Impossible promises A million dollars here, a million dollars there. Bus services, train upgrades, car parks. I’ve heard it all before. Every four years and nothing ever changes. The Liberal Party has held the seat [of Mornington] for decades. Is it the failed and ineffective advocacy from the four terms of David Morris? Is it the state government? We’ve had state governments from both sides across the years and nothing. Or is it simply Mornington Peninsula Shire? I think our shire councillors are biased, politically motivated and can’t seem to ever get anything done. One even ran in the federal…
Author: MP News Group
RSLs and war memorials around the Mornington Peninsula were a place for solemn reflection on Friday, 11 November, as hundreds of people gathered on Remembrance Day to pay their respects to those who died in the line of duty. Remembrance Day is a memorial day held since the end of World Ward I and commemorates the loss of Australian lives from all wars and conflicts. On the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month, one minute’s silence is observed and dedicated to those who have died fighting to protect the nation. First published in the Southern Peninsula…
PARTS of Mount Martha, Mornington, Hastings and Dromana were inundated with water again on Sunday night, as heavy rain caused localised flash flooding and building damage. Hastings SES volunteers reported receiving requests for assistance “every few seconds”, with most calls coming from Mornington and Mount Martha. SES chief operations officer Tim Wiebusch said there were 140 calls for help from the Mount Martha area, with 23 flood rescues. Wiebusch said the deluge had been an important reminder never to drive through any flood water. Mount Martha residents reported as much as 90mm in rain gauges over the weekend, with more…
BILLED as a “must see” event, Mornington Peninsula Shire last week held election forums in Mornington and Rosebud. Six of the eight Mornington candidates attended the Mornington Park Pavilion forum on Friday chaired by the mayor, Cr Anthony Marsh. Marsh said the forums were “an excellent opportunity to learn about what each candidate has planned for the peninsula if elected”. “As a council, we are asking candidates to consider funding and support for our 10 key advocacy priorities, including affordable housing, Rosebud Hospital redevelopment, mobile coverage, road safety and protecting our coastline.” Mornington candidates at the shire’s forum, from left,…
A woman has died in hospital following a collision which occurred in Pearcedale last week. Investigators have been told a car was waiting to turn right from North Road into Middle Road about 4.25pm on 10 November. It is alleged a car travelling along North Road has run into the back of the turning car and forced it onto the wrong side of the road where it was hit by oncoming traffic. The driver of the turning car, a 45-year-old woman from Pearcedale, was taken to hospital in a critical condition where she unfortunately died. Police continue to investigate the…
As the weather begins to warm up, Victoria Police looks forward to seeing all Victorians enjoy some of the best coastal areas our state has to offer but above all, we want everyone to enjoy the summer months safely. From now until the end of March 2023, Operation Summersafe will see a bolstered police presence across metropolitan Melbourne’s most loved coastal locations including St Kilda, Half Moon Bay, Altona, and Williamstown through to the Mornington Peninsula and the Rye foreshore. As part of the operation, residents and visitors to these areas can expect to see an increase in proactive police…
Industry, tourism ‘incompatible’ in ‘pristine’ Western Port The announcement that the Port of Hastings might go ahead is no surprise to us who have strived to keep Western Port industry-free for decades (“Hastings port seen as ‘key’ link to offshore power” The News 1/11/22). The economic lie to Western Port residents is always sold by both major parties (do the Greens support this environment-killing industrial port?) and reported in local newspapers that a port would create “jobs”, but the negative economic consequences to thousands of small businesses and their local employees around the bay who benefit from recreational tourism is…
BALNARRING Pre School was recently joined by Balnarring Primary School, Balnarring Early Learning Centre and St Joseph’s school to celebrate and honour First Nations’ Peoples cultures by participating in The Little Long Walk. The event is part of the Bundjil Nest project that involves learning about cultures through a variety of experiences. Karen Anderson from the pre school said Steve Parker welcomed the group with a smoking ceremony that involved him playing the yidaki and clapping sticks. The students helped to create banners that they carried on the walk through the Balnarring Primary School grounds to Balnarring village, waving to…
THE Mornington and District Historical Society held a celebration of the history of the Mornington area on 28 October at the Old Post Office Museum, Mornington. The occasion was the official ‘re-opening’ of the Museum and the launch of new interpretive panels and lettering on the walls. Speakers were the mayor Cr Anthony Marsh, president Diane White and committee member Vicky Sapkin. The society obtained a grant through the Public Record Office Victoria to produce three large interpretive panels for the museum interior to communicate important aspects of the history of the area. The finance also included lettering placed above…
TRAFFIC and pedestrian-operated lights are expected to be operating at the intersection of Forest Drive and Nepean Highway, Mount Martha by mid-next year. VicRoads engineers are finalising designs for lights at the intersection, the scene of at least eight serious accidents over the past 10 years, leading to one death and several serious injuries. Work on making the hilltop intersection safer is expected to start in early 2023, with the construction contract being advertised later this year. The design details include investigations of underground services and road surface design. The intersection will be widened and include bicycle lanes. Asphalt will…
A 1100-signature petition calling for a ban on fishing to be enforced at Martha Cove marina, Safety Beach has been submitted to Mornington Peninsula Shire Council. The petition, posted online on 15 September, was prompted by a near-miss incident in which petitioner Georgia Symmons was nearly struck in the eye by a hook while a fisher ignoring the ban cast a line. Other issues that have been raised by petitioners relate to public safety, animal welfare from carelessly discarded hooks and line, and pollution. The petition wants council, as a first step, to enforce the environmental management plan that prohibits…
MOUNT Martha Primary School student Harry Pearce (above) is going to Brisbane to compete in this month’s School Sport Australia Track and Field championships. Harry will be part of the School Sport Victoria 10-12-year-old track and field team and has qualified to run in the 100 metre sprint, long jump and 4 x 100 metre relay and the combined event which involves a 100 and 800 metre runs, long jump and shot put. The national track and field championships start this week and finish 21 November at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre. Mornington Hyundai last week announced it would…
TEN 100-year milestone birthdays were celebrated at a lunch at Mornington Peninsula Legacy Club last Wednesday (2 November). The centenarians included nine of the club’s 20 war widow beneficiaries and two reserve Legatees (who between them have given 71 years’ service to Legacy). Club president Ed Kennedy said the lunch at the club’s premises in Nepean Highway, Mount Eliza, recognised the widows’ longevity and their husbands’ military service. Mornington Peninsula Legacy supports 730 beneficiaries – 16 with a disability and is helping five children through school. In 2023, Legacy Australia will be celebrating its own centenary by holding the Legacy…
THE past two weeks of wild and windy weather have kept emergency services busy, with everyone from people to pets and wildlife needing help. At Hastings, some unlikely “clients” in the form of three galah chicks needed rescuing when their home was destroyed by bad weather. Hastings SES volunteers jumped to their aid, retrieving the birds and getting them to a nearby vet. The galahs were assessed, and although two were too badly injured to be saved, the remaining one was taken to a wildlife shelter where it will be raised until ready to be released. Hastings SES unit controller…
FIFTY years of the Mornington Peninsula’s history as recorded by photographer Fred Gregory was shown at a “show and tell” session last month by Dromana and District Historical Society. Treasurer Richard Baker said the society was interested in seeing pictures taken in the past as “it’s often the bits shown in the background that are interesting”. He said about 50 people had attended the 24 October showing of Gregory’s “snapshots” at Dromana Primary School. He said the pictures were shown by the late pharmacist-photographer’s son Jamie Gregory, who invited audience members to “tell” whatever they knew about the images, information…
AN accident caused by a fallen tree in Merricks North has prompted emergency services to remind drivers to be particularly careful during wet and windy weather. The driver and sole occupant of the car, a man aged in his 50s, was airlifted to hospital with serious upper body injuries after his car struck a fallen tree in Balnarring Road, near Myers Road, shortly before 6am on Thursday 3 November. Hastings SES volunteers, Balnarring CFA and Dromana Fire Brigade attended, and had to partially remove the tree to allow the ambulance to access the man. Hastings SES unit controller Dutchy Holland…
ARTISTS across the Mornington Peninsula will be opening their studios over two weekends later this month as part of this year’s Peninsula Studio Trail. The open studio weekends follow the annual Peninsula Studio Trail Exhibition held in September at The Studio, Wilsons Road, Mornington. During the trail weekends 28 artists will welcome visitors to their studios and see and talk about the work that goes into their painting, ceramics, resin and ink work, jewellery, mixed media, textiles, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, glass, etchings, metalwork and book illustrations. The open studio weekends are 19-20 November and 26-27 November. Details and opening times:…
MORNINGTON Peninsula businesses and residents are again being asked to support the annual Food For All Christmas Appeal. The appeal began in the wake of poverty forums arranged by the former Shire of Flinders in 1991. Apart from individual members Food for All’s management committee includes church representatives and the Society of St Vincent de Paul. Food is collected through churches, community organisations and from Food for All bins in supermarkets. Schools support Food for All by arranging kick-in-a-can days. An average 85 food parcels are packed every Thursday morning at the distribution centre. The parcels contain a packet of…
Shire lowers iron curtain of secrecy over payout I thought question time at the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council meetings meant that the public could ask a relevant question of the council and would receive a reasonable and sensible answer. At the public meeting on Tuesday 18 October, I found out how wrong I was. Two questions were asked about the reasons behind the shire’s proposal to give the operators of the Tyabb airfield $350,000 (“‘Secretive’ $350,000 payout to aero club” The News 25/10/22). The CEO responded that these would be answered later in the meeting when the matter of the…
By Kate Lardner* LAST week, we saw a Labor government deliver its first federal budget in almost a decade. While there were certainly some worthwhile inclusions in the budget – targeting issues like housing supply, affordable childcare and women’s safety – it remains clear that those of us on the Mornington Peninsula are likely to have drawn the short straw of government funding yet again. For decades, we’ve seen our districts fall victim to the gridlock of the two-party system. Budgets from both state and federal governments have failed to provide adequate funding to our region, leaving many of us…
FIVE candidates who have announced they will contest the seat of Hastings in the 26 November state election have been invited to publicly give their views on health, education, climate change and the environment. A public forum is being held in Hastings Hall on Thursday 10 November – the last day for nominations of registered political party candidates and the day before independents must register. Invited to the forum so far are Briony Hutton, Liberal; Paul Mercurio, Labor; Paul Saunders, Greens; Robert Whitehill, independent; and Tyson Jack, Animal Justice Party. “It’s vital that whoever wins government this election, they prioritise…
By Zoe McKenzie* THE first Albanese budget is one of concern for Mornington Peninsula residents. There was no clarity on the future of our road and rail projects. Instead of considering our need for more specialist training on the peninsula, the federal government took away what was to be our only higher education institute, one dedicated to the study of environmental and climate science no less. Over several years, the former Coalition government directed a significant amount of money towards improving the peninsula’s roads where they have become patently unsafe. Where the Mornington Peninsula Freeway meets Jetty Road, the township…
A SOMERVILLE driver has been fined $1200 and lost nine demerit points after filming a passenger standing on the back of his vehicle carrying a long piece of timber. Somerville Highway Patrol was recently made aware of a video circulating on social media on 29 October showing a man in the tray of a utility being driven in the Somerville area. As the utility turned the corner the timber slipped and the man holding the timber nearly fell off the back. Police said the driver was recording the incident on his phone while driving, with his arm and phone outside…
SOME of the most spectacular garden designs on the Mornington Peninsula will feature in this year’s garden design festival on 12 and 13 November. The weekend has been organised by the Rotary clubs of Kew, Brighton North and Central Melbourne to raise money for charity and to encourage creative, bold, innovative, versatile, practical, and responsible gardening. This year the clubs’ charity focus is on youth suicide awareness. Mornington resident Steve Taylor is opening his garden, which he designed and has spent “countless” hours and weekends on to perfect. “I designed the home and garden and was heavily involved in the…
WILD winds played havoc with yachts on the Mornington Peninsula over the past week, with several ripped from their moorings and washed ashore. One boat that broke away from its moorings at Mornington, on Saturday had to be towed away on a truck, but was in “repairable” condition, according to Mornington Yacht Club spokesman Peter Davey. He said the dangerous conditions strengthened the case for a safe harbour at Mornington. Reaching up to 143kph in some parts of Victoria’s south east, the winds have also brought downs trees and kept emergency services busy for days. Hastings volunteers are urging drivers…
THE Anglican Parish of All Saints Rosebud and St Katherines McCrae are holding a raffle of an artist-inspired doll’s house to raise money for Southern Peninsula Community Support, which works directly with the homeless in Rosebud. The Reverend Lynda Crossley said homelessness was a significant social issue in the area, and the raffle was one way to help with support and resources. The doll’s house was donated by her aunt, artist and writer Anita Sinclair, and was inspired by Sinclair’s time in Cornwall during the World War II as an evacuee. Southern Peninsula Community Support runs many programs, including the…
POLICE will step up foot patrols in Mornington and Mount Eliza after complaints of young people committing vandalism and intimidating behaviour. There will be frequent patrols of the Mornington Central shopping centre after reports of anti-social behaviour and harassment of staff and shop owners. Police will also be conducting regular patrols of Moondah Beach, Mount Eliza after reports of underage drinking and damage to the beach boxes. First published in the Western Port News – 25 October 2022
A CELEBRATION was held in Worwong Avenue, Somerville, to acknowledge name changes to the street, reserve and pre-school. Originally, Blacks Camp was used to name a road, a pre-school and a reserve. Mornington Peninsula Shire changed the name from Blacks Camp Road – which was seen as being offensive – earlier this year after consultation with First Nations people and the community. Worwong Avenue, which it is now known as, comes from a traditional name for the location referred to in the 1841 journals of William Thomas, the protector of Aborigines of Port Phillip, who chronicled his life and work…
No need for a cold call, I’ll call you (if needed) Real estate agents in Mount Eliza have been cold calling my home, offering to list our property and informing me of the wonderful prices being achieved in our area. I have issues with this initiative. First, as members of our local community I would have expected they would understand that our privacy is important to us, and that their calls are unsolicited, intrusive and unwanted. This applies particularly to those of us who are of a particular later life demographic. Secondly, our number is private and not listed in…
AMBULANCE Victoria has confirmed an elderly man from Hastings suffered a “medical condition” before his vehicle ploughed into a shop at Mornington Homemaker Centre on Thursday 20 October. Paramedics treated the man, 83, at the site for a serious medical event and his passenger, an 82-year-old woman, for minor injuries before transporting the pair to Frankston Hospital. It is understood the man’s Nissan sedan hit a building at the Bungower Road complex about 1.30pm. The building was not significantly damaged by the crash. Anyone with information, dashcam vision or anyone who witnessed the crash is urged to contact Crime Stoppers…