THE southbound freeway service centre on Peninsula Link at Baxter is scheduled to open on Thursday. It will end controversy that has lasted more than five years and saw Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors butt heads with the well-connected developer AA Holdings as well as former roads minister Terry Mulder and former planning minister Matthew Guy, who approved an amendment to the shire’s planning scheme to enable the centres to be built and ignored the shire council’s desire to stop commercial buildings in the green wedge. The southbound servo is a “twin” and its northbound version will likely open in December.…
Year: 2015
RIDE-SHARING business Uber has highlighted a lack of public transport options across the Mornington Peninsula in a submission to the state government asking for its controversial uberX service to be legalised. US based Uber, backed by corporate giants such as Google and investment bank Goldman Sachs, launched its unregulated uberX service across Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula late last year (‘Uber’s arrival challenges taxi operators’, The News 20/1/15). Licenced taxi operators and drivers are angry that authorities have failed to stop Uber operating illegally in Victoria although the Taxi Services Commission has charged 11 Uber drivers with allegedly driving “a…
STATE ports minister Luke Donnellan is this week expected to announce the completion date of the $15 million Mornington pier replacement project. The long-awaited opening of the 75-metre, new outer section is unlikely to match the pomp and circumstance surrounding the opening of the original pier in the late 1850s attended by many of the 2600 residents in the district. The genesis of a pier at Schnapper Point (as Mornington was called until 1864) occurred in 1856 when a Ports and Harbours Commission looking into the state of piers in the colony of Victoria met prominent citizens of the town…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire is calling for an “urgent meeting” with the state government over the effects of its plans to lease the Port of Melbourne. Under the terms of the lease being considered by the government, it will promise not to allow another competitive port to be built for at least 50 years, effectively ending plans for a container port at Hastings. Instead, the government wants Hastings to be used as a “bulk” port, adding processed brown coal to the existing trade in petroleum products and natural gas. The call for talks by the shire comes after similar concerns raised…
ARGUMENTS over the dismantling of a timber retaining wall and removal of vegetation along a quiet Mt Martha street has resulted in a family feeling “vilified” by shire officers who are “rude, hostile, incompetent and unwilling to admit their mistakes”. The 1.7 metre wall was a sticking point between neighbours who claimed it stopped them from using a road reserve in Potts Lane and Grandview Terrace. Mornington Peninsula Shire last week replaced the wall with a row of bollards, stating it “was inappropriately constructed within the road reserve which is not acceptable to the shire”. However, property owners Karen Williams…
TOXIC foam produced in large amounts during strong winds in May killed coastal vegetation at Mt Eliza like it had been sprayed with weedkiller. The foam is generated when a high tide coincides with a strong west-northwest wind. It is whipped up by the wind and waves, and blown inland. The most recent event was during the big blow on 6 May and results of scientific tests just released reveal the foam contained anionic surfactants (used in detergents) and hydrocarbons (mostly found in crude oil and then refined into fuels). Foam and foam residue samples were collected by Jeff Yugovic…
Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the discovery of a car at the bottom of a cliff in Flinders this morning. The car was found by members of the public, near the Flinders Blowhole on Blowhole Track and Boneo Road just before 11am. Sadly a man has been found deceased in the car. Search and Rescue members are heading to the scene to co-ordinate the recovery of the body. CFA and Victoria State Emergency Service personnel are also on the scene. Anyone with any information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential crime…
FRANKSTON detectives have released a still image of a man they would like to talk to over a robbery at Mornington’s Thirsty Camel liquor outlet, 1.40pm, Friday 10 July. Detective Senior Constable Marty O’Brien, of the Embona Armed Robbery Task Force, said the man was aged 40-45, 175cm tall, medium build and Australian. He was wearing a black hoodie top with white draw strings, dark coloured pants, black beanie and dark wrap-around sunglasses. The man strode into the outlet at 1000 Nepean Hwy with what is believed to have been a hammer hidden inside his jacket. He demanded the sole…
NEPEAN LEAGUE PEARCEDALE leapfrogged Crib Point on the MPNFL Nepean Division ladder on Saturday after coming from behind to earn a 17 point victory. The Magpies, who played in a grand final against Sorrento last year, are now second bottom on the ladder with just two wins for the season. The Pies led by 18 points at three quarter time on Saturday after booting six goals to one in the third, however, couldn’t sustain the momentum in the last. Pearcedale, through the likes of Michael Williams, who played his best game for the season with four goals, snagged five goals…
CRIB POINT FC – By Jared Newton CRIB Point’s nightmare season continued as they failed to break their Tractor Park hoodoo for another year in a 17 point loss to the Panthers. In difficult conditions the Pies and the Panthers were locked in a tight tussle for much of the game with several momentum swings throughout. Pearcedale had the upper hand in a tight first half before Crib Point exploded in the third term with a 6.4 quarter, slamming home five unanswered goals on the back of dominance from Beau Monty up forward, Brad Davidson across half back and Luke Herrington…
HAIR About Town will be doing their bit to end slavery as part of the annual Style for Life Day later this month. Now in its third consecutive year, the national event will see Hair About Town open its doors to cut, colour or style as many customers’ hair as possible. All proceeds from the day will be donated to not-for profit organisation, Hagar. Hagar is an international charity that works to restore the lives of women and children who have survived severe human rights abuse including rape, paedophilia and modern slavery. With housing and education centres in Cambodia, Afghanistan…
IT was a sea of green in Hastings on Sunday 12 July, as a large crowd braved bitter cold and driving rain to remember Hastings jeweller Dermot O’Toole. Sunday marked two years to the day since his murder and the laneway O’Toole Way that now bears his name stands as testament to a much-loved man whose life was taken by a savage and cold-blooded murderer. There were tears for Dermot, but also laughs as the family reflected on the wonderful times. An air of uncertainty still hangs heavily over the family as they fight for justice for Dermot. Last October,…
IT has been a record year for whale sightings in and around Western Port. Nearly 80 sightings of mostly humpback whales have been reported in the bay, from near Crib Point, Phillip Island and Sea Rocks. Others have been spotted off Mornington Peninsula surf beaches. With the whale spotting season ending next month (August) Dolphin Research Institute executive director Jeff Weir said the increasing number of whales “is consistent with the population of humpback whales still recovering from the days of commercial whaling”. The whales have provided a pleasant added extra for passengers on the French Island ferry as well…
FLINDERS MP and Environment Minister Greg Hunt is scheduled to begin his fourth 500 kilometre walk around his electorate next week – this time hoping to raise at least $25,000 for autism research. Although he’ll be out of his office for nearly three weeks, any urgent business from Canberra or affecting Australia’s environment will be handled by Mr Hunt while he is on the road. His first 500km sponsored electorate walk in 2004 raised $65,000 for diabetes research, a second walk for diabetes in 2007 raised $55,000 and his third third walk in 2011 raised $35,864 for the Abacus Learning…
MT MARTHA artist Bill Caldwell has seven works in this year’s Twenty Melbourne Painters Society’s exhibition. The society – membership by invitation only – has held an exhibition each year since 1918. This will be the 13th year in a row that Caldwell has entered works in the exhibition. His entries – six oils and one pastel – range from a portrait of former Mornington Peninsula Shire mayor Antonella Celi, which he entered in last year’s Archibald prize, to a seascape looking from McCrae towards Mt Martha and a still life pastel. Caldwell, above, is pictured with Sign of the…
MEMBERS of some of the bands battling it out on the peninsula this year weren’t born when the FReeZA program started in 1997. Musicians, bands, duos and solo artists are being invited to enter the annual Mornington Peninsula Push Start Battle of the Bands. Presented by the young members of the Impakt Freeza committee, with assistance from Mornington Peninsula Shire’s youth services team, the event will be held at Peninsula Community Theatre in Mornington on 21 August. The winner will represent the peninsula in the southeast regional finals. The competition is open to people aged under 21 who live, work…
THE crime may be old, but Frankston police hope public assistance will help them find a man who held up the Blairgowrie Pharmacy with a handgun at 9.05am on 5 May 2012. The thief, who escaped with cash and drugs, is described as being in his late 20s, Caucasian, 170-175cm tall and of medium build. He left behind a navy blue Chrome Tech tool carry bag. The bag has the words ‘SAMUEL J II written inside. Anyone who can identify the owner of the bag or has information about the armed robbery should call Frankston Embona Taskforce on 9784 5590…
MOTORCYCLISTS from Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula joined about 300 riders outside Parliament House on Saturday last week to protest anti-association laws being introduced by state governments in Tasmania and South Australia. They follow the so-called Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment (VLAD) laws introduced in Queensland by the Newman government in 2013. Riders also protested in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Canberra where they rode around Parliament House. Co-organiser Dale Maggs of the Freedom Riders Association, who is known to many people in the region through his former role organising Christmas toy runs, said riders would stand together to prevent any…
THE final two hooded plover chicks to hatch on the Mornington Peninsula in the 2014-15 breeding season died just days before they were able to fly. An autopsy done at Deakin University revealed one chick was killed by a dog and the second drowned, possibly frightened into the water when its mate was attacked. They were about five days away from fledging (being able to fly). They would have been the fifth and sixth birds to survive on the peninsula this year. The deaths devastated Friends of the Hooded Plover, who were confident the birds had a higher chance of…
MORNINGTON student Eddie Swan scored plenty of goals on the basketball court and now he has scored them academically at an American university. The 19-year-old former Padua College student has been offered a full athletics scholarship to Eastern Wyoming College in the United States’ mid-west. The scholarship – to study law, sports science or communications – is valued at $150,000 over four years. Eddie completed Year 12 last year and played representative basketball for Mornington Breakers as a “small forward” – even though his height is 203cm (six feet eight inches). Height runs in the family: dad Phil is six…
OPPONENTS of the planned Arthurs Seat Skylift gondola plan a last-ditch appeal to the state planning tribunal to minimise the impact it will have on the precinct’s heritage landscape. They will ask the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal to clarify when the project’s emergency management and bushfire plans must be released – before construction starts or before the ride begins operating. A second matter the opponents, members of Save Our Seat (SOS), will raise with VCAT is the gondola colour that shire councillors approved at their meeting on 22 June. SOS spokeswoman Alison Laird described the bright blue permitted for…
VICTORIAN politicians are again playing political football with infrastructure – not the abandoned East West Link but the state’s future port needs and the fate of Port Phillip. And the Liberal and Labor “players” in their nice new shiny jumpers with no actual mud on them have been joined by a ring-in from another team – federal environment minister Greg Hunt, who is no doubt wearing his Team Australia jumper and knows the field of play quite well being a Victorian and living on the peninsula near Melbourne’s vast waterway. The past few weeks have seen claim and counter-claim about…
THE AFL South East Commission official took over the MPNFL in a caretaker role last week after the clubs voted at a Special General Meeting. Following a notice of “no-confidence” and the subsequent resignation of the entire MPNFL Board last week, member clubs approved a motion put forward to install the AFL South East Commission as the league’s caretaker governing body until the next Annual General Meeting. Member clubs also approved motions directing the commission to undertake immediate reviews into the governance, administration, finances and rules of the MPNFL. The respective reviews, due for completion by early October 2015, will…
PENINSULA LEAGUE LANGWARRIN’S season came to an end in MPNFL Peninsula Division football on Saturday when it was beaten by Edithvale-Aspendale in a thriller. The Kangas (sixth) are now two games behind the Eagles (fifth) and need to produce a miracle in the final seven games of the year to make finals. The reality is that the Kangaroos don’t deserve to play finals. The opportunity was there before them on Saturday and they blew it. Despite having 10 more clearances and eight more inside 50m entries, the home side trailed for the majority of the afternoon. Langwarrin led by seven…
MESSRS Brody and Mason will hold an extensive clearing sale of farm implements, machinery, live stock, vehicles, and household furniture, on Wednesday, July 28th, on account of Mr G. W. Booth, (who has leased his farm), of Cricklewood, Frankston. Full particulars are advertised in this issue. *** CAPTAIN Sherlock has received word by the last mail, from his son Robert, that he has joined the 226th Company of Royal Engineers, Chatham, and is by this time at the front. *** ON Wednesday, 24th Messrs Brody and Mason will sell, at their rooms, Bay street Frankston, live stock &c in the…
STORIES of refugee courage and perseverance are often downplayed in the current political climate. Too often refugees and asylum seekers are dubbed as “queue jumpers” or brazen economic refugees simply looking for the best place to stash their cash. But cases of real hardship and persecution are not hard to find. Abdi Aden’s world fell apart when, at 13, Somalia’s vicious civil war hit Mogadishu. Separated from his family and effectively an orphan, he survived daily violence, death squads and starvation. Bravely, he set off in a group for Kenya but, of the 300 who left with him, only five…
A HOBBY farm at Moorooduc topped Melbourne’s auction sales on Saturday 4 July when it was knocked down for $3.352 million. The single level 40 square home on 28 hectares at 675 Moorooduc Hwy was sold by Mornington and Mt Eliza agents McEwing Partners. It was described as “providing the most sublime rural lifestyle close to suburbia. A much-loved, impeccably-maintained property, the perfect opportunity to begin a new tree-change lifestyle within minutes of the skate park, football club, Peninsula Link, Mt Eliza village and prestigious schools”. The property was among 864 auctions reported to the REIV for that weekend. Online…
CORMORANTS are reported to have died in agony after baited fish hooks were purposely left on a small fishing jetty at Devilbend reserve. The hooks had apparently been tied to the jetty, ripping out the birds’ throats when they attempted to fly off. Rangers at the 1005 hectare natural features reserve have investigated the report and are closely monitoring the situation to make sure it does not happen again. At least one incident of cormorant baiting at the Devilbend has been reported to the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP). “Parks Victoria rangers have confirmed they visited the…
LIFE should return to normal in Mt Martha after the shire confirmed in writing that it would remove a wall blocking access to a road reserve by today (Tuesday). The 1.7 metre structure blocks pedestrian access between Potts Lane and Grandview Terrace. It was erected in December by an adjoining property owner without council permission and has caused angst between neighbours. John and Carole Van Der Helm, of Potts Lane, organised a petition opposing the wall with 50 signatures and presented it to the shire earlier this month. They were frustrated with the length of time the shire was taking…
THE shire saving almost $700,000 on its insurance for this financial year occurred due to a number of factors including a more competitive insurance sector. The News reported on 30 June that the savings came from putting its insurance out to tender rather than staying with MAV Insurance. The windfall was revealed when councillors approved the budget in late July and added 10 items totalling $600,000 after saving $690,230 on the estimated cost of insurance. The items included sealing a car park in Mornington, a contribution for an access road near Tyabb airfield, money for cliff stability at Safety Beach…