Author: Keith Platt

AT an early age Melissa Jane found solace in poetry. I more recent years she found herself penning songs. But it was not until she experienced a personal tragedy that the words and music fused into a completed, recorded song. Jane’s Happy Birthday Heaven was written to help people deal with grief after the death of a loved one. Specifically, it is designed to bring solace and comfort on the birth date of that loved one, although Jane’s friends have suggested it could also be played and sung at funerals. Sadly, the words and music came to the Frankston South…

PARKS Victoria has called for “feedback” on a “discussion paper” about development at Point Nepean National Park. The discussion paper, based on a 2010 master plan, “allows people the opportunity to put forward key issues and ideas in advance of the renewed plan”, Parks chief executive Bradley Fauteux said. “Point Nepean has a long and rich history, including Aboriginal occupation, its role as an important Australian military and defence facility and most recently as a national park. Protecting this significant heritage to ensure this rich history is conserved for future generations is of primary importance,” Mr Fauteux stated in a…

NATUROPATH and herbal medicine practitioner Tory Breheny has written a book to bring home the message to the younger generation that gardens can be more than flowers and trees. “Gardens are the perfect learning environment for our children,” she says. “They really are nature’s pharmacy. Not only do gardens sustain us with delicious and healthy food, they are a source of tried and tested natural remedies for everyday ailments. “Our parents, grandparents and elderly neighbours can be a library of practical and traditional knowledge about plants and herbs for a healthy life. Let’s not lose that vital source of information…

HAVING fast internet speeds at home is not good news for everyone, especially if you are a sugar glider in Mt Eliza. Inspections made before the rollout of NBN cabling at Mt Eliza have revealed families of sugar gliders living in Telstra’s underground pits. Wildlife experts believe the small nocturnal marsupials have been forced to seek emergency accommodation because of a lack of suitable hollows in trees. The sociable sugar gliders generally sleep in family groups and have found direct access into the plastic-lined pits through white conduit running down power poles. The problem facing the sugar gliders is that…

PROTECTORS of the endangered hooded plover are documenting senseless acts by beachgoers that are threatening breeding birds. The plovers each year struggle to breed on Mornington Peninsula beaches with an ever decreasing number of their chicks ever taking flight. Dr Grainne Maguire of BirdLife Australia’s beach-nesting birds’ team said data shows that without preventative action hooded plovers will be extinct in the region “in the next 25 years”. “There are a suite of threats these birds face. A number of these threats are natural, but it is the human modifications of habitat – weeds and access points – and predator…

FILES containing sensitive personal details of 37 men and women have been found dumped on a nature strip at Somerville. The details were provided to a gymnasium on handwritten “athlete’s personal profile” forms. The dumped paperwork, which comes from a gymnasium, also includes invoices and notes detailing how much money has been paid to employees, including the manager’s take home pay. The files were contained in a pink plastic bag, one of several left next to a rubbish bin outside a factory in Speedwell St. The owner of the factory said the bags would probably have remained on the nature…

PLANS to build footpaths with costs being part-charged to property owners are a sure fire way of attracting submissions and petitions addressed to Mornington Peninsula Shire. In the latest round of footpath special charge schemes approved by the shire objectors were mostly losers, although one case has proved costly to the shire. A “typographical error” has seen a 42 per cent blowout in the cost of a footpath in South Rd, Rosebud. Under the council’s own rules, any cost variation above five per cent has to be paid by the shire and cannot be passed on to contributors to the…

THE Mornington Peninsula has been recognised internationally as one of “two leading Australian councils” for its efforts to minimise climate change. An invitation for the shire to commit to a Compact of Mayors follows the attendance at this month’s Paris climate talks by the mayor Cr Graeme Pittock, Cr Hugh Fraser and the shire’s renewable resources team leader, Jessica Wingad, who was there to “learn the latest global trends and their potential application locally”. However, two councillors have now publicly criticised the Paris trip as being a waste of time and money. Cr Pittock and Cr Fraser have said they…

THEY may look like balls of fluff standing on legs thinner than matchsticks, but there are many hands willing to help the endangered hooded plover. It is a bird that nests precariously close to the ocean’s edge and lays a camouflaged egg that is hard to discern from its surroundings on the sand. Also prey to many natural enemies the odds seem stacked against the hooded plover, but as its annual nesting season gets underway concerned plover lovers are erecting fences on beaches and making wooden shelters to provide protection for the anticipated chicks. On Monday members of the Friends…

WORK will begin early next year to fix a collapsed path leading down the cliff to the northern end of Mills Beach, Mornington. Known as the Beleura cliff track, the path was closed for safety reasons after a landslide in 2013, although barriers erected by Mornington Peninsula Shire have been torn down and “track closed” notices ignored. A concerted effort to get the shire to repair the track was rewarded last week when the shire managed to find an extra $50,000. The state government last month announced it would give $50,000 towards the work, which was then matched by the…

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire mayor Graham Pittock has invited the public to attend an “open presentation” about the recent Paris climate talks. The invitation posted on the Mornington Peninsula New Group’s Facebook page comes after 17 mostly critical and derisive comments about the shire paying for the mayor to attend the international talks. However, with the page having more than 29,500 followers, the post could have seriously embarrassing results, with thousands potentially turning up either to hear the mayor discuss a serious topic or to be involved with the “drinks after” part of the invite. The Paris trip has also inflamed…

AN appeal will be launched early in the New Year to buy land to form safe wildlife corridors between national parks on the Mornington Peninsula. The Australian Wildlife Protection Council (AWPC) is concerned for the survival of native animals forced from their natural habitat on private property. On Friday the AWPC announced the appointment of Craig Thompson as its new wildlife protection officer and a plan to crowd fund corridors to protect displaced animals. Mr Thompson said on Monday that he had attended 80 callouts this year to collisions between eastern kangaroos and motor vehicles. Female kangaroos were sometimes found…

LEADERS from six major religions went to a mosque in Langwarrin to explain the role their faith was taking to promote peace. President of Ahmadiyya Muslim Association of Australia Inam-ul-Haq Kauser said “the majority” of Muslims were peaceful and that terrorist attacks had nothing to do with Islam. “There are only a handful of [Muslims] who are troublemakers, who are creating the whole trouble,” Imam Kauser said in his keynote address at the Conference of World Religions at the Bait-ul-Salam (House of Peace) Mosque on Sunday 29 November. The theme of the conference – attended by 350 community leaders, including…

WILDLIFE authorities are on the lookout for the person who harpooned a seal found wounded at Chinaman’s Hat, a resting platform in Port Phillip between Sorrento and Queenscliff. The harpoon was still lodged in the seal’s back and a second wound near its shoulder blades indicated it had been hit twice. The badly bleeding seal was first spotted at about 10am on Saturday 28 November by Troy Muir while conducting a tour with his family company Polperro Dolphin Swims. David Donnelly, a marine wildlife consultant with the Dolphin Research Institute was first on the scene and called in Melbourne Zoo’s…

A SIEGE at a Rye cafe ended on Saturday afternoon with the surrender of a 69-year-old who had allegedly held two women hostage for almost eight hours. Police said the two women were released through the front door at about 3.20pm, followed shortly after by their alleged captor. The man, allegedly armed with two low calibre handguns, was later charged by police and remanded to appear in Frankston Court on Monday, charged with two counts of unlawful imprisonment and firearm offences. Police said the outcome, achieved without any injuries, showed the value of patience and negotiation in hostage situations. “The…

A BUSINESS case for expanding the Port of Hastings should include compensation the owners of property affected by dredging in the bay. Experts estimate 24 million cubic metres of spoil will be dredged from alongside wharfs and in shipping channels, severely affecting Western Port’s marine environment and increasing coastal erosion. The call to establish a compensation fund was included in a submission by the Preserve Western Port Action Group (PWPAG) to a select committee hearing into the state government’s proposed leasing of the Port of Melbourne. Funding for the government’s plan to reduce the number of rail level crossings is…

IT’S now common at bayside beaches to see someone standing on a surfboard with a long, single-bladed paddle. The paddlers seem to effortlessly glide past, often silhouetted against a setting sun and sometimes with a dog on board. Stand up paddleboards (SUPs) provide an enjoyable exercise but, until now, have really been only available to the able bodied. Matt Drysdale, a committee member of the Disabled Surfers Association Mornington Peninsula branch since 2011, decided the SUP experience should be available to everyone. He explained his desire to make a SUP suitable for the disabled to members of SOLVE, a group…

MENTION Steve Warner to parents in Mornington or Mt Martha and you’ll more than likely get the response, “oh, yes, he taught our kids how to play guitar”. Actually, you can substitute drums and several other instruments to that statement. It seems that Warner’s been around the area teaching music forever. But what is less known is Warner’s extensive background and presence in the Melbourne music scene and commercial world, extending from advertising jingles to composing for television documentaries and serials. Last weekend saw a piece of his musical history repeated: the re-release of his solo, self-titled album, Steve Warner.…

TWO public demonstrations are being held at Hastings this week. On Wednesday – White Ribbon Day – a march will be held as part of the national campaign to stop violence by men against women. The organisation White Ribbon Australia works to “change attitudes and behaviours that lead to and perpetuate men’s violence against women by engaging and enabling boys and men to lead social change”. As well as marches and meetings like those at Hastings tomorrow, the campaign raises awareness with youth, schools, work places and across the broader community. The “Western Port takes a stand” White Ribbon Day…

THERE’S something about fishing. Rain, hail and shine, anglers are always out there casting a line. Sheltering from the weather or running to see what’s happening when someone’s reeling in something that’s obviously bigger than the baited hook, anglers can be a social bunch. The delights of casting a line, the patience required and, yes, skill, are all the things that Glenn Couper uses to bring friendship, companionship and healing to a variety of people who often find themselves marginalised in mainstream society. A Frankston resident, Mr Couper’s fishing-based work with people with mental illness, autism and physical disabilities seems…

THE Ahmadiyya Muslim Association, which has a mosque in Langwarrin, has condemned the “barbaric” terrorist attacks in Paris responsible for the deaths of 129 people. The death toll is expected to rise with 100 of 350 people wounded in the attacks classed as critical. The so-called Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the six coordinated attacks which led to France closing its borders and the declaration of three days of mourning. “We offer our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the innocent victims of the Paris attacks,” the national president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Australia, Imam Inam-ul-Haq…

A PIECE of Hastings history left town when The Pride, a six metre couta boat, was placed on the back of a truck and taken to Sorrento. However, owner Tim Mirabella hopes the boat’s future will include many more years on the water. Built in 1932, The Pride was indeed the pride and joy of Mr Mirabella’s grandfather, who was also named Tim. One of six brothers, to Mr Mirabella’s ownership of such a boat “established him as his own fishing entity”, his grandson says. But The Pride was also more than just another fishing boat, changes incorporated in its…

JUST as many families pride themselves on an annual visit to a favourite holiday spot so it is for thousands of birds that regard Western Port as one of their homes. The large bay and its islands include internationally recognised wetlands which governments have an obligation to protect under the Ramsar treaty as well as beaches. One migratory bird that regularly flies in to Flinders is back for its 14 th recorded visit. Flagged when two years old, the ruddy turnstone has been making a 24,000 kilometre round trip since 2003. Another two-year-old was flagged in 2007. Victorian Wader Study…

ARTISTS across the Mornington Peninsula are showing themselves as well as their works over the next two weekends. While it’s usually a display of their works, 19 artists are on the map for this year’s Peninsula Studio Trail, inviting the public into their studios to see art in the making. “You can look forward to rooms filled with the smell of drying paints and ink; canvases waiting to be stretched; needles threading; ceramic wheels wet and turning; hot burners burning, and molten silver pouring,” gold and silversmith Katrina Newman said. Many of the artists will be demonstrating the techniques that…

THE state government has provided just one third of the money needed to fix a track down a steep cliff in Mornington. Barriers to prevent anyone using the track have been torn down and hundreds of walkers and joggers use the track each week to access Mills Beach from Kalimna Drive, officially known as the Caraar Creek Coastal Cliff Pathway. Parts of the track’s bitumen covering have collapsed and sections of the exposed cliff are still subject to severe erosion. Stormwater drainage from luxury homes above the track – blamed for much of the erosion – appears to no longer…

COMMENT THE Hastings office of Flinders MP Greg Hunt was again “occupied” and under siege on Friday by environmentalists concerned by the federal government’s pro-coal policies. As Environment Minister, Mr Hunt has become a main target of protests, most recently in response to his re-approval of the Indian corporation Adani’s Carmichael coal mine in central Queensland. The protesters are concerned by the mining of coal and its subsequent use contributing to greenhouse gases as well as threats to the Great Barrier Reef by ships carrying the coal from terminals at Abbot Point. Although most federal ministers are subjected to protests,…

SONGS and music cut across all boundaries and a concert being held in Mornington this month is being held to help young people take up education rather than crime. Run by the Brotherhood of St Laurence, the RESET program helps students fit back into mainstream classes at Monterey Secondary College, Frankston. Concert organisers say lyrics of the song Street Angel sung by Colleen Hewitt about the plight of street kids best expresses their thoughts: “The soul of our nation shines through the eyes of her children.” The RESET – (Re-engaging Early Secondary Education and Training) – project is designed for…

CONSTRUCTION of the long-promised skate park at Mt Martha is on hold while Heritage Victoria assesses a master plan for the historic parade grounds near Mt Martha House. The plan drawn up by Mornington Peninsula Shire includes the skate park, “additional pathways, a barbecue shelter, nature-based play space, bins, bike racks and other minor landscaping”, according to chief operating officer, Alison Leighton. Ms Leighton said more than 20 comments had been received about the skate park’s “preferred concept design”. At least one of those submitted comments criticises the skate park plan as being out of date. “We have been looking…

INVESTIGATIONS into the risk posed by bushfires to the proposed Arthurs Seat Skylift have highlighted the dangers to residents living in or around the precinct. The Mornington Peninsula is regarded as “one of the most bushfire-prone areas in the world”, according to the municipality’s official fire management plan. And the towns around Arthurs Seat and its slopes have been assessed as being under “extreme” risk of “catastrophic” bushfires. The Bushfire Risk Assessment Register lists Arthurs Seat and its lookout and escarpment, Main Ridge and Waterfall Gully Central as “almost certain” to burn. The register is part of the Mornington Peninsula…

THE tension between activist group GetUp and Environment Minister Greg Hunt rose another notch last week over filming of a demonstration outside his Hastings office. Freelance cameraman Brett Tyley says a “dressing down” from Mr Hunt “was intimidating, rude and unprofessional for a man that holds that office”. Tyley says Mr Hunt objected to being filmed addressing a crowd of protesters even though it was Mr Hunt “that walked into the front of the crowd who I was there to film as part of my job”. “I was shocked at this as it is very unusual to be addressed as…