turned up at the station about half an hour after Victorian Transport Minister Jacinta Allan dropped by to announce the awarding of a tender as part of the Labor state government’s $63 million station precinct redevelopment project. Mr Turnbull, accompanied by Dunkley Liberal MP Chris Crewther, travelled to the station flanked by a prime ministerial security detail. Most people walking past on the streets of Frankston seemed non-plussed by Mr Turnbull’s declaration that he was there…

A CHAMPION was recognised by thousands of well-wishers at the unveiling of boxer Johnny Famechon in Ballam Park on Sunday (21 January). The 2.5-high metre bronze sculpture was unveiled in an emotional unveiling ceremony to honour one of Frankston’s favourite adopted sons. The sculpture was commissioned by Rob McCarthy and the Australian Boxing Hall of Fame and was paid for by a tenacious fundraising effort by a passionate group of boxing fans keen to see Famechon immortalised in Frankston. The group of boxing aficionados, including Gary Luscombe, have raised nearly $180,000 themselves over seven years for sculptor Stephen Glassborow to…

A COMMERCIAL cafe on the lower ground floor of the building partially leased by the Frankston Yacht Club is paying a minimal “peppercorn” rent to Frankston Council. Boomtown Barbecue last month moved a pop-up food and drinks business into the Frankston waterfront building built last year at ratepayers’ expense. Peppercorn rent is very low or minimal rent and can be as low as $1 annually to lease premises. The foreshore building cost more than $11 million amid grand council plans to lease the upper floor to a restaurant business and the lower floor to a cafe operator. Neither proposal eventuated…

AN anomaly in the way drug driver statistics are recorded mistakenly showed there were no drivers under the influence of drugs caught during a Christmas and New Year period police operation. Operation Roadwise, conducted from 15 December-7 January, targeted motorists drink driving, speeding and driving while unlicensed. Somerville Highway Patrol acting senior sergeant David Collins said last week a total of 59 drivers found to be under the influence of illicit drugs while driving listed in the Mornington Peninsula statistics included drug drivers nabbed in the Frankston area. People using mobile phones and devices while driving and trying to navigate…

ELVIS is on the way to Frankston in the form of Ben Portsmouth, officially crowned the king of The King tribute singers by Elvis Presley Enterprises six years ago. Portsmouth, from Berkshire in the UK, shook up the world of Elvis performers by being the first non-American to take out the Ultimate Elvis crown in Memphis in 2012. The singer’s success in the contest led to an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman to perform An American Trilogy. “It was an incredible opportunity to do that on such a big show,” Portsmouth told The Times. He is bringing…

A SIZEABLE majority of voters across the federal electorates of Dunkley and Flinders backed same-sex marriage in the marriage equality postal survey. The Australian Bureau of Statistics announced last Wednesday (15 November) that 61.6 per cent of eligible voters across the nation voted for the law to be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry and 38.4 per cent opposed the move. An ABS breakdown of voting showed 70 per cent of Flinders voters voted “yes” and 30 per cent voted “no”. The seat of Flinders is held by Liberal MP and Health Minister Greg Hunt. In the marginal seat…

A PLUMBING problem continues to plague the two main swimming pools at the Peninsula Aquatic Recreation Centre. The PARC’s main 50-metre pool, aquatic playground and a learn-to-swim pool have been closed for more than a month after a plumbing system malfunction. Leisure centre management initially predicted the pools would reopen by 27 October but the plumbing problem seems to be more complex than first thought. “Following a critical failure of the complex plumbing infrastructure within the 50m pool balance tank at PARC, specialist independent consultants have been engaged to assess the cause and to redesign the infrastructure to ensure such…