Hundreds of blue and yellow rash vests were the most eye-catching fashion item for the second time in two months at Point Leo beach on Saturday 16 March. Hundreds of blue and yellow vests were visible along the beach as the Disabled Surfers Association Mornington Peninsula organisation ran a surf day. Groups of people wearing blue vests – supervised by a lesser number of people wearing green or red vests – were either forming two parallel lines in the surf of huddled in groups on the sand before carrying surfboards and their occupants into the water. DSAMP president John Bowers…
Author: Keith Platt
A FIFTH candidate has now entered the race to win the seat of Flinders at the May federal election. Susie Beveridge, a former Mornington Peninsula Shire councillor, announced last week that she would stand as an independent for the seat held for the Liberals by Greg Hunt since 2001. As well as Mr Hunt, Ms Beveridge will be opposing former Liberal Julia Banks (currently MP for Chisholm) who is also standing as an independent, Labor’s Joshua Sinclair and Nathan Lesslie of the Australian Greens. Although not backing any one candidate, the left-wing lobby group GetUp! Last week announced it would…
The left-wing lobby group GetUp! Has selected Flinders Liberal MP Greg Hunt as one of its main “targets” in the May federal election. The group says Mr Hunt’s “repeated attempts to block urgent action on climate change puts him at complete odds with voters in Flinders and it’s time he was turfed out”. Mr Hunt told The News that GetUp! had “only ever campaigned against Liberal members of Parliament and it uses viscous and false personal attacks”. Other candidates to have put their hand up for Flinders are the Liberal-turned-independent MP for Chisholm, Julia banks, Labor’s Joshua Sinclair and Nathan…
Politicians are being asked to forget their differences and adopt a bipartisan approach to provide the Mornington Peninsula’s “hinterland” with secure water supplies for agriculture and fire fighting. The authors of the Hinterland Environmental Water Scheme (HEWS), Steve Marshall and Russell Joseph, say political posturing should be replaced with election promises to finance feasibility studies and design of a system to use treated wastewater now being discharged into Bass Strait, near Gunnamatta. Some steps towards taking the politics out of the equation have already been taken with the newly-elected Labor MP for Nepean, Chris Brayne, saying he hopes “my government…
Fishing charter boat operator Charlie Micallef, who knows a thing or two about catching gummy sharks, believes their numbers are dropping in Port Phillip. The Victorian Fisheries Authority oversees regulations that set bag limits at two sharks (minimum 48 centimetres long) a person for recreational anglers and total commercial operations at 1700 tonnes a year. The authority rates the gummy shark population of Port Phillip as “sustainable”, but warns “sea level rise and changes in sea temperature associated with climate change are of potential concern to gummy shark biological stocks, since the habitats they use as nursery and feeding grounds…
Murray Mandel has taken his talents to the road in a bid to raise money for Lifeline. The 65-year-old classical guitarist is two years into a three-year journey on behalf of the national 24-hour crisis support phone service. Lifeline volunteers provide suicide prevention services, mental health support and emotional assistance, either by phone, face-to-face and online. Mendel, pictured, who lives in Sydney, began his travelling troubadour lifestyle from Canberra in March 2016 with hopes of being back there by 9 March 2020. He has a 75-song repertoire of classical pieces, some of which he’ll be playing at Bentons Square shopping…
Mornington Peninsula Shire is lining up to congratulate a Dromana supermarket for winning several in-house industry awards. Ritchies Supa IGA Dromana was last month named IGA International Retailer of the Year. The award was presented to CEO Fred Harrison and Jarrod Swaine at the international IGA conference in San Diego, US. Not to be outdone by the hype, shire councillors are arranging some publicity around the store’s awards. In a flurry of emails between councillors, the mayor Cr David Gill said he supported “the idea of official shire recognition for IGA”. “Great news indeed for Ritchies Supa IGA Dromana to…
The battle for the seat of Flinders in the May federal election became a three-cornered contest on Friday with Labor announcing Josh Sinclair as its candidate. Mr Sinclair was campaign manager for Chris Brayne, who won the seat of Nepean in last year’s (24 November) state election. He was later appointed as Mr Brayne’s office manager. Mr Sinclair’s official endorsement by Labor follows reports last month that Tracee Hutchison would be the party’s candidate. However, Ms Hutchison, a broadcaster and journalist, later said she would not be a candidate despite giving it serious consideration and being “flooded” with support and…
The CSIRO is leading studies into the likely effects of climate change along the Port Phillip coastline. “This project is an important piece of the puzzle in understanding what climate change means for Victoria’s natural and built environments,” Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) project manager, Dr Tamara van Polanen Petel said. The department is one. The project – which involves government departments and bayside municipalities – will assess the extent of three key coastal hazards: inundation, coastal erosion, and groundwater change – under several climate change scenarios. “We know that climate change is happening, and we know…
OBITUARY Michael Owen Parkinson, 1954-2019Surfer Eat your chips first; no one’s going to take your flake. Sounds like good advice, but did it come from personal experience or have a deeper philosophical meaning? Maybe it was just something passed down as part of the Parkinson family law. The short sentence about advice given to a friend by Michael “Mick” Parkinson was just one of many entries in a memorial book left on a table of empty glasses at Sorrento back beach on Thursday 7 February. The glasses, tables with plates of sandwiches and chairs lined up in the sand facing…
THREE young Mornington Peninsula surfers have signalled they are contenders for state-level recognition following the first round of the Victorian State Junior Surfing Titles at Gunnamatta. While mainly west coast surfers dominated during the two-day contest (16, 17 February), brother and sister Sara and Lucas Hickson and Sarsha Pancic showed the peninsula’s young surfers are a growing force. Sara Hickson, of Rye, won the under-14 girls division. Her brother Lucas came second in the under-14 boys; Sarsha Pancic, of Blairgowrie, was third in the under-14 girls. While surfing her way to third place Pancic scored 9.43 for a wave, giving…
Peninsula Surfriders’ Club begins its 2019 season this weekend with a contest site to be determined depending on the surf. Since being formed in 1974, the club has won state team events and seen its members in national teams. “With ties to the inception of the surf industry, PSC has been an integral link in the Victorian surf landscape for more than 40 years,” club president Lachy McDonald said. The 140-member club has a clubhouse on a property it owns near Gunnamatta, and “enjoys a thriving social and community scene with fundraisers, events, development camps and training programs run throughout…
It may have been the calamari for breakfast or just the chance to nab a spot in the sun near the water’s edge. Whatever the impulse to come ashore, the New Zealand fur seal lying on the beach at Dromana quickly began to draw a crowd. Some sat on the seawall to get a view of the seal, which obligingly lolled about, waving its flippers in the air. But it was the woman out for a swim that caused the most concern for volunteer seal monitor James Clemens. Not content with swimming past, the woman came ashore and tried to…
THE Labor party is yet to name its candidate for Flinders in the May federal election. Last week news broke that Tracee Hutchison would contest the seat held by Liberal Greg Hunt since 2001. But this week the Rosebud born broadcaster and journalist said she would not be a candidate. “There’s been much speculation over this past week about my reported foray into federal politics, unfortunately none of it has come from me and the story in your article [“Hunt under pressure of coup fallout” 5/2/19] about me being the Labor candidate is incorrect,” Ms Hutchison told The News. The…
Cruising while eating canapes and drinking while spotting waders was all part of a twilight cruise on Western Port last Friday to “celebrate” the following day’s World Wetlands Day (Saturday 2 February). The 90 or so paying passengers aboard the Kasey Lee were also kept mindful of the efforts by the Save Westernport group to stop power company AGL processing imported natural gas at Crib Point and plans by successive state governments for a container port at Hastings. World Wetlands Day marks the signing of the International Wetlands Treaty in Ramsar, Iran, on 2 February 1971. Western Port was listed…
Artists, especially when spotted at their easels in the open air, can be seen as adding a bit of interest to the landscape. But that feeling is not universal, Bittern artist Peter Woods has found out, especially in the home of what many regard as “must make” destination for artists – southern France. While working at his easel outside the picturescue village of Lourmarin, Woods was confronted by a woman who drove up in a car and “started to talk vigorously and gesticulate”. It was not until after hearing the word ‘’out” that he realised that he was being kicked…
JULIA Banks finally broke cover on Thursday last week with an “announcement” that had been rumoured for weeks: she will stand as an independent candidate for Flinders at the May federal election. In doing so, Ms Banks will campaign against her former Liberal colleague, Greg Hunt, who has held the seat since 2001. Adding fuel to the Flinders electoral ire, it was leaked Friday afternoon that Labor’s candidate would be broadcaster and head of journalism at the Australian College of the Arts, Tracee Hutchison. Labor sources would not confirm her candidature, but said the party’s administrative committee would make an…
POWER company AGL’s corporate logo is increasingly being attached to a growing number of community activities on the Mornington Peninsula. As well as sponsoring the Hastings Gift foot race in November, the company has bought the naming rights to the Peninsula Film Festival (at Rosebud on Saturday, 2 February) and the following day’s Musiqua Festival on Hastings foreshore. The Mornington Peninsula News Group, publisher of this newspaper, is also a major sponsor of the film festival. AGL says it is “common” for it to be approached for support by groups “when we start operating in a community”. AGL spokesperson Mike…
While Mornington Peninsula Shire is looking at its management plans for the entire Mt Martha coastline, the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) has honed in on the major trouble spot of Mt Martha Beach North. In the past few years loss of sand, unstable cliffs and erosion have led to the beach being closed and beach boxes demolished. With rocks in been place at the base of the cliff to stop further erosion, the department is “investigating potential options for maintaining sand and cliff stability” (“Beach repairs could cost $4m” The News 30/10/17). Previous attempts to rebuild…
A DRAFT plan with the ultimate aim of “enhancing and protecting the Mt Martha coastline” has been released for public discussion. Recommendations in the plan include producing brochures so coastal property owners “understand the benefits to the foreshore reserve in the removal of environmental weeds from their properties”. The necessity for this education campaign becomes clearer when reading parts of the report which call for the closure of “ad hoc goat” tracks behind beach boxes and an end to “vegetation vandalism” to create bay views. Other recommendations in the draft plan are aimed at combating erosion as well as introducing…
Changes have been made to the running of the Mornington Peninsula leg of this year’s Jayco Herald Sun cycling tour. Entrants scheduled to race a circuitous route from Cape Schanck to Arthurs Seat last week faced an unexpected barrier when businesses complained about roads being closed. It is the second time this month that Mornington Peninsula Shire has come under fire for backing events that require roads to be closed. With less than a fortnight to go before the event, organisers of the Herald Sun tour last Wednesday readily agreed to reduce the time roads would be closed. However, a…
A new boardwalk, ramp onto the beach and special polyester matting made it easy to get wheelchairs onto the sand at Point Leo on Saturday. It was the first surf event for 2019 held by the Disabled Surfers’ Association Mornington Peninsula branch and the upgraded beach access saw 99 surfers enjoying time in the water with the help of a record 300 volunteers. DSAMP president John Bowers described the turnout of surfers and volunteers as “fantastic”. “Everything that that happened was just so good. The boardwalk enabled regular wheelchairs to be taken onto the beach, whereas before people could only…
SUNDAY may not have been the summer’s best beach day, but that did not deter hundreds of people going to the Pines Beach, Shoreham. Instead of sunning themselves, swimming or going for a surf, the beachgoers were intent on sending the state and federal governments a message: don’t allow power company AGL to moor a floating gas import and processing terminal at Crib Point. Serious concerns about the health and safety aspects of the proposed terminal underlined the festive atmosphere on the beach where protesters were fed information about the 300-metre long “gas factory” along with barbecued food and live…
WATER can be the key ingredient to helping wildlife survive in backyard gardens during summer. “Often people have the belief that when it comes to wildlife it’s an us or them situation but, with some small considerations, we can all happily live together,” Paula Rivera said. Ms Rivera, of Langwarrin and her friend Janet Wheeler, Frankston South, give talks and promote good relations between humans, animals and birds under the name, Living With Wildlife. “You can prevent wildlife ‘dying for a drink’ by having a water bowl and bird bath in your garden,” the pair stated in a news release…
THE outcome of a Mornington Peninsula Shire Council decision on Tuesday 11 December was a foregone conclusion. The agenda item to agree to spend close to $1100 to send Cr Rosie Clark to Canberra was purely for the record and the bureaucratic process. The conference Cr Clark was to attend was held on 27 and 28 November, nearly two weeks before her colleagues were asked to retrospectively agree to the cost. Unsurprisingly they signed off on the expense. Cr Clark’s meals and accommodation came in at just under $500 while her return flights from Melbourne to Canberra cost $573. In…
Artists who opened their studios to the public over two weekends late last year see the annual Peninsula Studio Trail as a chance to share information. “I find it rewarding to share information with the public and other artists, including advice on non-toxic materials which is of great importance to many of us,” Mt Martha-based painter and printmaker Jennifer Fletcher said. “I see this generosity as small gifts to the public. Art is very important in our society, it should be readily accessible and our visitors can enjoy art and the beautiful Mornington Peninsula at the same time.” Visitors follow…
THE “temporary” fence designed to block access to The Pillars cliff jumping site at Mt Martha has effectively divided the community. Dubbed an eyesore and ineffective, the fence also sits on a narrow track that could be used by pedestrians along the Esplanade between Deakin Drive and Marguerita Avenue. Hot days still draw a crowd to the cliff top, with many either scrambling over the fence or forcing their way along the inside until they reach the track towards the water. The number of boats and jet skis anchored within the 200 metre no go zone declared by Mornington Peninsula…
IT is the height of the summer holidays and the roar of jet skis is the background noise at many Mornington Peninsula beaches. Rye and Safety Beach are two of the main launching places for what are officially known as personal water craft (PWCs), although their use extends well beyond these two areas. On some days the water traffic from Safety Beach to The Pillars cliff jumping site at Mt Martha rivals that along the cliff top Esplanade roadway. Although it has been frequently criticised for adding an extra boat ramp at Rye to the benefit of jet skiers, Mornington…
MORNINGTON Peninsula mayor Cr David Gill expects police to climb the protective fence around The Pillars cliff jumping site to book people for drinking alcohol. “If they can chase and arrest other offenders, they can do the same [with people drinking alcohol] at The Pillars,” Cr Gill said. “Police scramble over fences and walls to arrest offenders and people expect them to do that. We are in trouble if this is an occupational health and safety issue for police.” Cr Gill said he would be meeting senior police this week to discuss the pursuit of offenders at The Pillars and…
WHILE Labor celebrates its win in the seat of Nepean, the state Liberal National coalition has been choosing its shadow cabinet from its depleted numbers. Mornington MP Liberal David Morris, re-elected with a smaller majority, has been named the opposition’s spokesperson for environment and climate change, and for bays protection. His colleague in the Hastings electorate, Neale Burgess has been dropped from the shadow cabinet. Opposition leader Michael O’Brien last week thanked Mr Burgess and several other MPs for their “strong contribution to the [previous] shadow cabinet” and said he knew “they will continue to make important contributions to the…