RYMAN Healthcare will appeal against Mornington Peninsula Shire Council’s rejection of its plans to build a residential aged care and retirement village in Kunyung Road, Mount Eliza. The New Zealand-based company said after its failed application that it would take its case to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Victorian development manager David Laing said: “We were not surprised by the decision as councillors and staff had foreshadowed their opposition to the proposal, and we intend to take an appeal to VCAT. “As we’ve done from the outset, we’re constantly reviewing the community feedback on our plans and will consider…
Author: Stephen Taylor
A MORNINGTON man is questioning the logic of having a primary school’s pick up and drop off areas blocking the town’s main arterial road between Moorooduc Highway and Peninsula Link. Ken McBride, a City of Knox councillor (1990-94) and deputy mayor (1994), was chairman of that city’s roads committee. He moved back to Mornington in December after previously living here some years ago. He says the absence has given him a fresh perspective. “To have a roundabout on an arterial road being the only way into and out of St Macartan’s Primary School seems a recipe for disaster,” he said.…
TWO Mornington volunteer groups are working on a plan to get residents out and about while unlocking the tourist potential of the peninsula. Along the way they are planning to complete one of the Peninsula Bay Trail’s missing links: the route from Moorooduc to Mornington. Mornington Community Safelink Group and Mornington Railway Preservation Society are promoting the shared bike and railway line trail which Safelink’s Graeme Rocke says will connect the residential, shopping, sporting, schools and work places of Mornington, Mount Eliza and Mount Martha. “Extending the current train service from Moorooduc station to Baxter and the construction of a…
EVERY cloud has a silver lining – just ask Lincraft Mornington assistant store manager Dianne Ansell. Demand for material to make face masks in the fight against COVID-19 is so strong that customers have flocked to the store at the Peninsula Home lifestyle centre all day. “We’ve been flat out with people buying 100 per cent cotton and a polyester mix to make the masks and the elastic to tie them on,” she said. “There’s a long queue winding its way down the aisles almost to the back of the store. “We haven’t seen sales like this since we opened…
THE season return of Australian Ninja Warrior has a Mornington Peninsula flavour. The competitors include fan favourite Ashlin Herbert, of Mornington, alongside his mates Troy Cullen and Zak Stolz, of Rye, and last year’s winner Charlie Robbins, also of Rye. Joining the Channel 9 show is Herbert’s girlfriend Sarah Blackmore, also of Rye, who, after training with the boys for the past three years, decided to give the course a go. Fans believe there’s a good chance one of the peninsula’s team will take out the title of Australia’s first Ninja Warrior. The show is being contested by 140 “everyday…
A SIX-MONTH extension of the JobKeeper subsidy is “absolutely imperative for the survival of coach tour companies – a vital part of the Mornington Peninsula’s tourism industry”. Chris O’Shannessy, of O’Shannessy’s Quality Tours, based at Rye, said the tourism industry was “not alone in bearing the brunt of the economic crisis this pandemic has caused. But I would say without a doubt it is, along with the hospitality industry, one of the hardest hit. “Our two industries work hand in glove in support of each other.” Mr O’Shannessy said coach touring brought visitors to small, out-of-the-way towns, provided revenue for…
NEIGHBOURS complaining about rowdy guests allegedly breaking COVID-19 restrictions at a Rye holiday rental house over the 11 and 12 July weekend said police told them they “couldn’t do anything” about it. Joanne Heath said she called Rosebud police twice when “up to 20 people” arrived at the Glen Drive property after stage three restrictions were imposed who were “definitely not from the same family”. The restrictions came into force from 11.59pm, Wednesday 8 July. “We reported it as a COVID-19 breach on the Friday night and I was told it would be looked into, but nothing was done,” Ms…
A WOMAN described as a “legend” in the Mornington Peninsula basketball community has been awarded The Jack Carter Memorial Award – Sports Administrator of the Year, for Basketball Victoria. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Mornington District Basketball Association general manager Samantha Browne had to accept the state-wide award in constrained circumstances. Instead of basking in the limelight at a glamorous event at Crown before 2000-plus attendees from hundreds of basketball associations, she had to settle for a Zoom video call presentation by association president Antony Hirst joined by committee members in their own homes. “Our association in the past few years…
WORK has started on a feasibility study into connecting the Mornington Peninsula’s hinterland to a permanent source of water from the Eastern Treatment Plant. The Bangholme plant discharges around 350 million litres of treated waste water a day into Bass Strait at Boags Rocks, near Gunnamatta. The scheme – long promoted by Mornington Peninsula Shire and peninsula MPs – would allow landowners to access the recycled water as it makes its way down the length of the peninsula to the South Eastern Outfall. This renewable supply of treated water would ease pressures imposed on primary producers by climate change, boost…
A SOMERS health expert has added her voice to calls the Mornington Peninsula should be excluded from the Greater Melbourne lockdown area to help beat COVID-19. “We need a checkpoint as they have at the border between Victoria and New South Wales to keep people out and stop the virus spreading,” virologist Sue King said. “The state government needs to put a stop to it.” Ms King is backing the mayor Cr Sam Hearn’s demand that the peninsula be designated a regional area so visitors simply cannot flock in from other suburbs and potentially bring infections with them (“Outsiders stay…
THE Telstra store at Mornington Central shopping centre was temporarily closed today (Thursday 16 July) after a staff member contracted coronavirus. Spokesperson Matt Smithson told The News: “A staff member at one of our licensee stores, who worked last Friday, has tested positive to COVID-19.” Mr Smithson said the staff member did not attend the store again before calling in to report a positive diagnosis last night (Wednesday 15 July). Staff members were being tested and have been provided help under the company’s Employment Assistance program. Mr Smithson said: “The store is currently being deep-cleaned over the next 48 hours…
NAVIGATION technology company Sealite is the major player behind plans for a $540 million technology park at Somerville. The company says the proposed Mornington Peninsula Technology Park will activate projects and deliver jobs and growth as part of an “urgent pandemic recovery”. Backing for the plan is being sought from Mornington Peninsula Shire and the state government as part of the Building Victoria’s Recovery Taskforce. The shire claims the peninsula has “been hit harder than most areas of Victoria in terms of job losses and general economic downturn” (“Shire seeks $320m rescue package” The News 22/6/20). However, the shire has…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire CEO John Baker has ended a bid by Cr Hugh Fraser to have the council take a step back and reject a budget adopted at its 23 June meeting. Cr Fraser had sought to overturn decisions which included abolishing the contentious rural living rate and excluded the fees and charges schedule. However, Mr Baker last week used his powers to block Cr Fraser’s plan, last month’s resolution had already been put into motion and a statutory process commenced. “Accordingly, I consider this matter to be outside the powers of council and vague and unclear,” he said. Cr…
IT’S not an accomplishment he aspired to, but Rosebud man Glen Grumont’s long road to recovery from illness has set a record. He was released from Rosebud Hospital last week after a combined seven months’ treatment and rehabilitation. Mr Grumont looks back at those lengthy stints first at Frankston and then Rosebud hospitals with a sense of satisfaction and a high regard for the medical professionals who brought him back to health. Along the way he proved to everyone that is a fighter and worthy of a little respect himself. The journey began when Mr Grumont walked into his GP’s…
THE Mornington Peninsula should be excluded from the metropolitan “lockdown” areas to prevent infected outsiders coming in, the mayor Cr Sam Hearn said last week. He fears residents from hard-hit areas of inner-Melbourne may interpret the “one-region” status as a “reason to travel to the peninsula and inadvertently put our local community health containment at risk”. Cr Hearn was speaking after the state government reintroduced stage three COVID-19 restrictions and included the peninsula as part of the Greater Melbourne urban area. Television news bulletins on Thursday showed hordes of visitors making the most of the warm weather in peninsula towns…
THE impact of tougher COVID-19 restrictions is “having a dire impact” on Mornington Peninsula businesses”. The doomsday scenario described by the mayor Cr Sam Hearn followed the state government’s inclusion of the shire in the greater Melbourne lockdown area. Cr Hearn said the peninsula had lost up to 6000 jobs, seen a 21 per cent drop in gross regional product (compared with 6.9 per cent for Australia) and an 11 per cent fall in job prospects. Statistics released over the weekend show that Victoria and New South Wales have only one job vacancy for every 10 people registered as unemployed.…
SAFETY Beach businesses fear the establishment of a McDonald’s Restaurant or any large fast food outlet at a busy intersection will ruin their trade and litter the beach. It is believed that AA Holdings, which owns the BP service station at the Nepean Highway and Marine Drive corner, wants to redevelop and combine it with a McDonald’s outlet although, at this stage, the identity of the prospective eatery is unknown. Cr Antonella Celi, who said she was “aware of the community’s concerns”, said an application by Insight Planning Consultants to Mornington Peninsula Shire’s planning committee could be referring to any…
HISTORY buff Margaret Howden is waiting to hear back from Heritage Victoria about saving a Mornington shop front from demolition. Ms Howden said the “gorgeous” old hardwood frontage at 27 Main Street was due to be pulled down and replaced as part of a redevelopment. She said the builder was amenable to her plans to preserve the facade if she can have it removed. “I have got friends of friends finding a builder to do the removal and a truck to take it away,” she said. Ms Howden said she had contacted Cr Bev Colomb who discovered that other shop…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire’s Cr Hugh Fraser says a decision to rewrite the 2020-21 budget is a “disaster for the [peninsula’s] economy at this time”. The shire’s annual budget is normally adopted by 30 June, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic the local government minister has set municipalities a new deadline of 31 August. The draft budget includes $31.8 million in income from fees and charges, based on them being applied from 1 July. Individual fees were proposed to increase by about 3 per cent. Officers estimate the shire would lose about $150,000 by delaying adopting the budget until 18 August.…
THE reincarnation of the Mornington Centrelink office as a part-time agency service at Mornington Post Office is pleasing its creators but disappointing members of the community. Sandy Mamo, an acting general manager of Services Australia – the company tasked with easing the transition away from the former CES office in Main Street – said on 6 May that the new service was working well. “I am very pleased to say that the [centre] continues to see a significant decrease in customer traffic – reduced by an additional 80 contacts per day from just a few months ago,” she said. “The…
WHILE the position is unpaid that “doesn’t mean it comes without benefits”. So states an advertisement for a new group leader at 2nd Mornington Sea Scouts. Applicants might note that the hall on Scout Beach, although old, is ideally placed for water and beach activities and houses a variety of watercraft and camping equipment for use by all members. “Leaders can participate in sailing, canoeing, kayaking, bushwalking and ski touring. They can paddle and sail boats from the largest beach box on the peninsula,” current group leader Terry Prudden said. “Membership of scouts also offers free, or very low cost,…
STAFF at Josephine’s Restaurant at The Briars were packing up and vacating the premises last week after being “left hanging” by Mornington Peninsula Shire. Managing partner Mike Bayne said they were being forced to leave the restaurant and function venue overlooking The Briars homestead on Nepean Highway, Mount Martha, after seven years due to “council’s incompetence”. “We weren’t offered a new lease,” he said, adding that the council “appears to be more interested in who has the most money to improve the facilities going forward and not caring and providing for the community”. Mr Bayne said discussions from mid-last year…
SOMERVILLE Swim School could be forced to close if its owners cannot come to agreement with Mornington Peninsula Shire over its hours of operation, class sizes and parking requirements. Evan and Carolyn Russell who have run the school since 2015, say that while they have been prepared to “compromise, reduce the profitability of our business, and consider future relocation, this has all fallen on deaf ears”. The couple bought the former Jump Swim Schools franchise in Gwelph Street in 2015 and say their fees included the “fit out and necessary permits to run a viable swim school business”. “When the…
THE Southern Peninsula Basketball Association is in damage control following revelations that some Sharks players trained at Dromana Secondary College stadium for several weeks in breach of COVID-19 restrictions. The players could be ruled out of bounds and fined by Basketball Victoria for the unsanctioned training while the school was closed. Despite the allegations being aired on social media, including warnings that COVID-19 restrictions banned indoor training, officials are reluctant to provide details about the alleged breaches. Some parents are said to feel “betrayed” by the association because they thought the small-group training had been given the official all clear.…
ROCKS placed in the water while a sandbag seawall was being rebuilt at Portsea front beach may be used as part of a what could be a $20 million attempt to permanently restore the famous beach. The rocks will be used to build a 60-metre groyne at the eastern (Point Franklin) end of the beach. Coupled with dredging offshore, the groyne is designed to deflect waves away from the beach. Extra sand will be added to the beach when the dredging is complete. Cr Bryan Payne said the dredging would be examined as part of a year-long environmental impact study,…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council has reversed its decision for a rural living rate on small properties living inside the green wedge. Councillors last week (Tuesday 23 June) voted to abandon the new category which added about $900 to the rate bills of 724 properties up to two hectares. The contentious rate was introduced mid-last year and supported unanimously by councillors but opposed by ratepayers. About 40 residents attended a stormy community meeting at Red Hill Mechanics Hall in October 2019 and made their opposition known to the then mayor Cr David Gill and CEO John Baker (“Green wedge rate row…
A FIVE-YEAR strategy to eliminate road deaths on the Mornington Peninsula involves having safer roads, safer vehicles, safer speeds and safer drivers. The shire’s Road Safety Strategy 2020-25 – developed after community consultation and road safety experts – aims to reduce the “unacceptably high levels of road trauma” on peninsula roads. A report to council’s Tuesday 23 June meeting noted that 69 people had been killed and more than 1500 seriously injured over the past decade. The peninsula recorded the highest number of deaths in Victoria’s 79 local government areas in 2010 and in 2019. The mayor Cr Sam Hearn…
A MAN who somehow found himself inside a 240-litre green bin at Rye can thank an alert garbage truck driver for possibly saving his life, Monday 29 June. The truck was emptying curb-side bins when the driver, watching his CCTV monitor, saw what he realised was a man falling out of the bin into the garbage compactor in Tarawill Street, 8am. Rye CFA incident controller Eddie Matt said the 21-year-old appeared to be OK after the fall although he had injured his leg and could not stand. “Sorrento SES crews got him out of the back of the garbage truck…
IT’S doubtful if anyone’s centenary has been more grandly celebrated – or its recognition more justly deserved – than that given to Capel Sound resident William Lumley AM, who turned 100 last week. By any account Mr Lumley has led a life of outstanding service to the community. He was the first president of the National Pharmacy Students Association of Australia, Chelsea councillor and mayor, Justice of the Peace, inspection pharmacist for the Commonwealth Department of Health, board member and president of the Chelsea Bush Nursing Hospital for 31 years, as well as being on school, lifesaving and community boards…
OPPONENTS of the harvesting of moulting crabs at Rye say Victorian Fisheries Authority regulations are “out of step” and “urgently require review”. They say thousands of crabs congregating under piers in late autumn-early winter are being plundered at their most vulnerable moment. Rye pier was so crowded on Queens Birthday Weekend 7 June that it was closed by police over fears crab fishers were breaching COVID-19 restrictions. Since then, divers have found up to 80 chicken carcasses used as bait littering the sea floor and attracting sharks which are endangering snorkelers, and causing environment pollution. Mornington Peninsula Shire Council on…