Author: Keith Platt

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillors have rejected a suggestion that ratepayers’ money be used to provide police with CCTV cameras to catch hoon drivers. Cr David Gill estimated it would cost $10,000 to $15,000 to provide police with a trailer fitted with cameras that could be placed in areas where hoon drivers were known to gather. The mayor, Cr Steve Holland, who used his casting vote to defeat Gill’s suggestion of considering adding the cost of cameras for the police to the budget, he was concerned by “cost shifting”, from the state government to council. “We have CCTV cameras to protect…

BUSINESS lobby group Committee for Mornington Peninsula is making good its aim of identifying and contacting decision-makers to help achieve its “long-term outcomes” and “strategic objectives”. Members of the committee’s executive in recent weeks have met with the Labor MP for Hastings, Paul Mercurio and the Labor MP for Dunkley, Peta Murphy. The committee wasted no time in issuing a news release congratulating Kate Roper on winning the byelection for the Watson Ward seat on Mornington Peninsula Shire Council left vacant by Mercurio’s November election to state government. Roper, who represented Cerberus Ward from 2016 to 2020, was sworn in…

BALNARRING Beach came to a standstill last Tuesday (28 March) when police held up traffic for Mornington Peninsula Shire Council workers to cut down a tree. The shire said the 70 to 100-year-old manna gum was leaning over Balnarring Beach Road and was a traffic hazard. Residents who have been fighting to save the tree showed their anger at its axing by gathering alongside the remnants of its trunk and hanging signs condemning its loss. “We leave far more dangerous large pine trees reaching their lifespan on 80 to 100 kilometre an hour roadside that often fall across roads risking…

FLINDERS MP Zoe McKenzie is one of seven Coalition MPs to apologise for attempting to exit parliament after the Speaker had ordered the doors closed before a vote. The Speaker, Milton Dick said a rush for the door on Wednesday 28 March by the MPs was “a very serious and grave incident” that saw an attendant injured while attempting to close the door. “As all members are aware … after the Speaker orders the doors to be locked no member may enter or leave the chamber until after the division,” Dick said. “It does not matter whether the doors have…

PUBLIC suggestions are being sought for the future use of Police Point Park, at Portsea. Sandwiched between the last residential street (Cove Lane) in Portsea and the Point Nepean National Park, the 17 hectare Police Point is owned and managed by Mornington Peninsula Shire Council. The shire described it as “a beautiful heritage property that it now wants to identify “opportunities to expand the experiences the community could enjoy”. In a news release, the shire asks if the public wants “more social and activity spaces”; improvements to existing infrastructure or facilities; or signs about First Nations history. Suggestions can be…

KATE Roper is set to make a triumphant return to Mornington Peninsula Shire Council after winning this month’s Watson Ward byelection. Roper won the seat against five other candidates with 50.72 per cent of the vote after the distribution of preferences. Stefan Borzecki received 23.15 per cent of first preference votes to Roper’s 21.48 per cent. Roper was elected to represent Cerberus Ward in 2016 but lost to Lisa Dixon at the 2020 elections after a count of second preferences despite having more first preference votes. The byelection this month was held to fill the vacancy created on the 11-member…

THE state government’s apparent willingness to increase the use and size of the Port of Hastings has put it on a collision course with environment and community groups and Mornington Peninsula Shire Council. The main points of contention at the moment are the government’s approval of Esso using methane gas powered generators at Long Island Point, Japan’s intention to spend $2.35 billion exporting liquified hydrogen gas from Hastings and a terminal being built to assemble and ship wind generators to Bass Strait. The recent big budget proposals for the port follow years of relative peace on the docks with the…

THE Disabled Surfers Association Mornington Peninsula branch’s surfing event at Point Leo on Saturday 4 March saw plenty of smiles in the water and the opening of changing rooms for people with high support needs. The “changing places” building includes a toilet, shower, tracking hoist system and a change table with space either side for support staff and families. The facility was opened by Environment Minister Ingrid Stitt who said it would make “this wonderful destination more accessible for everyone to enjoy”. Shelley Hansom-Brown, whose daughter Kiah takes the opportunity to join other surfers at DSAMP events, said there had…

THE changing direction for future energy needs has revived plans to expand and develop the Port of Hastings. In Japan last week, state Trade Minister Tim Pallas said the Latrobe Valley-based brown coal to hydrogen project had the potential to create thousands of jobs in Victoria and “play a critical role” in reducing global emissions. The hydrogen is to be shipped to Kobe, Japan, from the Port of Hastings. Pallas’s comments followed an announcement that Japan will spend $2.35 billion on the brown coal project, much of it earmarked for export requirements at Hastings. Just days later it was announced…

ALTHOUGH described by Mornington Peninsula Shire officers as being unsightly and a target for vandals, shipping containers are seen by councillors as part of the answer to the “housing crisis”. The enthusiasm by councillors to allow shipping containers to be used for housing may be extended to continue using them for changing rooms at sports ovals. Councillors have agreed to a “round-table workshop … to explore all possible pathways and consequences to activate, including but not limited to small secondary dwellings, dependent person units, tiny houses and moveable dwellings within the Mornington Peninsula in response to our growing housing crisis”.…

MUSIC and art combine to help Brodie Alserda cope with her daily mental and physical issues stemming from her chromosome deletion disorder and living on the autism spectrum. An exhibition in the foyer of Mornington Library covers part of her output from 2021 to this year and illustrates her interest in marine life. The one picture that does not reflect on the watery world is of an iguana. Now 29, Alserda’s chromosome deletion disorder was not diagnosed until she was 19, although she has been an artist since she was young. The screening, maintained in a global database, showed no…

THE Mornington Peninsula may have 373 kilometres of unmade roads, but not everyone shares the shire’s ambition of wanting them all sealed. Nine property owners in Ailsa Street, Mount Martha have signed a petition against a concrete drive being made across a nature strip, as it affects the streets “consistency of appearance”. The short street running between Bay and Watson Roads has a category B designation under the shire’s unmade roads list, which means it has a “moderate priority for construction”. Category A roads will be “considered for construction with the next five to 10 years”. Asset protection team leader…

A CONCERT on Hastings foreshore by US band Smashing Pumpkins has been cancelled because insurers class the site as “an unacceptable risk”. A former landfill site, the foreshore can become “environmentally unstable in extreme weather” and Mornington Peninsula Shire requires users to “complete a hazard and risk register”, the mayor Cr Steve Holland said. Concert promoters One World Entertainment said it cancelled the Smashing Pumpkins’ The World is a Vampire tour concert on Saturday 22 April because the council’s regulations had made it uninsurable. “Any wet weather can lead to an event being shut down at the council’s discretion, this…

HOUSING, financial insecurity, death of a friend, illness of a family member and domestic violence led to Kerri McCafferty’s seemingly sudden resignation from Mornington Peninsula Shire Council. McCafferty publicly explained the reasons behind her resignation last December at council’s Tuesday 21 February meeting. After congratulating Cr Simon Brooks on being her Seawinds Ward replacement, McCafferty said: “A little more on my resignation. It’s probably time I started to talk about it. Elected to council in October 2020, McCafferty was part of a new look council, with eight of its 11 members being first time councillors. However, ratepayer representation by councillors…

MEMBERS of parliament were at Devilbend Reservoir for this year’s first input of fish stock with the release of catchable size brown trout. Outdoor Recreation Minister Sonya Kilkenny and MP for Eastern Victoria Tom McIntosh watched the release of 500-gram trout which, unless caught, could weigh one kilogram or more within a year. The reservoir near Moorooduc had been stocked with nearly 250,000 brown and rainbow trout since 2010, some of which now weigh two kilograms or more. The MPs said stocking Devilbend with fish was “another tourism drawcard” on the Mornington Peninsula. Devilbend is also one of the few…

A SEAL at Stony Point treated interested onlookers to an insight into its approach to preparing and eating a meal. Bashing the raw material – in this case the carcass of a tuna – seemed to be the main approach. There was no delicate, quiet appreciation of what was on offer. A lot of splashing and throwing the food around appeared to make it both more tender and easier to break up. Photographer Gary Sissons thought the remains of the tuna had probably been thrown into the water after being caught, brought ashore and filleted. Although the seal appeared to…

MONEY and roads are seen as key issues by candidates in the byelection to represent Watson Ward on Mornington Peninsula Shire. The ward has been without a councillor since last year when then councillor Paul Mercurio announced he was standing as Labor’s candidate for the seat of Hastings in the November state election. Mercurio won the seat held for the previous 16 years by Liberal Neale Burgess and resigned from council in December. Six candidates, including two former councillors and two previous unsuccessful candidates, are seeking to replace Mercurio on the council. The byelection is being conducted by post, with…

ALTHOUGH ignorant of the fact, an octopus found on a Rosebud beach is part of an effort to “inspire the world to explore and enjoy our oceans [and] to protect and respect them”. A short film by Sheree Marris woven around her finding of the octopus is one of seven on the program of the Ocean Film Festival World Tour. The film festival has been shown annually in 14 countries since its inception 10 years ago. This year’s 10-year anniversary program runs for two and a half hours and starts with Victorian Andrew Englisch’s attempt to cross Bass Strait on…

THE owner and landlord of a short term rental property has defended her “business” as one that brings prosperity to the Mornington Peninsula. “We had 6.9 million visitors to the peninsula last year and the average spend for an overnight visitor was $493 a person. That’s a whopping $849 million dollars last year being spent in our local economy from visitors staying on the peninsula,” Floss Butterworth said. “I am so sick of the same Airbnb rhetoric that short term holiday rentals hurt communities and are to blame for our rental crisis. “I certainly don’t see my short term rental…

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire has yet to publicly announce its “partnership” with a remote municipality in the Northern Territory. The Gulf to Peninsula Partnership was arranged by former mayor Cr Anthony Marsh and agreed to by council on 31 October. A formal announcement planned last September was delayed following the “last minute” cancellation of a visit to the peninsula by the mayor and CEO of Roper Gulf Regional Council. “We hope to re-schedule the visit in the near future,” the current mayor Cr Steve Holland said. Details of a visit to Roper Gulf late last year by Marsh and shire CEO…

DROMANA resident Adam Richmond, pictured, has started a petition calling for better maintenance of Mornington Peninsula roads. Richmond said he “endured many years driving on poorly managed roads” but decided to do something about it when his vehicle’s steering was damaged after hitting a pothole. “I’ve decided to get the public’s response to the situation by gaining as many signatures and as much feedback as possible,” Richmond said. The petition will be handed to Nepean MP Sam Groth. “I have previously been in contact with Sam’s office and received a reply via email, but nothing has really changed in terms…

THE wrong solenoid valve and lack of equipment to detect operating faults have been blamed for flames emerging onto the deck of the liquified hydrogen tanker Suiso Frontier while docked at Hastings. The flames did not lead to an explosion or fire, but the event is identified as being a serious incident, in a report released by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) more than one year later. The 116 metre long Suiso Frontier was on its maiden voyage when it arrived at the Port of Hastings on 20 January 2022 already partly loaded with liquified hydrogen. The voyage was…

CR ANTHONY Marsh has disputed claims that he told his council colleagues he would not claim expenses for a trip to Roper Gulf in the Northern Territory. Marsh and shire CEO John Baker made the visit after Marsh met Roper Gulf Regional Council’s mayor, Cr Tony Jack and CEO Marc Gardner at last year’s Womin Djeka – Balnarring Ngargee community festival. When Marsh’s councillor expenses claim for $3750.48 came up for discussion at the shire’s Tuesday 7 February meeting, several councillors said he had previously said no reimbursement would be sought. However, Marsh, who left the council chamber during the…

SIX candidates are contesting the by-election to fill the Watson Ward seat on Mornington Peninsula Shire Council left vacant by the resignation of Paul Mercurio. Mercurio, elected in November 2020, resigned in December 2022 after his election as the Labor MP for Hastings at the November state election. Standing at the by-election will be former Cerberus Ward councillor Kate Roper; Stefan Borzecki, one of four candidates defeated by Mercurio in 2020; Rob Clarke; Michael Stephens; Susie Beveridge, also a former councillor; and former candidate Ben Loois. Nominations closed midday Tuesday 14 February and the postal ballot will be held in…

COMMUNITY lobby group Save Westernport wants candidates with a “a sense of environmental responsibility and awareness” to stand for Mornington Peninsula’s Watson Ward seat left vacant by the resignation of Paul Mercurio. Mercurio resigned in early December following his election as the Labor MP for Hastings at the November state election. His departure was followed weeks later by Nepean Ward councillor Kerri McCafferty, reducing the 11-member council to nine. McCafferty’s replacement will be announced next week after a countback by the Victorian Electoral Commission of votes cast for four unsuccessful candidates in Nepean, which is represented by three councillors. Watson…

A SPECIAL online meeting of Mornington Peninsula Shire Council was abandoned last week because only three of the nine councillors said they could “attend”. The meeting called for 11am on Friday 13 January was set to discuss taking action in the Supreme Court over the Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal’s decision to allow Ryman Healthcare to build a $317 million aged care centre in Mount Eliza. The Kunyung Road site proposed for the centre is located in green wedge zoned land and the VCAT decision was released just after Christmas, giving council 28 days in which to lodge an appeal (“Tribunal…

WORKING remote has become “normal” for many since the onset of the global COVID pandemic. But author Mark T Rasmussen seems to have taken that working philosophy further than most – his remote desk is located in a “remote seaside village” in Mexico. An inveterate traveller (more than 60 countries and still counting) his movements were seriously curtailed in 2020 when COVID restrictions prevented his wife, Jennifer, from entering Australia. “She was unable to enter Australia during the COVID chaos and visa processing times and costs blew out,” Rasmussen said. “I found a loophole that allowed me to exit when…

THE Conservation Regulator has urged coastal visitors to curb their curiosity and keep their distance from resting and sunning seals. Seals, including leopard, elephant and fur, regularly come ashore on Mornington Peninsula beaches to rest and lie in the sun. A leopard seal was last week reported at the Rye back beach and in Portland an elephant seal was basking and swimming in the canal. Authorised officers are working with other relevant authorities, including Zoos Victoria’s Marine Response Unit (MRU), to monitor the welfare and movements of these seals. Officers will patrol known seal locations and can hand out $277…

THE Portsea Classic will be held over the weekend of January 20-21, starting on the Friday with the Portsea Bay to Surf – two twilight adventure runs and a walk through Point Nepean National Park. In the Bay to Surf an estimated 1000 competitors will tackle one of three events: a 4.5km walk, a 4.5km run or a 9km run through the national park. The walk starts from Jarman Oval at 5pm, followed by the two adventure runs, finishing at the Portsea Surf Life Saving Club. On the Saturday, the 37th Portsea Swim Classic will take place at Quarantine Station…

A BY-ELECTION by postal vote will held to replace the former Watson Ward councillor Paul Mercurio who resigned from Mornington Peninsula Shire Council following his November election as the state MP for Hastings. Voting in the Saturday 18 March by-election is compulsory and candidates must nominate by midday on 14 February. Voting papers will be mailed out by the Victorian Electoral Commission over three days from 28 February and must be received back by the VEC by Friday 17 March. More than 14,000 voters are enrolled in Watson Ward, which includes parts of Baxter, Somerville, Tyabb and surrounds. A countback…