MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire mayor Cr Anthony Marsh has been cleared of any wrongdoing after an arbiter dismissed a councillor conduct complaint application over Marsh’s decision to rule three motions out of order at council meetings in June. The application was lodged by councillors David Gill, Kate Roper, Max Patton, Michael Stephens, and Patrick Binyon on 27 August. It alleged Marsh breached the Councillor Code of Conduct when he ruled Gill and Patton’s motions out of order and subsequently ruled their dissent motions out of order. The blocked motions asked the council to work on developing a new climate resilience plan,…
Author: Raia Flinos
A MOTION calling for stricter regulations on election donations in local government elections was rejected at the 2 December council meeting. The motion was presented by Cr David Gill and sought to advocate a series of reforms to the state government. These included restricting campaign donations to individuals listed on the local electoral roll, immediate disclosure of all donations on the Victorian Electoral Commission website, banning donations within two weeks of election day, and requesting state authorities investigate to ensure no donations are made after an election. “We need to ensure that companies are not set up to hide donors…
NEW data has confirmed the Mornington Peninsula has the highest number of people sleeping rough in Victoria. Figures from Launch Housing’s Functional Zero program confirm that as of October 2025, 128 people are sleeping rough on the peninsula, surpassing even Melbourne’s CBD. Frontline workers say the situation has escalated to an out-of-control crisis. At the centre of the emergency is Southern Peninsula Community Support (SPCS), based in Rosebud, where the demand for assistance has escalated to unprecedented numbers. CEO Jeremy Maxwell says pleas to state and federal governments for funding assistance have been ignored, leaving local services overwhelmed. “The Mornington…
BLAIRGOWRIE artist, Melinda Piesse, has taken home first place in her category at the Hand & Lock awards in London for her embroidered tapestry. Her piece was featured in an exhibition among 24 other finalists from 5 – 7 November. Piesse won first place in the Open Textile Art category and received $6000 USD and an embroidery course, which she will undertake online at the end of January. “The award means the world to me, having international recognition and the chance to exhibit my work internationally,” Piesse said. Hand & Lock are a global ambassador for embroidery. The embroidery competition…
RISING Moon Tai Chi School celebrated its ten-year anniversary with a day that brought together friends and family to watch performances and commend the hard work put in by students. Hung Gar Yau Shu Lion Troupe performed a dance at the festival on 22 November. They showcased their strength and agility in a playful performance which is said to bring good fortune. Founder and teacher Jenny Harrison said she is proud of the efforts of all her students and the festival was a way to showcase their achievements. “It’s a sense of pride in what they’re doing and what they’ve…
MOUNT Martha Tennis Club celebrated their 50th anniversary with a day filled with community spirit and fun. On 16 November, the club hosted over 160 guests as long-term members, families and friends helped commemorate the past 50 years. The day began at midday, and included serve competitions, a barbeque, families playing together, and coaches running activities with the kids. At 2pm, the formalities began. The newly elected president Ben Wolstencroft was introduced, who welcomed members, guests and sponsors. The club then recognised Ken Davis, who led the committee for the past 11 years, and Ian Cockle, who served as vice…
A MT Martha resident has raised concerns about the Mornington Peninsula Shire’s approach to vegetation permits after two trees were removed at a property on Dominion Rd. Two large trees were taken down from the property on the 27 November, including a 14-metre Manna Gum. Sarah Morrow said she and her mother became concerned about the future of the vegetation on the property after noticing demolition works at the site on 26 November. Morrow said when she passed by the following morning, she saw one of the large trees already half removed. She contacted council soon after and was informed…
NEW figures show ambulance response times on the Mornington Peninsula have increased by an average of more than 35 seconds over the last quarter. Frankston’s local government area also recorded slightly slower response times after new data was released by Ambulance Victoria last week for the July to September quarter. Code one “lights and sirens” emergencies are measured from the time of a triple-0 call being answered to the first ambulance arriving at the incident scene – with a statewide response time target being 15 minutes. On the Mornington Peninsula, 62 per cent of ambulances callouts took less than 15…
THE Mornington – Mt Martha Model Railway Club will be celebrating its 50th anniversary with an open day at Mt Martha House Community Centre on 30 November. The event will exhibit multiple model railway layouts from visiting clubs, as well as the club’s own, and have free admission. Club president Cameron Wilson said they want the event to be accessible to everyone, including children. Between 10am and 3pm, anyone is welcome to come and learn more about model railways and watch them operate. Wilson said fifty years is a big milestone which celebrates “the longevity of the club and the…
AT Village Glen Retirement Living in Capel Sound, Francis (Ray) Kenny has celebrated a milestone not many get to say they’ve reached. Ray turned 100 on 25 November and spent the day having a nice lunch out with his family. On the 23rd, friends and family gathered to celebrate his birthday in the Rainbow Room at the Village Glen. Ray was born in Warrnambool in 1925 and raised in various small towns around Victoria as his parents moved from bakery to bakery. “My mum and dad’s scheme was to buy a bakery business, and they’d work it up, and they’d…
RESIDENTS have expressed concerns following piles of dredging spoil being deposited on Mothers Beach following routine works at the Mornington boat ramp last week. The Mornington Peninsula Shire conducts regular dredging at the boat ramp to address sand buildup which interferes with vehicle and human access. This year, the dredged sediment was spread on Mothers Beach, which some locals say occurred without adequate consultation or warning and has interfered with the visual appeal of the beach. A member of Beach Patrol 3931, Susan Young, said the spoil was “visually polluting” and expressed concern regarding how close the busy summer season…
THE future of one of the peninsula’s longest running theatre companies is uncertain after the Mornington Peninsula Shire reportedly lost key documents and failed to provide a new venue. Panorama Theatre Company, which has operated for over 40 years, was evicted from their venue in Hastings shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic. The company’s president, Darren O’Shea, said the eviction came after confusion and missing paperwork within the council. O’Shea said the company was given the use of an old council shed in Hastings “many, many years ago” under a signed agreement which included a clause saying the council would find…
THE Mornington Peninsula Shire has approved a new long-term lease for the Mornington Peninsula Astronomical Society (MPAS). At the council meeting on 5 November, councillors voted unanimously for the new lease, after the previous lease expired in 2014. Under the new agreement, MPAS will continue to operate out of The Briars in Mount Martha. The lease provides an initial five-year term, with two further five-year renewal options at a community rental price of $520 per year. The leased area will also expand from 2,600 square metres to 3,600 square metres, allowing space for the society to install new observation domes…
MT Eliza resident Christine Richards is concerned about planned overnight cleaning works in the village centre and says the timing will cause serious disruption for residents. Richards lodged an objection with the Mornington Peninsula Shire after being notified that contractors Fulton Hogan would be conducting footpath cleaning works between 10pm and 6am from 17 to 22 November. She said some of the work will take place directly below her bedroom window and involve machinery fitted with reverse beepers, which she described as “loud, penetrating beepers which carry considerably in the usual quiet of the night”. While Richards does support the…
TWO 12-year-old students at Boneo Primary School, Sherlock Sykes and Charlie Dewar, were finalists in the Teen in Business Awards with their homemade card game, Legend Bound. The game began as a project for their school’s annual Year 6 market day, where students create and sell products to raise money for charity. Other students chose to make things such as resin earrings, plants, or pet rocks, but Sherlock and Charlie decided to make a card game that is accessible to all, cheap, and fun. “I really like that this game is helpful for people like me and people like Sherlock…
THIS year, the Mornington Community Support Centre is aiming to raise $75,000 for their Annual Christmas Appeal. Every year, MCSC launches a campaign which captures the true spirit of “Community Supporting Community”. Mornington Community Support Centre CEO Ben Smith said Christmas is a time when those struggling feel the burden more than ever. “There’s a lot more pressure on people to perform or to be out in communities or to be connecting with friends and family when you don’t have any money or times are tight and that can be really difficult for people to do,” he said. The money…
THE Mornington Peninsula Shire has adopted its new Domestic Animal Management Plan, setting out the management of animal-related services over the next four years. All councillors except Cr David Gill voted in favour of the motion at the 5 November council meeting, Gill stating there are still “real problems with animal management on the peninsula”. Cr Andrea Allen, who moved the motion, said the plan was shaped by community consultation, with over 660 residents contributing feedback through an online survey and face-to-face consultation sessions. The shire reached out to community members to ensure the plan included activities which were top…
NINETY-two-year-old McCrae resident, Wilma Watt, has taken home gold in four swimming categories at the Australian Masters Games in Canberra. Watt and two of her daughters made the road trip up to the competition, which took place at the AIS Aquatic Centre from 18 – 25 October. Watt won gold in the 25m and 50m breaststroke and the 25m and 50m backstroke events in the 90-93 age category, an achievement that came as a surprise even to her family. “I didn’t know how she’d gone and when she rang, I said, ‘I suppose you’ve got gold, gold, gold’, just joking,”…
CONCERNED parents at Moorooduc Primary School are calling for urgent traffic safety upgrades, saying overlapping roadworks and poor planning have created dangerous conditions for children and families during school drop-off and pick-up times. Multiple sets of roadworks have been approved in the area surrounding the school, leading to an inflow of traffic onto Mornington-Tyabb Rd and Derril Rd, the main access point to the primary school. Concerned parent and petition organiser Cassandra Anastasia said the situation has become increasingly dangerous, with hundreds of cars funnelling through the 40km/h school zone. “Drivers are frustrated, speeding, and aggressive,” Anastasia said. “We’ve had…
THE Southern Women’s Action Network (SWAN) will be hosting Roundtable 2 this November – a forum that will bring together community leaders, service providers, and government representatives to discuss strategies to address the peninsula’s growing housing and homelessness crisis.The Federal Government’s Housing and Homelessness Special Envoy, Josh Burns, will attend the event. He said he wants to hear directly from local organisations working to assist vulnerable residents. The discussion will focus on community concerns, current support efforts and both short and long-term possible solutions.The peninsula has experienced an increase in homelessness over the past few years. According to SWAN, a…
DRIVERS have been left facing costly repairs after a large pothole on Mornington-Tyabb Road caused significant damage to vehicles earlier this week.The pothole, located roughly 500 metres from the Coolart Rd roundabout near Brideoake Racing, has opened along a busy detour route. With freeway closures causing an inflow of traffic to the area, drivers say the road’s condition has become increasingly unsafe.One driver, Phil Robertson, hit the pothole around 4:15pm on 22 October. “I saw a crater. It wasn’t a puddle, it was a hole, which was about a metre and a half long, and it must have been 15…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillors have backed new measures to improve landslide and erosion management, including public access to data and stronger planning controls in high-risk areas.At their 14 October council meeting, councillors unanimously voted to introduce an interim Erosion Management Overlay (EMO) across high-risk parts of the Mornington Peninsula. An EMO is a planning control that identifies land vulnerable to erosion or landslides, allowing the shire to enforce stronger regulations on development to protect safety and stability.As part of the new measures, the shire would make landslide susceptibility data from its Landslide Susceptibility Assessment publicly available. The move will help…
A FOURTEEN-year-old from Mt Eliza, Kalen Colabufalo, and his mum, Jonelle, will be taking part in a 13-day hike in Nepal to raise funds for Limbs4All.Mark Inglis will be leading the trek. He is a paralympic medal winner, scientist, philanthropist, and was the first double amputee to summit Mount Everest. They are working in collaboration with Mark’s foundation, Limbs4All, which provides support to amputees, and the Jared Dunscombe Foundation, which was started 11 years ago on the one-year anniversary of Jonelle’s brother and Kalen’s uncle’s death.“Every year we pick a major project to support and fundraise for,” Jonelle said. “We…
PENINSULA soccer clubs are experiencing an increase in female participation, driven by national success and community engagement. But as numbers grow, there’s a question of whether clubs have the facilities and resources to accommodate.At Mornington Soccer Club, where they just celebrated their 60th anniversary, the growth in female players has been promising but the outdated infrastructure is proving a challenge. “The quality of the surfaces is not great; the building itself was built in 1975 and it’s not very female friendly,” said Mornington Soccer Club CEO Craig Riley. “Every changeroom, every toilet has a urinal in it. So, attracting female…
AT Advance College of Education, students that have struggled in the mainstream education system are given the opportunity to earn their senior secondary certificates in a supportive and alternative learning environment.“What makes our school so unique is that we offer students who haven’t succeeded in mainstream education another opportunity in a different way,” Assistant Principal Kris Helisma said. “We really operate on building strong relationships with our students.”The school commits to small class sizes and personalised teaching, making it stand out from traditional methods of teaching. “They have just one teacher for all subjects for the year, which helps build…
The board of inquiry’s report into the McCrae landslide of 14 January this year has been released, finding the landslide, which destroyed a house and injured a council worker, was due to a burst water main owned by South East Water (SEW). Two years earlier, in November 2022, two landslides occurred in the same area. Nine days before the January 14 landslide, on 5 January, a smaller landslide occurred, damaging the back of the property. The report said, “given the history of landslides in McCrae, and the impact on the community, it was time to find the answers”. Inquiry chair…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire is rebooting the way it delivers youth services, moving from an in-house approach to a new hybrid model which relies more on external providers.The decision comes after a scheduled service review found low engagement levels and questions around whether council was best suited to deliver youth services directly. “The engagement’s low and there’s probably two reasons for that. One is maybe the service isn’t as good as it could be, and the other one is people just don’t know about it,” Mayor Anthony Marsh said.“We absolutely acknowledge that there’s a role for council to play, but in…
TWO years ago, Janet Hough was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND), a progressive and currently incurable condition which affects the nerves controlling voluntary muscles.Her diagnosis began with lower limb weakness and has since progressed to the point where Janet requires a walker and is unable to move either leg below her knees. The disease causes nerves to become damaged and start to die, which causes muscles to weaken and waste away. It progresses at various rates in different people, but the average life expectancy is two to three years from diagnosis. “I think any diagnosis where there is no…
MORNINGTON Soccer Club’s U13 girls took home the state championship in a 4-2 win against Yarra Jets FC on 21 September. The win comes after an impressive undefeated season, which saw them win the premiership in the local league before coming out on top in the championship.In the Southeast 13C division semi-final, they faced off against Manningham in a challenging match due to windy weather conditions. Despite being a messy game, the team held their ground and were victorious with a 3-2 win, thanks to some great saves from their goalkeeper, Charlotte Wanless.The highly anticipated grand final was held at…
A significant animal welfare operation was executed today (25/9) at a property on Moorooduc Highway in Mt Eliza, with the RSPCA seizing 35 horses. The operation, following months of investigation and concern from the local community, involved a team of ten RSPCA personnel, and followed the execution of a second warrant after evidence was seized from the property last week (RSPCA executes warrant after animal welfare concerns, The News 19/9/25). The seizure is the culmination of a long-running investigation which began in April after concerned community members issued reports on the treatment of animals on the property (RSPCA investigates horse…