A PLANNING application for a multi-million dollar hot springs and restaurant complex near Rye has been refused by Mornington Peninsula Shire because the proposal was “contrary to the purpose of the green wedge zone”. A failure by the applicant to “adequately address unknown environmental issues regarding groundwater contamination”, was one of eight reasons the shire gave for not permitting the complex planned on a 15-hectare site in Browns Rd, Fingal. In a report to the shire’s planning services committee on Monday 4 September planning services team leader Rosa Zouzoulas said the proposal “satisfactorily responds” to relevant planning policies “in particular,…
Author: Keith Platt
THE office of Flinders MP Greg Hunt was in lockdown last Tuesday morning as a group of grandmothers protested about the federal government’s treatment of refugees. The protest by the South Peninsula Grandmothers against the Detention of Refugee Children came one week after police forcibly evicted members of a church group from the office who were calling for better treatment of asylum seekers being detained on Manus Island and Nauru (“Police praised by ‘evicted’ church group” The News 29.8.17). “Other members of the public who came were not able to enter to talk with office staff. A woman visiting before…
A TRIP to inspect the latest technology being used in China to generate electricity from rubbish and lessen the amount going to landfill is part of Mornington Peninsula Shire’s bid to attain carbon neutrality by 2020. Cr Hugh Fraser said moving to a waste-to-energy system could lead to the shire being able to close its Rye tip and avoid a $2 million a year state tax to keep it open. “The Rye landfill is the shire’s largest contributor to its greenhouse gas and carbon footprint,” Cr Fraser said. He said the only question remaining was when the tip could be…
THE Mornington Peninsula’s plovers seem destined to be both victims and indicators of the pressures of population. The hooded plover has for years been fighting for its very existence, mainly on the peninsula’s ocean beaches. Its plight is so precarious that dogs have now been permanently banned on the sand within the Mornington Peninsula National Park. Rope barriers were erected along parts of Balnarring beach in Western Port yesterday to protect red-capped plovers, cousins of the hooded plover. Not regarded nationally as being endangered, the red-capped plovers are rapidly losing ground on the peninsula, again to off-leash dogs and foxes,…
PLANS to build a maritime centre at Hastings centred on the Otama submarine are not included in draft plans for the foreshore because they require state and federal government approvals. The draft Hastings Foreshore Precinct Plan – designed to “establish a consistent identity” for the Hastings foreshore from Hodgins Rd in the north to Reid Pde in the south – is now on public exhibition and open for public comment. Investigations conducted into forming the draft plan included consultations with 21 groups, organisations and government departments, but not the proponents of the maritime centre, the Western Port Oberon Association. The…
Mornington Peninsula Shire is sending a three-person team to China to investigate “alternative waste facilities”. Cr Hugh Fraser, acting chief operating officer Niall McDonagh and waste services team leader Daniel Hinson will be in China 2-9 September and report back to council within 30 days on the value of the tour and “how knowledge gained may influence the future direction of alternate waste technologies in the region and the shire”. The trip will cost ratepayers about $7500. The shire is a member of the Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Group (MWRRG) and its team will join representatives from Greater Dandenong…
MORNINGTON Peninsula grape growers are being urged to sign up to a program which would provide an early alert to threats from pests and diseases. Agriculture Victoria and the Mornington Peninsula Vignerons Association (MPVA) are working to improve biosecurity management practices on the peninsula by encouraging growers to embrace the property identification codes (PIC) program. Less than 45 per cent of peninsula grape growers have registered so far. MPVA technical chairman Tyson Lewis said by registering for a PIC, Agriculture Victoria is able to quickly alert local growers about a plant pest infestation or disease outbreak that may hit hard…
MOVES to change “foreshore” to “coastal” when it comes to naming volunteer groups on the Mornington Peninsula involved with foreshore management are designed to iron out misunderstandings over the groups’ roles and powers. A review ordered by council in 2014 conducted by consultant Janine Haddow recommends asking foreshore advisory groups what they think of adopting “a less formal foreshore consultative group model”. Changes suggested in Ms Haddow’s report also take away the requirement for a council officer to attend up to 30 meetings of the various groups each year. Ms Haddow says the changes would provide the groups with greater…
IT’S not obvious to patrons, but a red line on a planning permit shows just where (and sometimes when) alcohol can be consumed at outlets throughout the Mornington Peninsula. A bid to extend the red line to include building extensions and two paths at the 19 hectare Mantons Creek Winery, Shoreham, has been knocked by the shire’s planning services committee. Despite planning services team leader Clydie Brewer’s assurances that moving the red line at the Tucks Rd property met all planning and legislative criteria, councillors agreed that it did not meet “objectives and decision guidelines” in the shire’s planning scheme.…
PUBLIC comment is being sought for a plan designed to “establish a consistent identity” for the Hastings foreshore from Hodgins Rd in the north to Reid Pde in the south. Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors are expected to approve the draft Hastings Foreshore Precinct Plan tonight (Tuesday 22 August) and place on public exhibition for four weeks. As well as creating a consistent identity, the plan aims to “celebrate” the environment heritage while creating “connections” and support “activity”. Strategic planner Jeska Dee said the priority of building the various projects in the plan would be driven by feedback from the public,…
OVER the past few decades there has been no shortage of reports about bird species being wiped out or their numbers facing rapid decline. Most often these reports involve the northern hemisphere and birds that have to navigate several countries to satisfy their migratory instincts. But speak to Max Burrows of the Mornington Peninsula branch of BirdLife Australia and what seems a problem half a world away becomes an event in our own backyard. It’s not that long ago bird watchers were confronted by the local extinction of the grey-crowned babbler. Probably not a bird on everyone’s easily identifiable list,…
DEVELOPERS and objectors to a multi-million dollar hot springs and restaurant complex near Rye have been put on hold because of an administrative bungle by Mornington Peninsula Shire. A planning application for the complex on nearly 15 hectares in Browns Rd, Fingal, was withdrawn from last week’s planning services committee meeting because objectors were not given enough notice. The delay will enable them to be present and ask questions when the issue next comes before the committee. Planning services executive manager David Bergin said the report was pulled “due to an administrative error”. The item would be on the agenda…
ENERGY supplier AGL confirmed last week that it wants to have a floating gas import terminal at Crib Point. The company says the Western Port site will “increase energy security and supply for customers in south eastern Australia”. If given the go ahead by the state government, AGL says it will “invest roughly $250 million” and begin construction in 2019 with a view to bringing the terminal online within the following two years. The government issued a statement on Thursday saying it “welcomed AGL’s decision … [and is] working closely with AGL to ensure approvals processes are streamlined to avoid…
MEMBERS of St Macartan’s Catholic Church, Mornington are writing letters to members of parliament opposing the assisted dying Bill about to go before the Victorian Parliament. Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart has urged all churches in his archdiocese to campaign against the Bill. If passed, the proposed legislation would open the way for Victorians to ask for a medically assisted death. Supporters of the Bill say terminally ill Victorians are sometimes taking their own lives, “alone and in violent ways”. MPs will be allowed a conscience vote on the Bill which, if adopted, could be in place by 2019. The Bill…
FIVE years ago Mornington Peninsula Shire paid $5.1 million for a block of shops in Wannaeue Place, Rosebud. Rosebud Central Shopping Centre was promoted as an alternative site to the foreshore for an aquatic centre which the shire had been struggling to build in the face of state government restrictions and technical problems. A nearby shop housing a dry cleaners was also bought for $770,000. The face-saving entry into the commercial property market was made in late September 2012, just weeks before the shire would have moved into the pre-election caretaker mode. The shire has now been told it will…
TO BORROW from book terminology, there will be a lot of “lively reads” in High St, Hastings at the end of the month. As part of the town’s second annual book day traders will dress as book characters and read stories to pre-school and prep pupils. The pupils and their teachers will also be dressed as characters from books as they visit shops and businesses between 10am and 11.30 on Tuesday 29 August. Shop fronts will be decorated in book themes and students will also read to young pupils who will be touring the street with their teachers. The book…
THE number of young people committing suicide in Frankston and on the peninsula is causing alarm. The state government has announced funding for the South Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Network to deliver the Lived Experience project designed to “help reduce stigma and promote help-seeking in the Frankston, Mornington Peninsula and Dandenong regions”. Roses in the Ocean, an organisation supporting those with lived experiences of suicide, will provide training and mentoring to help people talk about suicide. A 2012 study by Communities that Care commissioned by Mornington Peninsula Shire revealed an estimated 25.5 per cent of students in years seven, nine…
POPULATION projections and demand for housing on the Mornington Peninsula over the next 15 years show there is no need to increase height limits, according to the mayor Cr Bev Colomb. “Restricting height limits encourages developers to consider smaller dwelling types that would increase housing diversity without having a negative impact on the character of our residential areas,” she said. Cr Colomb’s comments are the latest criticism by the shire of the state government’s decision to allow three storey dwellings of 11 metres in at least 10 towns – Capel Sound (formerly Rosebud West), Rosebud, Dromana, Mt Martha, Mornington, Baxter,…
WESTERN Port may play a role in easing Australia’s energy problems if energy supplier AGL goes ahead with a floating gas terminal at Crib Point. The terminal moored at the end of the jetty would warm chilled LNG into gas to be fed straight into a pipeline for the domestic market. Although Victoria produces more gas than it uses from fields in Bass Strait, the LNG would be imported from elsewhere in Australia and overseas. LNG is exported from the Esso plant at Long Island Point, Hastings, a few miles north of the proposed import site at Crib Point. “This…
PARKS Victoria expects to release a master plan in September for the use and development of Point Nepean National Park. The plan will be largely based on one adopted by the Labor state government in 2010 but jettisoned by the Liberal-led Coalition in the lead-up to the 2014 election. The current Labor government reportedly paid at least $1 million in 2015 to buy out a 50-year lease the Coalition had entered into with the privately owned Point Leisure Group for a health and wellness retreat with hot springs, a spa, restaurant, hotel and conference centre. In a 10 February letter…
MORNINGTON Peninsula mayor Cr Bev Colomb says looking after and finding new homes for unclaimed cats and dogs is “high priority” for the shire. However, a group of animal lovers plans to demonstrate outside the shire’s Mornington offices on Sunday over their claims of secrecy surrounding how many unwanted animals are being put down. The Save Mornington Pound Animals group wants to stop cats and dogs being killed and for the shire to increase its efforts to find new homes for strays. The protest comes just weeks before the shire prepares to unveil $900,000 in changes to its new community…
THE 450 members of Devilbend Golf Club seem set to retain control of the future of their golf course. Mornington Peninsula Shire Council has agreed to a new 21-year lease for the Loders Rd, Moorooduc, golf course. However, the operations of the golf club are to be subject to a review by private consultants hired by council. The lease effectively rules out advertising that the golf course was available for lease or appointing a commercial manager, as recommended by the shire’s property operations team leader, Greg Collins. The report to a council meeting in April with Mr Collins’ recommendations…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire is reconsidering its decision to increase the rent for The Hastings Club after being told the calculations on which it was based contravened the Gambling Regulation Act 2003 (the Act). The original plan, which saw the club’s rent rise from about $4000 to $42,000 in the first year and climbing to $54,000 in three years, was met with dismay by the members and supporters of the Hastings Cricket and Football Social Club who immediately sought legal advice. Councillors were last month (June) told by property and strategy manager Yasmin Woods that the calculation method she used in…
THE boat hire business at Scout Beach, Mornington, has been granted a new nine-year lease along with a 300 per cent rent hike. The lease to Mornington Boat Hire and Bait and Tackle run by Paul Pingiaro operates from a boat shed and includes about 120 square metres of foreshore, which can be used for boat hire and a kiosk. Boats have been hired from a business on the beach for 90 years. A report to Mornington Peninsula Shire Council’s Tuesday 27 June meeting said Mornington Boat Hire had nine employees “and is Melbourne’s largest boat hire with other operations…
THE state government has resumed management of the Port of Hastings through the Victorian Regional Channels Authority. The port was run under contract until 30 June by Patrick Ports Hastings, also known as Linx Stevedoring. As from 1 July the harbourmaster Captain Shane Vedamuttu and assistants Capt Chris Noon and Capt Martin Leavold are responsible for shipping in and out of Western Port with the Port of Hastings Development Authority (PoHDA) managing the port’s on-land requirements (jetties, land side infrastructure and port maintenance). “We’re delighted to take over direct management of all shipping operations at Hastings and we are committed…
JENNY Angliss-Goodall is the new president of the Disabled Surfers Association Mornington Peninsula branch. Ms Angliss-Goodall has been involved in the DSAMP since its inception in late 2011, often putting up her hand to try out any new equipment, whether for use in the surf or a wheelchair for the beach. Earlier this year she was one of the first wheelchairs to use specialised plastic matting laid across the beach to the water’s edge near Mt Martha Lifesaving Club. Ms Angliss-Goodall, of Mornington, was born with arthrogryposis multiplex congenital (AMC), a condition that sees two or more joints become permanently…
PEOPLE living on the Mornington Peninsula are statistically more likely to suffer a stroke than those living anywhere else in Victoria. The federal electorate of Flinders, held for the Liberal Party by Health Minister Greg Hunt, is the worst of the state’s four stroke “hotspots” identified in the latest Stroke Foundation report. The latest predictions show nearly 500 residents of the Flinders electorate are expected to have a stroke this year, resulting in 116 deaths. The number of strokes in Flinders is predicted to grow to 1294 by 2050. According to the foundation’s No Postcode Untouched: Stroke in Australia 2017…
THE main road leading from Western Port to Melbourne was closed to all traffic on Thursday night following a fatal crash between a car and a loaded liquid gas tanker at Tyabb. A major explosion was averted by emergency crews and gas was still being removed from the tanker early Friday afternoon. Authorities also feared the blaze – attributed to the tanker’s fuel tanks – had damaged the surface of Hastings-Dandenong Rd. The crash comes at a time when both state and federal governments are considering plans that could greatly increase the number of trucks carrying volatile cargoes through towns…
THE proposed $280,000 car park to ease Mt Eliza Primary School drop-offs has upset nearby residents. They say their main concerns over the Canadian Bay Rd-Nepean Highway site are safety, increases in traffic when a nursing home is built opposite, and the “destruction of a beautiful park area which is characteristic of Mt Eliza”. Traffic is often chaotic in the area during morning and afternoon peaks, with parents parking on roadsides while dropping off and picking up pupils. The residents say they met with the mayor, councillors and shire staff at the proposed site recently to discuss potential issues and…
DOG walkers at McCrae proved the social aspects of their regular beach outings by getting together on 10 June to pressure Mornington Peninsula into loosening the laws on keeping their pets on a leash. Bill Chalkley said unique winter restrictions at McCrae were the “bones of the issue”. “Since it was established in November 2008 the McCrae beach off-leash dog exercise area has had winter time restrictions – no off-leash exercise is permitted outside the daylight saving period after 9am or before 5pm daily,” he said. “An identical off-leash dog exercise area east of the Rosebud jetty has no such…