Author: Stephen Taylor

THREE directors reportedly have resigned from the Peninsula Aero Club at Tyabb. They are Michael Brooks, Robert Parker and Rolfe Summerhayes. Brooks was vice-president of the club, and both he and Parker were members of the safety committee. Summerhayes was on special projects. PAC president Jack Vevers confirmed their departures, saying: “Yes they did resign.” However, he would not be drawn on the reasons why except to say the men had “different views on the [club’s] safety management system”. “They wanted to do [things] one way and we wanted to do them another way,” he said. Mr Vevers said the…

ORGANISERS of the March 4 Justice rally at Rosebud on Monday (15 March) are part of a nation-wide movement calling for change. Up to 40 similar marches were held around the country – most notably in Canberra – demanding action on gendered violence. Spokesperson Julie Pittle, of Rosebud, said Mornington Peninsula Shire’s Cr Sarah Race would give the keynote speech. “Our message is that enough is enough,” she said. “We are calling for justice for all women. “We see violence perpetrated by men as being linked to our colonial past and the murder and abuse of First Nations people, especially…

PEOPLE from various faiths around the world held symbolic actions to “sound the alarm” for the climate – including the Uniting Churches at Dromana and Rosebud. The two churches rang their bells at 11am, Thursday 11 March, as part of a global multi-faith Day of Action in which about 100 faith communities called for more ambitious action on climate change. The lead local organisation is the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change, which is part of GreenFaith International. The Day of Action centred on the “Sacred People, Sacred Earth” statement signed by religious leaders, including the former Archbishop of Canterbury,…

A DRAFT local law may be introduced at Mornington Peninsula Shire Council this year to combat the growing incidences of night-time hoon gatherings. The move follows an effort by police over the past month to crack down on “illegal and dangerous” hoon meetings and the launch of a state-wide campaign to rein them in. As part of Operation Achilles, police across the state are working to “disrupt hoon behaviour and put offenders before the courts”. TV news’ footage over the past few weeks shows scores of hoons in tricked-up cars doing wheelies and burn-outs to the cheers of hundreds of…

BOAT owners on the southern peninsula say Parks Victoria has a tough new new stance on private moorings. The authority has taped Directions to Move notices on boats which it identifies as being illegally moored off camping grounds from Safety Beach to Rye. The notices warn the boats are “illegally installed in a local port without a permit from Parks Victoria and [are] in breach of regulations”. The owners are told to remove the boats and moorings or risk Parks issuing fines, impounding their boats, or possibly “commencing court proceedings against you”. Parks began issuing the notices on 24 February…

THE pressures young men face living up to outdated “rules” of manhood will be the subject of a free webinar this month. AFL footballer Josh Kennedy, pictured, will discuss the high rates of anxiety and depression felt by men and boys, and the benefits of supporting young boys in questioning gender stereotypes at the free webinar, 6.30-8pm, Wednesday 24 March. Research shows how outdated ideas of being a “real man” not only lead to increased aggressive and controlling behaviour towards others, but also contribute to reduced physical and mental health for men and boys themselves. According to a Victorian Population…

A GROUP of “mermaids” swims regularly at Fishermans Beach, Mornington, to gain the benefits of cold water swimming, increase exercise levels, revel in companionship and simply enjoy the fun of getting together in the water. Afterwards, of course, they enjoy a coffee and a chat at a nearby cafe. Mornington Peninsula Mermaids are a group of women of all shapes, sizes, and backgrounds who have swum at 7am on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays since early January. Their aim, however daunting, is to go right through winter. Organiser Jacky Howgate says the women float, swim (with a “few now challenging themselves…

LONG running concerns surrounding the management of The Pillars cliff jumping site continue to frustrate Mornington Peninsula Shire Council. While it acknowledges that the amenity of Mount Martha residents needs to be protected from discarded litter, overcrowded streets, and even occasional abuse from unwanted visitors, there’s no denying they will continue to come – and to climb through, or over, fences to get to the water. The Pillars remain a major visitor attraction, despite lack of parking or ease of access. The mayor Cr Despi O’Connor said while the shire had “trialed a range of actions as part of a…

SIX areas on the Mornington Peninsula suffer housing stress 33 per cent higher than the national average. They are Bittern/Crib Point, Dromana/Safety Beach, Hastings, Rosebud and surrounding district, Rye/Tootgarook/St Andrews Beach and Portsea/Sorrento/Blairgowrie. A household under stress is defined as being one that spends more than 30 per cent of its gross income on rent or housing costs. Data from the latest census (2016) shows the peninsula has the sixth highest number of rough sleepers of Victoria’s 79 municipalities. Their plight is compounded by an under-supply of affordable and social housing, particularly one or two-bedroom dwellings, and that there is…

THE state government is being urged to hurry up its takeover of managing Mornington Peninsula’s boat launching ramps. It is believed the state of the boat ramps was high on the agenda during a recent meeting between Fishing and Boating Minister Melissa Horne and shire CEO John Baker. In the lead-up to the 2018 election the state government promised to “embark on the biggest reforms to the way that boating infrastructure is managed that Victoria has ever seen [by] fixing boat ramps, abolishing boat ramp parking and launching fees, and reforming boat ramp management in Port Phillip and Western Port”.…

IT HAS been a tough 12 months on and off the court for Mornington Tennis Club. The board of the 100-year-old club was taken to the County Court of Victoria by its coaching services provider Elite Tennis Academy mid-last year amid a simmering feud and, even though the case was settled in the club’s favour, tensions continued to run high. The successful outcome meant the club could begin the process of seeking expressions of interest from potential coaching providers from 1 January – with the old Elite contract set to expire in April – but it also limited the amount…

SAVE Reg’s Wedge campaigners have been letterboxing, handing out flyers, and “donating time and money in grassroots, community campaign” to stop the proposed Ryman Healthcare development at Mount Eliza. The volunteers have joined Mornington Peninsula Shire, Mornington MP David Morris, and more than 1000 objectors in the fight to stop the New Zealand company’s bid for a retirement village on the former Ansett Estate in Kunyung Road. The proposal is for a series of three-and-four-storey buildings, 272 apartments, 362 car spaces, 115 nursing beds and a place of worship on more than 23,000 square metres. A major case hearing will…

A HASTINGS man is fed up with the lack of support he is receiving in trying to control rabbits coming onto his property. Colin Fitches said the rabbits were from a much larger property behind his 0.809 hectare block on Hodgins Road. Because his land is privately owned, he says Mornington Peninsula Shire Council won’t do anything about them. “The situation’s so bad it’s gone beyond a joke,” Mr Fitches said. “I’ve been here 20 years but the last 12 months have been the problem. “I can sit outside and watch them coming onto my property.” Mr Fitches said he…

A GRAPHIC illustration of the amount of litter on beaches was highlighted when a Beach Patrol event at Mount Martha collected 151 kilograms in one hour. “After many months of no organised clean ups due to COVID-19, it was fantastic to have about 100 volunteers come out for a morning of beach litter blitz, craft, a talk by Dolphin Research Institute and lots of great prizes from local businesses,” Waste Wise Mornington Peninsula’s Birte Molier said. A feature of the event was a mini-container deposit scheme which prompted Boomerang Alliance to ask people to write to their MPs to push…

A POLLUTER has been fined $50,000 in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court for illegally dumping tonnes of concrete along roadsides, many on the Mornington Peninsula. Kashyap Shingari, who pleaded guilty, was also placed on a two year corrections order to perform 300 hours of community service, Tuesday 23 February. He was also ordered to pay costs Mornington Peninsula Shire’s $9295 cost and Casey Council’s $1610 to remove the concrete, as well as Environment Protection Authority Victoria’s legal costs. Magistrate Richard Pithouse described the offending as “extraordinary” and commented, “If there was a power under the Act … I would jail you…

THE pending sale of the Mornington Village Shopping Centre will “test the market as the first core Victorian neighbourhood shopping centre offering of 2021”. Agent Stonebridge Property Group says the centre has “long been an investor favourite based on recession proof and non-discretionary tenancy profiles, especially in booming areas like Mornington”. The sale price is expected to be around $40 million. It last sold in 2018 for $39 million. The Main Street centre at the corner of Cromwell Street is anchored by Woolworths and Aldi supermarkets as well as The Reject Shop, Pharmasave, medical centre and 14 retailers over 7963…

NEIGHBOURS rushed to help when they heard a woman’s screams coming from bushland near Rosebud Tennis Club, 9.45pm, Saturday 13 February. One resident, who asked not to be named, said he and others cautiously made their way towards the screams and found her with injuries requiring hospital treatment. Her alleged attacker was still on the scene. Leading Senior Constable Adam West, of police media, said Rosebud police initially received a call for a “woman yelling” in Hove Road, but as all units were tied up with other jobs, they had no one to send. After a second call of an…

THE Only Butt campaign is a finalist in the prestigious Community Banksia Awards coming up on 24 March. The campaign – devised by 2020 Victorian Local Hero and Australian of the Year Josie Jones – aims to inspire people to put their butts in the bin, as well as engaging in healthier lifestyle choices, and body confidence across all genders. People are encouraged to post and tag photos of their own butts, or even the butts of animals and fish, as the only type of butts that should be at the beach. The campaign draws attention to concerns that eight…

TWO 93-year-olds went for a “run” together to last weekend’s Hastings Cruise Night at Westernport Marina. One was a car – a 1928 Kissel of the type that was all the rage in the glamorous days of early Hollywood – and the other was Frankston South resident Robert Mundy who has a background in cars as a mechanic and former owner of a Baxter garage. Kissel owner Joe Barbieri, of Moorooduc, introduced them after hearing from a friend that his dad – who loves cars – had just turned 93 and would love to see the two-door coupe. “My car…

A PEST control program to rid a Hastings house of rats began last week before a clean-up inside and out. The work by contractors hired by Mornington Peninsula Shire followed the owner being given seven days to remove the rats. The notice from the shire expired 5pm, Tuesday 16 February, and a follow-up inspection was carried out the next morning. The order to clean up the property was issued by the shire after it received a complaint about a vermin-infested house (“Clean-up order for rat-infested house” The News 16/2/21). Environmental health officers who initially inspected the property confirmed “significant rat…

TWO Mornington Sea Scouts have come so far to win the highest award in Scouting that a little disruption called lockdown could not dampen their spirits last week. Instead of Noah Jackson, 17, and Megan Holt, 18, being presented with their Queen Scout awards at Government House, Saturday 13 February, they had to make do with a private celebration for family and fellow Scouts at Camp Niall, Tuerong, the week before. The 2nd Mornington Sea Scouts Venturers gained a range of skills and studied diligently to individually achieve the peak award in Scouting which is realised by only a small…

THE owner of the Safety Beach service station site will appeal to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal over Mornington Peninsula Shire’s refusal to allow it to redevelop the site and add a fast-food outlet. AA Holdings wants to remove a neighbouring house, vegetation and add a McDonald’s Restaurant with drive-thru to the BP site on the corner of Marine Drive and Nepean Highway. Council last year knocked back the plan as being “inappropriate, an overdevelopment of the site, and that insufficient information had been provided to assess light, noise, odour and litter, as well as contamination risks and impacts…

STATE Planning Minister Richard Wynne has told state parliament that he will not be “calling in” the Ryman Healthcare application to develop a retirement village at Mount Eliza. This clears the way for the New Zealand-based company to take its bid – for eight four-storey buildings, three three-storey buildings, 272 apartments, 362 car spaces, 115 nursing beds and a place of worship over 23,000 square metres on the site of the former Melbourne Business School – to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal on 15 March. (“Ryman to appeal council knockback” The News 27/7/20). The VCAT hearing will adjudicate on…

VOLUNTEER Marine Rescue members got into the nitty gritty of their role with their annual sea survival training course at Mornington harbour, Tuesday 9 February. They practiced launching and boarding life rafts, setting off flares, and swimming in a group or “conga-line” in their lifejackets, which has proven to be the safest way to safety. VMR president Neil Cooper said the crews trained and practiced basic sea survival skills each year to ensure they could protect themselves while they are on the water as well as protecting the community. The flare demonstration included two smoke (day) flares, two red (night)…

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire’s planning and building director David Bergin resigned last week. Mr Bergin, one of the council’s highest paid “key management personnel” was with the shire for five years after stints at Swan Hill, Boroondara and Mitchell Shire and local government in the UK. Shire staff learned of his “immediate resignation for a variety of personal reasons” in a farewell email to staff on Thursday 18 February. Mr Bergin said CEO Johan Baker had “kindly allowed me to end my contract early”. He was leaving the shire “having followed and displayed all our values, including courage, openness, respect, excellence…

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire is looking to recruit 500 households in Blairgowrie and Rye as part of a research study into the Buruli ulcer. The study involving mosquito surveillance, trapping and control activities is being run with advice from public health physicians, medical entomologists, council staff and research partners from the Doherty Institute. The aim is to disrupt the transmission of the ulcer and lead to evidence-based policies and guidelines to help stop its spread. About 250 households will become intervention zones with 10 Gravitraps placed strategically and inspected regularly. The other 250 houses will be control zones where no activities…

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council has knocked back a bid to open another bottle shop at Hastings. The liquor outlet, proposed for shop 4-6, 20 Victoria Street, Hastings, would have been the seventh in the town. The planning services committee on 27 January voted in support of Cr Lisa Dixon’s motion that the proposal was an “incompatible land use that would, in conjunction with existing licensed premises, result in adverse cumulative impacts on the amenity of Hastings town centre and surrounding residential areas”. Cr Antonella Celi seconded the motion which was carried unanimously. Cr Dixon said she “called in” the liquor…

MAIN Street Mornington will be progressively reopened to traffic this week after being closed over the busy summer period. Extended outdoor dining areas on the road and in car parking spaces, as well as footpath trading, began to be removed from the close of business on Sunday (14 February). Contractors hired by Mornington Peninsula Shire will progressively remove water-filled barriers. Bus stops, taxis and parking will return to normal from Tuesday. The shire said visitors and residents “enjoyed the atmosphere and vitality created by the temporary closure to traffic”. It said traders had “embraced” the extra space for outdoor eating…

ENVIRONMENTAL groups oppose plans for a shared bike path beside the Moorooduc-to-Mornington railway line. A joint letter with 11 signatories was sent to Mornington Peninsula Shire Council last month “expressing deep concerns about the environmental impact of the proposed shared bike path”. They say the path “hosts the best remnants of significant vegetation … which are now depleted and rare in Victoria, as well as individual species which are state and federally listed as threatened”. The shared bike and railway line trail is being promoted by Mornington Community Safelink Group and Mornington Railway Preservation Society. Safelink’s Graeme Rocke says it…

THE impact of COVID-19 on both the community and sporting clubs last year reached far and wide. The clubs lost a season of playing football as well as their ability to remain financial. The pandemic hit South Mornington Football Club hard as it was to be its inaugural season in the Southern Football Netball League since transferring from the Victorian Amateur Football Association after 12 years. South Mornington, based at Mount Martha, was looking forward to 2020 with new clubrooms and a new senior coach in Terry Brennan. However, its pre-season was brought to a sudden halt and then, after…