By Steve Holland* MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillors have for the first time held an open briefing before releasing a draft budget. A recording of the Tuesday 2 March public meeting is available on the shire’s YouTube channel. I would encourage other municipalities around Victoria to adopt this new practice, as it proved to be a win for transparency and lifts the lid on the local government budget formulation process. According to the state government website, Know Your Council, the shire’s rates are much lower than other municipalities. While some residents will dispute this, the statistics are publicly available and speak…
Author: MP News Group
FRONTLINE workers at Frankston Hospital have begun to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Peninsula Health staff began to receive their first vaccine doses on 3 March. Nurse Vanessa Nolan said “it went absolutely fine, barely felt a thing.” “It was a really simple and seamless process. I sat in the chair, signed a consent form, got the vaccination, sat down for about 15 minutes or so and then back off to work,” she said. “I’ve seen the effects of the virus on people and their families. I’m just doing my part to get vaccinated, not just to protect myself and my…
STUDENTS at Tootgarook Primary School are keen to participate in National Ride2School Day, Friday 19 March. They are among about 350,000 students taking part in Australia’s biggest bike riding party and the peak of the Ride2School program which helps children get their 60 minutes of daily exercise by riding a bike to school. “National Ride2School Day is a fun way for students and parents to experience the joy of riding a bike,” Bicycle Network’s Anthea Hargreaves said. “There’s no better time to make riding to school part of your routine. “It’s free and fun and can also help students perform…
COMBINING lawyers and a coffee fix is an ideal way to boost access to legal advice for Mornington Peninsula residents. With this in mind, Peninsula Community Legal Centre has begun hitting the streets to provide free legal assistance with their Street Law Coffee Van in partnership with White Lion and Social Engine. This pop-up coffee van and legal service team visits locations ranging from emergency food relief centres and showers for the homeless to weekend markets and the car park at Bunnings. Its primary goal is to talk to people wherever they are in the community, making speaking to a…
A LIBERTY Swing at Lawson Park, Rosebud, will allow wheelchair users to experience the joy and therapeutic benefits of swinging. The swing allows wheelchairs to be rolled aboard and securely attached, allowing wheelchair-bound children and adults to experience the joy and exhilaration of swinging in the air. Disability support service Gen U recommended the Australian-made award-winning swing as the safest for children and adults in wheelchairs. It was funded by Mornington Peninsula Shire as part of the 2015-2020 Playspace Strategy and is also one of the objectives of the Disability Inclusion Plan 2018-2022. Disability Advisory Committee member Cr Kerri McCafferty…
ANGLERS are gearing up for the 32nd Annual Whiting Challenge to be held next weekend, Saturday and Sunday 13-14 March, at Westernport Angling Club adjacent to the Hastings public boat ramp. The event is approved COVID-19 safe with rule changes to enable safe social distancing. It is open to the public and entries can be lodged up until 2pm on the Saturday. This year, instead of competitors weighing their 10 best King George whiting each day, they will only weigh one heaviest whiting each day so as to avoid queues at the weigh station. Talking Fishing’s David Kramer will present…
By Lucy Gowdie THE paths we walk in education, the roads we travel, are often so fast paced, we forget to look back at the steps we have taken. Yet sometimes, every now and again, the road catches up with us and we realise, what we left behind mattered. As a young graduate teacher, only three years older than the Year 12 cohort I taught, I relied on my untested resolve and unyielding energy to engage my students in their learning. In that classroom, sat an even younger Samantha Hutston, a quiet and shy learner, with a passion for literature…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire has extended all parklet permits until 30 April. It says the move follows consultation with traders and “positive feedback” from residents and visitors. The extended outdoor dining program allowed traders to temporarily use car parking spaces for outdoor dining in towns and shopping areas from Mount Eliza to Sorrento. The outdoor dining areas were separated from roads with fences, planter boxes and decking. The shire says most of the 400 people asked in a January survey in Rosebud, Mount Eliza and Mornington gave the parklets a score of either nine or 10 (out of 10) and wanted…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire last week took the unusual step of organising a demonstration to show the state government how much opposition there is to AGL’s plan for an import gas terminal at Crib Point and a 55km pipeline to Pakenham. The mood was urgent as Planning Minister Richard Wynne will decide on the proposal within the next four weeks (“Shire, Opposition unite against AGL” The News 16/2/21). The shire and 28 community organisations and businesses have signed an open letter and sent a video to Mr Wynne urging him to reject the power company’s plan. The letter, also sent to…
FRANKSTON train line commuters are facing two months of bus replacements. More level crossing removals have been scheduled on the Frankston line. Five level crossings across Edithvale, Chelsea and Bonbeach are expected to be removed by the end of this year. Edithvale, Chelsea, and Bonbeach stations will close for demolition and reconstruction in the middle of the year. Trains will run express through them while works are ongoing. From around September, the line will shut down between Mordialloc and Frankston. Bus replacements will be scheduled for commuters for two months. First published in the Western Port News – 3 March…
WESLEY Orbison, Roy Orbison’s eldest son is very proud to fully endorse and present this amazing live concert experience remembering his father as we relive the sound & all the magical hits of Music Legend Roy Orbison in an International production starring The sensational Voice From Down Under John Stephan. This is the only show of it’s kind in the world and is officially endorsed & presented by Roy Orbison’s eldest son Wesley Orbison. Featuring spoken word from Wesley with a very personal narrative of Roy’s intriguing yet tragic life. Superstar Roy Orbison was one of the world’s greatest…
COME and Celebrate the magical hits of The King Of Rock n Roll in a sensational 2 hour Concert Spectacular. All of Elvis” No 1 hits will be performed in the original style that made Elvis the greatest performer that ever lived. Internationally Acclaimed sensation Mark Anthony, one of the most dynamic Elvis tribute artists in the world today, brings this unique period to life – the songs, the costumes, the emotion, the energy, the raw power – all brought together in a two hour concert spectacular. With over 600 million record sales worldwide and 3 time Grammy Award…
By Hugh Fraser* MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire CEO John Baker has been quick to propose to the new council – with eight new councillors out of 11 – radical changes to meeting procedures that substantially enhance a CEO’s powers while reducing council’s ability to regulate its own procedure. Touted as “best practice”, these management-proposed rules are not. Council needs to be zealous in guarding the representative democratic rights of the community to our third tier of (local) government as transparent, community engaged and able to extract accountability from management. As recently as 2018, councillors revised their meeting procedure rules. Over the…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire is choosing to challenge gender stereotypes by again supporting International Women’s Day on Monday 8 March – the Labour Day public holiday. The global day celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. This year’s UN theme is Women in Leadership which promotes women’s and girls’ achievements, women’s independence and decision-making and challenges gender stereotypes and roles. Members of the community can join in online to raise awareness of gender equality on International Women’s Day. This year, women are being asked to challenge. To make a pledge, visit the shire website and explain in 140…
ANTI-vaccination protesters have abused and hassled police for two days outside the Somerville office of Health Minister and Flinders MP Greg Hunt. Their action came just days after the first vaccinations against coronavirus being administered across Australia. The number of Victorians vaccinated by Sunday was nearing 4000. While urging people to get vaccinated, Mr Hunt has said getting the jab will not be compulsory. On both Friday and Saturday (26 and 27 February) police outnumbered the protesters outside his office by almost two to one. No one was inside as staff had been told to work from home. Police said…
Local shoppers in Frankston can now experience a fresh new-look supermarket with the completion of the Woolworths Karingal Hub store renewal. Over twenty new jobs have been created in the supermarket to cope with the additional customers due to the closure last year of the other Woolworths store in the Hub, which was part of the shopping centre’s major redevelopment plans. Amongst the convenient new features, customers can expect an extensive fresh fruit and vegetable section, with certified organic products, as well as a range of fresh fish and seafood and a new look continental style deli. The renewed store now also…
TWO delivery trucks were written off after colliding at a busy Crib Point intersection, Tuesday 16 February. Crib Point CFA Captain Andrew Brown said his crew rushed to the intersection of Stony Point Road and Woolleys Road fearing those aboard were trapped in their cabins after the force of the impact sent them careering into a brick and steel fence, 12.11pm. Injuries to the two drivers, from Crib Point and Narre Warren, and a passenger from Mount Eliza, were not severe. “It wasn’t as dramatic as we were told but the men were in shock and suffering cuts and bruises,”…
ROSEBUD Girl Guides were preparing to mark World Thinking Day with activities on the Rosebud foreshore, last night (Monday 22 February). The special day came about in 1926 when Girl Guides from around the world were attending their 4th World Conference in the US. They set aside an annual day when Girl Guides could express their appreciation of the international movement. The day – which became World Thinking Day – was chosen because it was the birthday of both Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scout Movement, and his wife Olave Baden-Powell, World Chief Guide. Mornington Peninsula Girl Guides District…
YOUNG hoons who ran amok at Sorrento Community Centre before Christmas have written letters of apology to the manager, Heather Barton. “Acting Sergeant Steve Drew and his team have done a magnificent job … and have built up an ongoing story. There appears to be two separate groups of youths,” she said. “He tracked down members of the group who harassed our board on 18 December and today we have received four separate letters of apology from them.” On that occasion, a board member had a heart attack after an altercation with the hoons, with the doctor attributing it to…
MOTORISTS on Peninsula Link may have seen Melbourne Water’s sign, pictured, advertising a proposed solar farm at the Eastern Treatment Plant, Bangholme. The farm is one of the many ways the authority says it is adapting its operations to “prepare for a changing climate, reducing our own carbon emissions and generating more renewable energy”. The Eastern Treatment Plant, opened in 1975, treats about 330 million litres of sewage a day – about 40 per cent of Melbourne’s total. It already makes biogas that provides about 30 per cent of the energy needed to run the plant each year; the proposed…
PENINSULA Film Festival will open with the feature Don’t Tell at the Peninsula Cinemas, Rosebud, Friday 5 March. The three-day festival was founded in 2011 by actor and Rosebud resident Steve Bastoni to give filmmakers the opportunity to have their work featured and to network with some of Australia’s leading directors, actors, and producers. The opener Don’t Tell will include a Q&A session hosted by Australian actor Lachy Hulme and provide an opportunity for guests to mingle with festival judges. Up to 20 shortlisted Australian filmmakers will present their films before the judges and film luminaries at Dromana Drive-in on…
THE arrest of three men after drugs and a loaded sawn-off rifle were allegedly found in a car at Skye led police to a Mount Eliza property where they allegedly found ammunition, steroids and what is believed to be methyl-amphetamine. The garage on the property had also been turned into an outlaw motorcycle gang (OMCG) clubhouse. Police intercepted a Kia Sportage at a service station on the Western Port Highway after noticing the men at a petrol bowser, 1.50am, Friday 12 February. A 45-year-old Mount Eliza man, reportedly a Finks Outlaw Motorcycle Gang member, was charged with trafficking and drug…
MORNINGTON Peninsula residents who did not to vote in last year’s council elections will be sent “please explain” notices by the Victorian Electoral Commission. The VEC says it may send an infringement notice and a penalty of $83 to anyone who doesn’t respond to the letter, or doesn’t provide a sufficient reason for not voting. Around 350,000 letters will be sent out statewide. The letters are due back to the VEC within 28 days. “This notice is not a fine. It’s your chance to explain why you appear not to have voted, if this is the case. This is a…
A “SUBSTANTIAL amount” of money was found in the pocket of an item of clothing donated to a Rosebud charity last week. Property officer Tony Paterson, of Rosebud police, said the money was waiting to be claimed by the rightful owner who would need to name the charity, the amount, and the denominations before being allowed to collect it. Meanwhile, police are seeking the owner of a Canon EOS 1000D camera found on Dromana foreshore on 30 January. If the owner can identify the camera either by its serial number or by the type or description of the photos police…
CANNABIS plants and drug trafficking items were allegedly found at a Rye house last week. Rosebud and other police arrested a 32-year-old woman and charged her with cultivating cannabis, trafficking a drug of dependence, possessing trafficking equipment, possessing the proceeds of crime and related charges, Thursday 4 February. She was bailed to appear at Dromana Magistrates’ Court at a later date. “Targeting local-level and mid-tier drug crime to disrupt and dismantle networks is a focus and part of Victoria Police’s drug strategy,” Acting Sergeant Flyn Loughlin, of Rosebud police, said. “Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug in Victoria…
ROSEBUD’S Eastbourne Primary School has possibly set some sort of record for the number of twins among its students. Four sets of twins started this year, bringing the school’s total to seven. “Add these twins to the other three sets of twins across the school and you could walk around and think you were seeing doubles everywhere,” principal Stephen Wilkinson said. Mr Wilkinson compared being back at school to “getting back on the bike”. “We sure came through some challenging times in 2020, but staff, students and parents adjusted well and finished last year with enthusiasm, commitment and a desire…
CHILDREN at Capel Sounds educational child care centre and kinder are getting a head start to live a healthy life. The 150 children are learning the benefits of healthy eating and oral health, physical activity, mental health and wellbeing, sun protection, safe environments and the evils of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs. This comes as the centre, at Tootgarook, is recognised for its health and wellbeing efforts in Cancer Council Victoria’s Achievement Program – one of only a few state-wide to receive the accolade. “We know that helping children establish healthy habits sets the foundation for their future health, development…
CAMPERS were back on the road for home last Friday (12 February) ahead of the latest travel restrictions and closure of the Mornington Peninsula Shire-run foreshore reserves. Having avoided the peak-season hordes and setting up camp after the school holidays, the campers’ visions for a quiet break were brought to a sudden halt by the latest outbreaks of COVID-19 and Friday’s 11.59pm “circuit breaker restrictions”. Once home, the campers are limited to the same rules applying to all other Victorians, leaving home for just four reasons: permitted work/study, essential shopping (within five kilometres of home), care or caregiving and exercise…
FLINDERS Fake or Fortune fete will be held at St Johns Church hall, 10am-2.30pm, Saturday 6 March. The 82nd fete, which provides much-needed funds for community work and peninsula charities, has been online but now it is going live for a special event in a slightly different format. The online fete had support from donated paintings plus Christmas specials, cakes, biscuits, jams, pickles and locally-made craft. A new feature will be a Flinders Fake or Fortune Fete event based on the popular BBC Antiques Roadshow plus some interesting stalls. Organisers Mary Iles and Patricia Macdonald said experts Warren Joel and…
HOLIDAYMAKERS staying closer to home due to COVID-19 restrictions, has led to more visitors to the Mornington Peninsula. The influx after months of lockdown and lost incomes has been a welcome relief for businesses needing tourist dollars. But a big downside, according to Waste Wise Mornington Peninsula co-founder Birte Moliere, has been “a growing amount of litter”. “One solution to our litter problem is a long overdue container deposit scheme where you get 10 cents for every returned can, plastic and glass bottle,” Ms Moliere said. She said that in 2019, Victorian-based beach patrol groups collected 21,014 kilograms of litter…