Author: Mike Hast

SHIRE councillors have abolished the council committee that deals with major planning matters on the Mornington Peninsula. The Development Assessments Com-mittee (DAC) was scrapped via a late-night Notice of Motion at the council meeting in Rosebud on Monday 25 May. Planning matters will now be dealt with at ordinary council meetings. The motion was put up by Cr Hugh Fraser who has pushed for what he calls the streamlining of council processes and procedures since last October. This was when the balance of power on the council changed following the election of Cr Tim Wood, who replaced Frank Martin. When…

WORK has started on Mornington’s long-awaited Gateway Park on the corner of Barkly and Gordon streets. The park was first proposed in the Mornington Structure Plan of 2007 along with several other public spaces. At one stage the shire erected a sign proclaiming work would start in 2008. Since then there has been a drawn-out process that included the shire seeking public feedback in 2009, another round in 2011, and a plan being shown to residents in September 2011. Perennial Mornington Peninsula Shire contractor Maw Civil started on the multi-stage project mid-May and the stage two work is expected to…

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire is spending millions of dollars to reduce the risk of flooding with big projects completed or about to start in Mt Eliza and Mornington. They are part of Mornington Peninsula Shire’s $30 million, 10-year Local Integrated Drainage Strategy or LIDS, which the shire says will “flood map” the entire peninsula, “implement a capital [works] flood mitigation program” after the mapping has been completed, and develop planning overlays to “protect future development”. About $1.5 million has been spent in Mt Eliza shopping precinct, which included: A new rubbish “interceptor” beside Canadian Bay Rd near the community centre to remove…

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council’s pending decision on the controversial RACV Cape Schanck resort expansion has been thrown into disarray over potential conflict of interest. The shire’s governance department cancelled last Wednesday’s meeting about the resort application just hours before it was due to start. Advice from the shire’s legal adviser had previously given councillors who are RACV members the all-clear to discuss and decide on the proposed $135 million resort but advice seen by The News disagreed. Governance took the conservative approach and stopped the meeting in Mornington. The issue hangs on members of RACV roadside assistance being entitled to…

ARGUMENTS for and against the rezoning of South East Water’s decommissioned reservoir land in Mt Eliza for housing were put to a state government planning panel meeting in Rosebud last week. The panel has 30 business days to prepare its report and the planning authority will have a maximum of 28 days to release the report to the public, says Mornington MP David Morris who has taken a keen interest in the matter. Late last year he asked Mornington Peninsula Shire to extend its public consultation period. The shire refused. In early 2014 the government water authority asked the shire…

ONE of Mornington’s iconic properties of the 19th century is on the market for $1.6 million. Mossgiel at 28 Bath St near the base of Beleura Hill and within a short stroll of Mills Beach will be auctioned on Saturday 13 June. The 2790-square metre property with its Italianate house is on the corner of Bath and Whitby streets, and has been owned by Philip and Moira Robinson of Robinson’s Bookshop fame since 1961. The couple opened their shop in Frankston in 1965 and sold it in 1993. It continues to trade. “We bought the property twice,” Mr Robinson told…

THE proposed signalised pedestrian crossing at Mt Eliza where Tower Rd and Volitans Ave join the Nepean Hwy will cost $500,000 and take about three months to construct. The News reported last week (“Lights for black spot”) the budget was $400,000 but Mornington Peninsula Shire will contribute $100,000 and a grant from the federal government will be $400,000. It had previously allocated $300,000 but the price went up when VicRoads agreed the lights needed vehicle-activated under-road pads at Tower Rd that will trigger the lights when cars seeking to enter the highway have been waiting a while. This should stop…

HUNDREDS of Mt Eliza homes have been without landline phones since 10 May, Mother’s Day, after Telstra main cables were damaged. Telstra told customers the service was due to be repaired by Thursday 14 May but has since revised the date three more times – 19, 22 and 27 May. Some residents are furious with the way Telstra has handled the outage and a Facebook page used by Mt Eliza residents to complain or comment about current events is steaming with complaints as well as tips on how to work around the outage. After days of to-ing and fro-ing with…

THE sorry saga of the destruction of Portsea’s front beach continues with further damage being done during last week’s windy weather and rough seas. The extent of the erosion is increasing with ocean-like waves now also pounding either side of the sandbag wall, or revetment, installed by the state government in late 2010 at a cost of more than $1 million after the beach and foredune started being swept away in 2009. Last week’s waves removed thousands of tonnes of sand and foredune from the eastern end of the beach, exposing the roots of old trees as well as rocks…

OPENING of the rebuilt outer section of Mornington pier has been delayed due to problems with the way wave screens have been attached to the seaward end of the structure. Ten large concrete wave screens have been removed and are being reattached using a different, stronger system. The wave screens are a crucial element to protect the harbour from storms. They have been installed on both sides of the pier to provide the best protection of the harbour since a pier was first constructed more than 150 years ago, however the harbour will still be vulnerable to big northerly storms.…

A LONG-running campaign to improve safety at a Mt Eliza traffic black spot has been successful with the area’s federal MP Bruce Billson securing funding for a signalised pedestrian crossing that will also enable cars to trigger the lights. The $400,000 for signals was revealed in an email Mr Billson sent to interested parties on 9 May including Mornington MP David Morris, shire councillors and Mt Eliza safety campaigner and businesswoman Joanne Kidder. Mr Billson said a signalled pedestrian crossing would be installed on Nepean Highway “in the vicinity of Tower Rd and Volitans Ave (near the bus stops) and…

CONTRACTORS working for VicRoads returned to the task of constructing a second right-hand turn lane at Mornington’s busiest intersection last week after a delay of about five weeks due to “an issue with traffic signal hardware”, as VicRoads told the shire council. But this might be only a small glitch as residents are predicting the new turning lane could cause a traffic jam at the Nepean Highway end of Main St, the town’s main north–south artery and shopping strip. After completion of the work, three lanes of traffic will be turning into Main Street’s single northbound lane – two from…

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire says it has removed potential hazards from its 17 Maternal and Child Health centres after an eight-month-old child was hospitalised with a head injury sustained at one of the centres. On Friday, the shire confirmed an anonymous report received by The News that the child had been injured in an incident involving a wall heater. The report claimed the child had been severely burnt but shire communications manager Todd Trimble said this was incorrect. “The child was not ‘severely burnt’, but rather sustained an impact injury to the head as a result of a heater grate landing…

A STATE government plan to bring more sand to Rosebud Beach near the pier is a waste of time and resources as it will disappear like it did five years ago, says Port Phillip Conservation Council. The so-called “beach renourishment” has been proposed by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (formerly DPI and before that DSE) and it is inviting residents to an information session later this month. Kelly Crosthwaite, DELWP’s regional director Port Phillip, says the beach has “depleted over time and will be widened between the pier and cluster of stormwater drains about 170 metres west…

TRADERS in Rye are being encouraged by two shire councillors to install their own CCTV cameras after years of delay and unfulfilled promises by state governments and the shire. Nepean Ward councillors Tim Rodgers and Hugh Fraser say they are “working closely with the newly formed Rye Beach Business Association, Leading Senior Constable Julie Simpson of Rosebud police, Rob Miller of [Sorrento-based CCTV supplier] Telsec and council officers to promote a safe Rye”. Cr Rodgers said many Sorrento traders had installed CCTV, which had made the town’s main street safer, and “we hope Rye traders will follow suit as cameras…

THEY’VE chopped down the trees of my childhood in Mornington. Fifty old pine trees were removed from CB Wilson Reserve near the Fishies Beach end of Wilsons Rd a couple of weeks ago. They had to go – they were old and potentially dangerous, although it’s odd the shire council declared them a danger more than four years ago. I used to live in Marine Ave with mum and dad in an old house on more than an acre, and our back fence was close to the park. It was a tumbledown fence covered in tea-tree and shiny leaf with…

AN expanded Bentons Square Kindergarten was officially opened last Wednesday by the state government’s Minister for Families and Children Jenny Mikakos as Labor and Liberal politicians put aside their differences to celebrate the building of the $1 million centre. The preschool’s second “licensed kindergarten room” provides space for 33 children and was built with $600,000 from the former state government and $400,000 from Mornington Peninsula Shire with, according to the shire, “support from Community Kinders Plus and Bentons Square Community Centre”. (Community Kinders Plus manages 18 preschools for the shire and Frankston Council.) The kinder is next to the community…

A STATE government plan to bring more sand to Rosebud Beach near the pier is a waste of time and resources as it will disappear like it did five years ago, says Port Phillip Conservation Council. The so-called “beach renourishment” has been proposed by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (formerly DPI and before that DSE) and it is inviting residents to an information session later this month. Kelly Crosthwaite, DELWP’s regional director Port Phillip, says the beach has “depleted over time and will be widened between the pier and cluster of stormwater drains about 170 metres west…

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire CEO Carl Cowie has appointed his first senior executive – a chief financial officer. The hiring of Matthew Hubbard follows the laying off of 12 senior and middle managers on Friday 13 March including Bruce Rendall, the shire’s director of sustainable organisation, former CEO Michael Kennedy’s name for a chief financial officer. The title of Mr Hubbard’s job is a clue that Mr Cowie will ditch the Kennedy era names of the four directors, which all contained the word “sustainable”. Mr Cowie announced the hiring last Thursday, stating Mr Hubbard would be “interim chief financial officer, effective…

MORNINGTON Environment Association is opposing Mornington Yacht Club’s move to renew its lease with the shire council. The club wants to sign a new lease with the shire three years earlier than required (‘Yachties want lease before due date’, The News 31/3/14). It has asked for a 21-year lease, the same period as the one signed in 1997, which was varied to allow expansion in 2000 and creation of The Rocks restaurant as well as installation of a mobile phone tower, which is leased to Telstra. Environment association spokeswoman Jan Oliver said the group was concerned about the lack of…

THE controversial sculpture “I Am” by Flinders artist Andrew Rogers was unveiled on a roundabout in Flinders on Saturday by Australian National Gallery director Gerard Vaughan in front of more than 300 people. The 3.7-metre high silicon, bronze and stainless steel work on a 60-centimetre base divided the small coastal community when it was publicly proposed by Flinders Community Association as one way to mark the town’s 150th anniversary in 2014. Many residents were unhappy with the process of choosing the sculptor as well as its location. A security man guarded the work for several nights before Saturday following rumours…

CAPE Schanck residents opposed to the proposed RACV resort expansion have called on shire councillors to reject the $135 million, five-storey, almost 30-metre high complex off Boneo Rd. Opponents of the planned building have dubbed it “Ayers Rock” and “the mothership”. They have formed an alliance to lobby councillors as well as push the RACV to alter its plans for a building they say does not conform to the planning scheme for the precinct, which includes more than 200 homes and two golf courses. They are concerned about increased traffic, noise from the resort and the bulk of the building.…

FRED Crump of Mornington put the shire council on the spot late last month when he asked about illegal dumping and other aspects of waste disposal. Mr Crump, who seems to have his finger on the pulse and invariably comes up with good questions at council meetings, asked the shire: “Many months ago, members of the community attended two public forums to give feedback to the shire on best ways to deal with the peninsula’s waste … especially the … problem of illegal dumping. “The shire said that a waste report was going to be sent to all participants. Still…

RESIDENTS on the southern peninsula have asked the shire council to “assist with improvements to the Colchester Rd pool” in Rosebud. The request came in a 125-signature petition presented to Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors two weeks ago. Its primary request was that the shire develop the Southern Peninsula Aquatic Centre (SPA) but if it did not go ahead or was subject to lengthy delays, the shire should put money into the privately owned pool in Rosebud’s light industrial area, the town’s only pool. The shire has done this before during the SPA saga, which has dragged on for almost 15…

GOVERNMENTS will not protect houses affected by rising seas, says peninsula foreshore committee member David Gill. Mr Gill spoke to The News after attending the 2015 Australian Coastal Councils Conference at the RACV resort in Cape Schanck mid-March, which was hosted by Mornington Peninsula Shire and Frankston Council. The conference was convened by the National Sea Change Taskforce and brought together scientists, academics, disaster planners, engineers, economists, policymakers and other specialists as well as observers. Speakers came from the CSIRO, universities, business groups, research forums, planning authorities and local governments from around Australia. Local speakers included Mornington Peninsula Shire mayor…

A PENINSULA tourism group and Mornington Peninsula Shire are at loggerheads over the future of the tourist information shop in Sorrento. Members of Mornington Peninsula Beachside Tourism Association protested outside the shop in George St on Friday morning, expressing dissatisfaction with a possible shire move to close the shop and replace it with a kiosk. The association’s volunteer secretary Norm Watson, who owns tourism bus company Nep Tours, said the shop was opened by then shire mayor Cr Tim Rodgers in 2006 and continued to be well patronised. “During the peak tourism season, we have about 80 walk-ins every day…

HUNDREDS of Mornington Peninsula Shire staff attended three union meetings last week to hear about their rights as the battle between the shire and two unions over layoffs continued. Australian Services Union officials held meetings at the shire’s three offices at Rosebud, Mornington and Hastings. Meetings were also held between shire CEO Carl Cowie and some of the 12 workers who were told on 13 March they would be laid off. Staff members were accompanied by union officials. Five others have been laid off for a total of 17. On 18 March the Fair Work Commission told the shire to…

THE Fair Work Commission has told Mornington Peninsula Shire to negotiate with terminated employees and not layoff any more people. The recommendation was made during a conciliation hearing last Wednesday when two unions took the shire to the commission following the termination of 12 staff on Friday 13 March. New shire CEO Carl Cowie laid off four people prior to 13 March and one after for a total of 17 including two of the shire’s four directors (“Jobs go in shire shake-up”, The News, 17/3/15). The Australian Services Union and Professionals Australia (APESMA) went to Fair Work to force the…

THE state planning tribunal VCAT has been told food trucks will not return to Rye. The claim was made in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal last month during a hearing instigated by Rye traders led by one of the town’s restaurants, Baha Tacos. Traders were seeking a declaration from the tribunal that food trucks would not return to the town unless a planning application was submitted to and approved by Mornington Pe­nin­sula Shire. The case had its genesis last Novem­ber when food truck traders under the banner of Australian Mobile Food Ven­dors Group set up on a vacant block…

SHIRE councillors last week voted to deal with the Arthurs Seat Skylift gondola permit conditions rather than leave it to shire officers. But they have a tough task to deal with the job by the end of this week when a 30-day “planning clock” rings. Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors narrowly approved the $18 million Skylift gondola project mid-2014 and their approval was confirmed by the planning tribunal late last year when it rejected objections from community lobby group Save Our Seat. The VCAT sent the project back to council for it to work through and approve 71 conditions set by…