THREE leading Peninsula conservation groups are calling for an immediate halt to construction of a “dangerous” and unsightly concrete-stepped seawall at Sorrento. Nepean Conservation Group president Ursula de Jong is furious work has begun on the “steps to nowhere” structure and says there has been inadequate community consultation. She says the NCG, the Nepean Historical Society and the Port Phillip Conservation Council are opposed to the development “from environmental, historic, place sensitive and safety perspectives”. The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) began work this week on the seawall structure, which will include a “meeting point” of coloured…
Author: Liz Bell
A LEADING state government environmental monitoring agency is playing down about erosion on Mornington Peninsula beaches. Alarm is mounting over the loss of sand at several beaches, including McCrae, with claims that sand loss is due to weather and the deepening of Port Phillip shipping channels. Paul Millsom, of McCrae, has accused authorities of ignoring the threat and not doing enough to protect the coastline (“Bay beaches face diminishing returns”, The News 28/6/16). Port Phillip Baykeeper Neil Blake echoed Mr Millsom’s fears, drawing on data that suggests the increases in tide heights are substantially greater than predicted by consultants’ reports prepared…
GARDENERS using nets to protect fruit trees are unwittingly causing the painful and illegal deaths of wildlife every year, says a Mornington Peninsula wildlife carer. Michelle Thomas, from Animalia Wildlife Shelter in Frankston, says sugar gliders, possums, flying foxes and birds are often cruelly trapped in nylon netting and cannot chew or fight their way out. Instead they face an agonising and slow death as they struggle, often breaking limbs and suffering stress and exposure in the sun. Ms Thomas, a registered wildlife carer, cares for up to 3000 animals annually, from as far as Brighton to Portsea. She wants…
THE sprawling Mt Eliza campus of the Melbourne Business School is being marketed to overseas buyers, with its private beachfront access and buildings expected to fetch as much as $20 million. The school is selling the 8.9 hectare Kunyung Rd property, partly due to falling interest in regionally-based business courses and a plan expand the school’s Carlton site as a “world-class centre for business education”. MBS media manager Emily Fear-Gook said the “landscape” for business education had changed since the 1980s when the school moved some of its courses to the peninsula after merging with the Mt Eliza Business School.…
JAN Dance is determined to turn the tragic death of her sister from motor neurone disease into a story of faith and hope. Her sister Sue Whyte died in 2011, four years after being diagnosed with the illness. Jan says the diagnosis, when Sue was 54, was hard to accept, as her sister was a “beautiful soul” who was adored by many. “I was her younger sister and I can say we never ever had an argument, she was just a beautiful person and was always kind,” she said. Jan and her brother Jeff did all they could to stay…
PLANS to build a footpath that have divided the peaceful village of Somers are becoming increasingly hostile, with opponents launching their own legal challenge and accusing the council of taking sides. The long-running dispute has also put the Mornington Peninsula Shire’s special charge schemes under the spotlight, prompting an investigation that recommended abandoning one scheme, reviewing others and deferring nine. Shire CEO Carl Cowie last week described the issue as “vexed” and said dividing townships was not the intent of the scheme. As previously reported in The News, the Somers footpath scheme signalled the shire’s intention to change the way…
AN eroding coastline has experts and residents calling for urgent action to protect the Mornington Peninsula’s beaches and avert a costly drainage disaster. While coastal erosion has long been a problem on the peninsula and millions of dollars being spent on mitigation works including sea walls and groynes, recent storm damage has heightened concern that not enough is being done. Port Phillip Baykeeper Neil Blake has compelling data that suggests the increases in tide heights are substantially greater than predicted by a consultants’ reports prepared for the Port of Melbourne Corporation before the 2008-2009 channel dredging work. He has created…
MORNINGTON sailing enthusiast Cheryl Schumaker is a self-confessed “late starter” to the sport but that hasn’t slowed her rise to the top, becoming the first female commodore in 70 years. However that doesn’t mean big changes at the club. Ms Schumaker has a vision for the club that’s in keeping with its strong focus on community involvement, sports promotion and inclusion. “At one time the general perception was that sailing clubs were for the rich people down the street, but that is changing and our club is an example of that – welcoming and inclusive,” she said. “I started sailing…
A TRIP to Canberra this week by Mornington Peninsula Shire mayor Graham Pittock on top of him already spending more than $10,000 in “professional development” has again highlighted concerns about the vagueness of the councillor expenses policy. Cr Pittock is rubbing shoulders with political leaders at this month’s National General Assembly from 19-22 June. On Monday last week, council approved Cr Pittock’s request to attend, despite the mayor already having spent $10,091 on “professional development” this term. Cr Pittock will attend as an official representative of the shire at the estimated cost of $2678 allocated to his conferences and seminars…
ROSEBUD residents have won the first step in their battle against a multi-unit development, with Mornington Peninsula Shire reversing plans to support the proposal when it goes to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal in August. At last Monday’s meeting, residents pleaded with councillors to reverse their support for the application, arguing that traffic congestion would make the area unsafe and higher density would be out of character and lead to costly environmental problems. The 12,141 square metre site at 46-469 Waterfall Gully Rd, at the junction of Bayview Av, has had a long planning history, with the shire originally…
A MORNINGTON Peninsula artist has an ambitious plan to sell his three metre by two metre canvas for $1.6 million. Philippe de Kraan says his online “offer” is receiving attention around the globe. The Gathering, an eye-catching expressionist work in bold, bright colours, took de Kraan almost four years to complete using a miniature paintbrush. While most people who have viewed the work would have difficulty scraping together that kind of money, de Kraan said interest from overseas was encouraging. “The news is getting around and I’ve had feedback from people in London and Dubai,” he said. “I’m very confident…
MORNINGTON Peninsula councillors are divided over a revised code of conduct that discourages them from making personal attacks on each other and sets out the process for dealing with bad behaviour. However, shire CEO Carl Cowie told The News he expects that the version of the code of conduct adopted at last week’s special council meeting will be signed by all councillors before the end of June. On Friday, the mayor Cr Graham Pittock said that while he did not agree with some of the amendments, councillors had no choice but to sign the code and “just agree to abide…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire is about to appoint an in-house lawyer to provide “risk-based” solutions for its legal dilemmas. The “corporate counsel” will report to the chief financial officer – currently Matthew Hubbard – and be responsible for legal advice and representation on a such issues as planning, commercial contracts, property transactions, governance, employment law, freedom of information and privacy. While no salary range had been provided, The News believes an in-house lawyer is considered to be more cost-effective than the bills being clocked up by the shire from private lawyers. Shire CEO Carl Cowie sees hiring a lawyer as being…
A BLAIRGOWRIE resident upset the coming ban on dogs in Mornington Peninsula National Parks claims that Parks Victoria is ignoring the “major problems” of foxes, cats and weeds. Dogs will be banned from the national park from November in a bid to protect the nesting areas of the threatened hooded plover. Peter Hill, a Blairgowrie resident of more than 30 years, says Blairgowrie’s rocky beach is not a nesting ground for the sand-dwelling birds and accuses Parks Victoria of focusing on dogs because they are an “easy target”. “Blairgowrie is a rocky beach and we don’t have any hooded plovers,…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council’s reversal of a decision not to pursue Cr Antonella Celi for thousands of dollars she allegedly spent over her allowances has sparked an intense backlash through social media. Since the decision was published by The News social media came alive with descriptions of the backflip being “disgusting” and “double standards” to questions of whether residents should be pursued for not paying rates (“Council drops costs recovery bid” The News 31/5/16). At their 23 May meeting, a majority of councillors voted to reverse an earlier decision for the shire to seek repayment from Cr Celi of what appeared to…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire has decided against pursuing Cr Antonella Celi for thousands of dollars she allegedly spent over her allowances. Councillors last week reversed an earlier decision for the shire to seek repayment of what appeared to be about $9000 over what was allocated to her for conferences and seminars. After the meeting, Cr Hugh Fraser told The News that the matter had been a ”whitewash”, with no information provided on the management decisions surrounding Cr Celi’s expenses claims. However, the matter is unlikely to be resolved soon, with Cr Fraser already planning to move a rescission motion at next…
