Domestic violence causes most homelessness’ The shameful truth revealed in Victorian police statistics is that there were more than 2000 incidences of domestic violence right here on the Mornington Peninsula in 2022/2023. The majority of victims were women and, in almost one third of cases, children were present.The largest cause of homelessness is domestic violence. It also represents the largest demand on police time and the economic costs are enormous. Yet, with increasing media exposure to incidences of such violence, we are currently at risk of becoming complacent or feeling helpless. Don’t let this happen. Change is well within our…
Author: mpnews
A lengthy investigation into a spate of alleged burglaries across Melbourne’s southeast has culminated in the arrest of three men, with police seizing a loaded handgun, drugs and other weapons in Mount Eliza. Investigations began in late 2022, following the first of nine alleged cigarette burglaries at businesses – the majority of which are service stations – in areas including Lang Lang, Koo Wee Rup, Lyndhurst, Mornington and Carrum Downs. It will be alleged the trio stole $100,000 worth of cigarettes over a period of a year and a half. Following extensive enquiries, the Cardinia Crime Investigation Unit – with…
THE vivid and vibrant work of renowned contemporary artist and jeweller Lisa Walker and celebrated multi-disciplinary artist and musician Brendan Huntley come to life in News from Nowhere at Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery this winter. Walker’s oversized, ‘easy’ but haphazard jewellery and Huntley’s objects, paintings and works on paper embody humour, playfulness and empathy in a unique way in this exclusive exhibition curated by Dunja Rmandić.Their shared DIY aesthetic, colourful expression and deep interest in how we navigate our world come together in three movements: Love, Awe and Togetherness. Rmandić says, ‘These works give us space and time to think,…
IT was a blazing hot day on 10 March this year when over 9000 gathered at Peninsula Aero Club for the Tyabb Airshow 2024. The event was a huge success, highlighting the involvement of Peninsula Aero Club, its members, visiting pilots, and volunteers contributing to the local community, and greater Mornington Peninsula area.On Saturday 22 June, a chilly winter’s day, people gathered to see that benefit come to fruition with the money raised at the event presented to various charities. The open day had plenty of planes on display, sausage sizzle, music and coffee, but the main event was the…
THE Western Port Biosphere Foundation and Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park are seeking public support for a three-year joint project to ensure healthier and more resilient wildlife populations.The two organisations aim to build a network of naturelinks, or wildlife corridors, within the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The links will provide safe pathways for native animals through and between significant areas of native ecosystems, and will build on the work done by the Mornington Peninsula Koala Conservation group, and the Mornington Peninsula, Western Port and Bass Coast Landcare Networks and other Landcare and Friends groups, as well as councils. Naturelinks help native…
Preserve Western Port from terminal effects The announcement that the Victorian government and the Port of Hastings Corporation are pursuing an Environment Effects Statement (EES) (Investigations into wind terminal effects, The News, 18/6/24) is bound to fail, after the federal government has recently wisely decided that wind turbine industry would be environmentally damaging.Damage from increased dredging, which would be required for new wharves into the bay to facilitate constant shipping, would be impossible to mitigate in the future. In particular, dredging requires the sea floor being gouged out then deposited onto surrounding land, changing channels and tidal flows, which would…
A NEW committee was appointed to administer the Mt Eliza Junior Football Club last week.Eight Mt Eliza JFC committee members resigned earlier this year, and the process undertaken to replace them has put the club in the firing line. Last month the Frankston and District Junior Football League banned the club from hosting home games and publicly stated that the club was not compliant with its own constitution (“Kids kicked out of home ground” The News 28/5/2024).A special general meeting was held on 19 June to address the club’s issues. The outcome of the meeting was the appointment of a…
A PARAGLIDER had to be rescued from a cliff at London Bridge in Portsea on Saturday, and was brought to safety without incident thanks to a multi effort by emergency services.Sorrento fire brigade was paged just after 4pm about a paraglider stuck on a cliff, but the drama quickly became a multi‐agency event as CFA, Fire Rescue Victoria, Ambulance Victoria and Victoria Police were all involved to ensure the best outcome for the patient in the quickly fading daylight.The paraglider was able to be airlifted into the HEMS air ambulance and brought to safety with no life threatening injuries. First…
Compiled by Cameron McCullough ABOUT two years ago a Park Improvement Committee was formed, consisting of representatives of the various sporting clubs and kindred associations in Frankston.They started out with the idea that a substantial sum could be raised by public subscription, and that the Shire Council would expend at least £ for £.The hon. secretary (Mr. R. Fairnie) reported last night that the amount in hand, representing money subscribed by the public was £15/16/6.Those present at last night’s meeting were: Cr. Oates (chairman), Messrs. Fairnie (hon. sec.), Reg Coxall, E. K. McComb, H. Morrison, H. McComb, J. D. Jennings,…
AWARD-winning play The Visitors will be performed at the Frankston Arts Centre later this year.The Visitors is directed by Quandamooka man Wesley Enoch, and won the awards for best mainstage production and best ensemble at the 2023 Sydney Theatre Awards. Moogahlin Performing Arts and Sydney Theatre Company have teamed up to take the show on tour this year.The play is set in January 1788, and follows seven clan leaders who wrestle with the decision of what to do when a fleet of giant nawi amasses at the harbour. The seven leaders are faced with the choice to send the strangers…
PENINSULA Aero Club has been given the go ahead to resurface the one kilometre long north-south runway at Tyabb Airport.The work approved by the Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) includes resealing the 10 metre wide “deteriorating” runway and reconstructing and sealing its two weed infested three metre wide crushed rock shoulders.The VCAT decision was made after the aero club sought a review of Mornington Peninsula Shire Council’s failure to grant a permit within a specified time. The council told VCAT it would have granted a permit with conditions. The club asked the council for a permit for the runway works…
A TRAINING program at Rye Community House is training dozens of people to work in the hospitality industry and creating a network of employment paths for those seeking work. The Coffee Connection program is an example of community groups and businesses working together to strengthen employment prospects for young people through targeted training.Dale Newman heads the program which started as a three-month trial last year supported by a grant from Mornington Peninsula Shire Council. Since April last year the program has trained 30 people of all ages and backgrounds. “We are so pleased with the way it’s evolved and is…
TWELVE-year-old Zoe Whitbourne and her father Craig will be walking more than 80 kilometres to raise money and awareness for the type 1 diabetes research being carried out at St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research (SVI) in Fitzroy.Craig Whitbourne was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 25 years ago when he was 15 and was devastated when Zoe received her diagnosis in 2022 at the age of nine. “Type 1 diabetes can be unpredictable and time-consuming. Despite my experience living with this disease, watching Zoe navigate the grief, anger and sadness of this diagnosis is very difficult,” Mr Whitbourne said.Type 1…
GUNNAMATTA Surf Life Saving Club member Joseph Watt, above, has received the Emergency Services Medal as part of King’s Birthday Honours for his service to the lifesaving movement.Watt has been a patrol member at Gunnamatta for more than 32 years and has held many volunteer and professional positions at club, regional and state levels including regional lifeguard, inflatable rescue boat (IRB) instructor and lifesaving patrol service assessor.He was among a team of lifesavers that rescued eight people who were swept out to sea at Gunnamatta in 1998. Following the incident, which resulted in three deaths, he played an integral role…
Landowners can help meet shire’s tree target Mornington Peninsula Shire council is to be commended on the quality of its draft Urban Forest Strategy (Bid to avoid tree ‘recession’, The News, 4/6/24). The strategy reports that tree canopy cover in the shire ranges from 14 per cent at Safety Beach to 50 per cent at Arthurs Seat; that areas with more canopy cover are cooler and have higher levels of community health; and that properties in tree-lined streets are valued up to 30 per cent higher than those without.The goal to raise average tree canopy cover from 37 per cent…
Compiled by Cameron McCulloughAT a late hour on Friday night last during the sitting of the council, Cr. Oates moved his famous resolution, that the services of the Shire Engineer be dispensed with, giving him one month’s notice, and, if carried, applications for a consulting engineer be invited.In speaking to his motion, Cr. Oates said he regretted the leading article which had appeared in the local paper (“The Standard”).He did not think it should have been printed, especially as that paper was the official organ of the council.His reason for moving in such a direction was that, today, the very…
Mornington Peninsula Crime Investigation Unit detectives are appealing for public assistance following a spate of burglaries across the southern suburbs. Police are investigating after small businesses were targeted in 15 incidents between 15 May and 8 June. In each instance two unknown offenders have forced entry to a business, usually by smashing a glass door. The offenders appear to have been solely focused on stealing cash, usually going directly to the register before fleeing the scene. Each of the businesses targeted was located along or in the vicinity of Point Nepean Road in either Dromana, Rosebud, Capel Sound or Rye.…
A STORM is brewing in Safety Beach and Dromana, and it’s got nothing to do with the weather.Renewed concern that a McDonalds fast food restaurant could take up residence in the redeveloped Dromana BP complex in Marine Drive has reignited a debate about whether the area needs more fast food franchises. A planning application is now before the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council for the development of a petrol station/fast food complex on a corner site bordering Safety Beach and Dromana, despite a similar application being knocked back at the Victoria Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) in 2021.The council, which will…
Southern Metro Crime Squad detectives have charged three teenagers following a series of fifteen alleged armed robberies across Melbourne’s southern and eastern suburbs. The alleged incidents which occurred over a 10-day period include: – A series of armed robberies at service stations in Kew, Burwood, Noble Park, Rowville & The Basin on 25 May. – A series of armed robberies at service stations in Lyndhurst, Mount Eliza, Mornington, Rosebud & Red Hill on 28 May. – A series of armed robberies at service stations in Highett, Mentone, Patterson Lakes, Murrumbeena & Burwood on 3 June. Detectives executed search warrants in…
Compiled by Cameron McCullough CR. OATES has given written notice of his intention to move at next Friday’s meeting of the Shire Council that the services of the engineer be dispensed with.Coming from the source it does, ratepayers will look askance at the motives prompting such a proposal.It can be taken for granted that the mover will attempt to put forward many plausible arguments in an endeavour to gain his ends. Plausibility is his strong point, but it should not be difficult for reasonably astute men to penetrate the veneer and expose the apparent rancour and bitterness underlying the whole…
Stand together and help the homeless I experienced homelessness as a young woman (Women’s group targets housing crisis, The News 6/6/24). Unless you have that lived experience, you cannot know how debilitating it is to not have a space of one’s own. Each day was a fight for survival, simply maintaining hygiene, enough food and a relatively safe place to sleep. Add the social, economic and personal impacts and it is very difficult to maintain motivation and any sense of self.I was appalled to read that homelessness especially among older women is such a big a problem on the Mornington…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council’s draft Our Urban Forest strategy is aimed at reducing the loss of trees on the peninsula. The strategy – on public exhibition until 10 July – follows a move by Cr Steve Holland in 2022 that called for action to stop “tree recession”. Holland said tree removal and loss was a significant issue on the peninsula, an area loved by most residents for its rich and thriving flora.The draft strategy sets an evidence-based target that 45 per cent of the public streets and parks in urban areas are shaded by tree canopy by 2034. The peninsula…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council has released its quarterly report, revealing a net operating position of $86.2 million for the year to end of March.The report states $6.1 million was spent on capital works, and $3.4 million on grants, subsidies and sponsorships. The amount spent on materials and services was 47 per cent of the annual forecast.Highlights included adopting a pedestrian access strategy, completing the Flinders Civic Hall redevelopment, a climate action grant to a kelp nursery in Dromana, and the Womin Djeka – Balnarring Ngargee (festival).Sponsorship highlights included the Sorrento Writers and the Flinders Fringe festivals. The projects leave $7…
THREE years after concerns were raised about hundreds of kangaroos trapped on a Cape Schanck property, animal welfare advocates have ramped up their campaign to educate communities about kangaroos and the importance of protecting them.The Save Kangaroos on the Mornington Peninsula (SKOMP) group is running a series of kangaroo “walks and talks” around the peninsula and other parts of Victoria to educate people on how to coexist with the native animals and the “national icon”.Spokesperson Craig Thomson said it was appalling that the kangaroos on the Cape Schanck property were still stuck behind fencing, with wildlife advocates unable to check…
STUDENTS at Our Lady of Fatima Parish Primary School, Rosebud, have been using their textile lessons to create an undersea wonderland.The completion of the colourful masterpiece, created with a lot of love and pricked fingers, is to celebrate World Ocean Day on 8 June. The school’s Dolphin Research Centre ambassadors are using the display to highlight the danger of foil plastic, which is commonly used as lolly or biscuit wrappers.Students learned that the inside of foil plastic packages is shiny silver and glitters like a fish and, when ingested by marine animals, causes illness and death. The students also produced…
Moorabbin Crime Investigation Unit detectives have charged a man and two boys after an extended follow in two allegedly stolen vehicles yesterday afternoon. Police were called to reports of a suspicious loiter at a carpark on Katandra Road in Ormond about 2.45pm. Three people in a Ford Mondeo, which was allegedly stolen from Wheelers Hill, fled the scene. Officers followed the vehicle through Glen Huntly and Caulfield to Keys Road in Moorabbin, where the trio dumped the Ford. They allegedly then stole a Hyundai sedan, which was parked outside a business, and fled. With assistance from the Air Wing, police…
Potter review needed to restore faith in shire Thanks Cr Anthony Marsh for continuing the push for scrutiny on Mornington Peninsula Shire Council’s decision making processes about the Harry Potter: A forbidden Forest Experience being held at the wildlife sanctuary at The Briars.At the January Save Briars Sanctuary public meeting the mayor Cr Simon Brooks advised the packed venue that councillors were in favour of undertaking an analysis of the process that led to the approval of the largest event in the peninsula’s history being held in the sensitive and precious wildlife sanctuary at The Briars. This commitment was well…
Compiled by Cameron McCullough A DISGRACEFUL disturbance is alleged to have taken place on Sunday night last, when the congregation of the Hastings Methodist Church were subjected to a great deal of annoyance by some hooligans, who, not content with mocking the minister from outside the church, deliberately threw a length of spouting into the church amongst the congregation.This caused great consternation amongst the worshippers and a couple of the members of the church went out from the church and pursued the perpetrators of this wanton outrage.However, they were unable to come up with the culprits, as the pursuers were…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council may consider increasing the number of waste bins at popular foreshore campsites and is reminding residents and visitors not to use them to dump household waste.The mayor Cr Simon Brooks said anyone with concerns about an overflowing bin should report it as soon as they can, either by using the QR code on the bin, visiting the council’s website or by calling the customer service desk. “We will then arrange for the bins to be emptied and, if it appears to be an ongoing issue, consider installing extra bins,” he said. “Sometimes people use bins ……
A THIEF has stolen a vintage model train from a Mornington man who has spent much of his life trying to help others.Geoff Woods, a former stonemason who now runs a scaffolding business, has a generous nature that has seen him provide employment to many local people, as well as the less fortunate, while also helping out in the community.He’s also a life member of South Mornington Football Club, and a foundation member at Mornington Football Club.But what happened last week has left the 64-year-old saddened and lamenting the loss of his pride and joy – an American made 80-year-old…