Browsing: Mornington Peninsula

Major job cuts have been announced at Mornington Peninsula Shire as the new CEO, Mark Stoermer, enacted a plan to change the operational structure of the organisation. Shire mayor Cr Anthony Marsh has also called out reports that he is responsible for the job losses as an “absurd misrepresentation”, saying “The council sets the budget, and it is the CEO’s responsibility to implement that decision through operational changes, including any staffing matters”. A statement issued by the shire on Thursday (21/8) stated “The restructure will result in up to 48 redundancies with redeployment opportunities identified for many of these staff…

A LARGE parcel of open land in Capel Sound will be saved from development, following a decision by Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors to keep it as public open space. At least half the site at 11A Allambi Ave in Capel Sound had faced potential future development but will instead be preserved for community use as part of the shire’s draft open space strategy which will be exhibited for public consultation this month. Under the proposal, the site, which covers 21,893 square metres (about the size of three soccer fields), would be rezoned from residential to public park and recreation, which…

TWENTY-four CFA volunteers from Hastings and Langwarrin have received a prestigious honour following their heroic rescue of a man trapped under a ten-tonne roller last July. The harrowing industrial accident occurred in Hastings where the worker had become unconscious, requiring crews to work under pressure to safely extract him after his legs were pinned under a massive roller. He luckily survived and has since recovered and returned to work. For their professionalism during the high-risk operation, the two brigades were awarded a Unit Citation for Service on 11 August. Incident controller and Hastings fire brigade captain Mike Willmott and rescue…

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire mayor Cr Anthony Marsh is set to travel to Canberra this month for a joint advocacy visit to Parliament House, where he will meet with federal decision-makers to champion key priorities for the region. On 25 and 26 August Marsh will join the council’s CEO Mark Stoermer, alongside Frankston City Council mayor Kris Bolam, to meet with members of the federal government and opposition. Marsh said among the top priorities on the agenda to be discussed, which would occur during a parliamentary sitting week, was advocating for the 2025 federal election commitments to be honoured across the…

WHEN a Balnarring Football Club women’s player moved to South Australia this year to take on a role at Ceduna Area School, little did she know that a couple of the girls from the school would make the trip to Victoria to pull on the boots for her old junior football club. In her role as a student support officer, Grace met footy mad Indigenous twin sisters Kailee and Kaianne who travel 800km (approximately eight hours) a weekend to play football. This feat is even more amazing, considering the girls come from a family with six kids; their parents having…

A NEW “climate plan” is set to be presented to councillors at their 2 September meeting, filling the void created by the ditching of the shire’s Climate Emergency Declaration and the Climate Action Plan in April. The shire’s climate plan was adopted in August 2020, one year after the shire declared a climate emergency. The plan entailed a ten-year program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lessen the effects of climate change. The newly elected council first questioned the plan in January this year with a motion passed for shire officers to prepare a report to help councillors make informed…

A STRONGLY worded statement released by the RSPCA criticizing the activity of “concerned community members regarding animal welfare” has been seen as a direct swipe at those protesting against the alleged abuse of horses at a Moorooduc property. “At RSPCA Victoria we care about animals,” said RSPCA Victoria CEO, Dr Liz Walker. “We know animal cruelty issues evoke strong responses from our community and we truly value the shared passion and concern people have for animals. “We understand seeing images or footage of an animal suffering online can be incredibly distressing and motivate people to action. “We are unable to…

Rosebud police officers have charged a woman after multiple cars were damaged in Rosebud last month. It’s alleged the woman left a licenced premises on Point Nepean Road in Rosebud on 25 July just after 3am before damaging panels on three separate vehicles. The woman self-presented at a police station yesterday. She has been charged with three counts of criminal damage and was bailed to Dromana Magistrates’ Court on 4 September.

VICTORIA Police have launched a new road policing enforcement effort targeting reckless e-bike riders. Operation Consider has been launched in response to a significant increase in road trauma involving e-bikes. New police data shows there were 144 e-bike collisions in 2024, up from 79 in 2023. Provisional analysis of 2025 collision data indicates there were at least 113 e-bike collisions as at 30 July this year. One high-profile incident involving an allegedly illegally modified e-bike was the death of Hastings resident William Lothian, who was hit and killed by on Frankston Flinders Road on 12 May. Police allege the 24-year-old…

IT appears the battle against a fast-food franchise, rumoured to be McDonald’s, opening in Safety Beach may not be over with an unscheduled council meeting to be held tomorrow night (14 August) to discuss appealing VCAT’s decision. The move comes after the applicant AA Holdings Pty Ltd successfully appealed Mornington Peninsula Shire’s 24 August 2024 decision to deny the planning permit application to redevelop the service station on the corner of Marine Drive and Nepean Highway to include a modernised service station with a fast-food franchise. The VCAT decision, handed down on 18 July, gives the green light to the…

The heritage-listed Norman Lodge gatehouse on Nepean Highway, Mount Eliza, is due to commence being dismantled by Monday 18 August to be in compliance with an order issued by Heritage Victoria. The deadline comes a year after a demolition order was issued for the building after a structural engineer’s report identified it as having suffered “total loss of structural integrity”. The protected gatehouse has fallen into disrepair over the past decade and has been the subject of planning applications in 2013 and 2020 that would have seen the structure deconstructed and moved just metres away to be reconstructed on a…

Police are investigating after multiple cars were damaged in Rosebud last month. It’s believed an unknown female left a licenced premises on Point Nepean Road in Rosebud on 25 July just after 3am. She walked through the carpark and damaged multiple panels on three separate vehicles before walking away. The damage is estimated at around $20,000. Investigators have released an image and CCTV of a woman they believe may be able to assist with their enquiries. Anyone who witnessed the incident or has information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online…

Councillors look likely to set aside the entirety of the parkland at 11a Allambi Avenue as public open space at the council meeting on Tuesday (12th August). The issue of what will become of the 21,893 square metres of land has been a long-running one with residents fearing it will be developed for affordable housing. The land was originally set aside over 70 years ago by the Coleman family as open space during the subdivision for Bayview Heights Estate. Despite assurances never to develop it, a portion of the land was carved off in the 1970’s and used for Eastbourne…

FIREFIGHTERS from Sorrento Fire Brigade are now trained to respond to people experiencing cardiac arrests thanks to a vital new partnership with Ambulance Victoria.Sorrento is one of 22 brigades across the state taking part in Fire Medical Response (FMR) program to boost their emergency medical response.Both CFA and Ambulance Victoria will be called simultaneously to cardiac arrests incidents, with 50 brigades to ultimately be a part of the service.CFA district eight assistant chief fire officer Sean Kerr said the program would serve the community in more ways. “Nine members from Sorrento brigade are now ready and embedded within the community,…

A MULTI-agency working group has been formed to address urgent tenant welfare concerns and long-standing maintenance issues at the Main St public housing complex in Mornington.Mornington Peninsula Shire set up the group to tackle to “significant challenges” including maintenance, systems, tenancy placement, and ongoing improvements for the area. Renovations were also undertaken after fire destroyed several units, which have been re-tenanted by locals on the Housing Register.Several agencies have been working closely together since October last year to improve the living conditions at the complex. The working group includes representatives from the shire, Mornington Community Support Centre, Western Port Community…

Frankston Crime Investigation Unit detectives have charged three people after a car was allegedly stolen and a 3D printed firearm was located in Frankston this morning. It is alleged understood three people were loitering in a carpark near a grey Hyundai i30 with alleged cloned plates about 1.15am. Officers were told they got into a white Renault Koleos and drove along the Nepean Highway. Police located the Koleos a short time later parked outside a hotel. A man and a woman got back into the vehicle before Operation Trinity officers intercepted it. The Koleos was searched and the keys to…

SOMERVILLE businessman and publisher of the Somerville Times and Peninsula Local publications, and the stplnews.com.au website, Jamie (Jay) Scicluna has been ordered to pay $5000 towards the legal costs of a Somerville businesswoman, after it was ruled he applied for a personal safety intervention order (PSIO) against her “frivolously”. The businesswoman, who works in the professional services field, had a PSIO taken out on her after she approached Scicluna on the street on 5 December 2024 to request he pay outstanding invoices owed to her company. The order forbid her from contacting, discussing, or going near Scicluna. The businesswoman was…

FEEL like a break from the winter routine? Love a good book? Then come along to a special mid-week winter event. Western Port Writes is thrilled to present bestselling authors and life partners, Anne Buist and Graeme Simsion, in conversation at Stonier Winery. Join us for a warm chat with Anne and Graeme on their latest novel, The Oasis, their Australia-wide book tour, and what drives their writing partnership.Set in an acute psychiatric ward at the fictitious Menzies Hospital, The Oasis examines mental health through a fiction lens, with compassion and humour. This is the second novel in their groundbreaking…

South East Water has advised that as of 12:30am 4 August 2025, the tap water at Frankston South is not safe to drink without boiling first. The advisory is in place because the water pressure in the area has dropped on Sunday 3 August 2025. Low or no water pressure can let dirty water and/or sediment into the water pipes. When water pressure is low, it means the water isn’t flowing strongly through the pipes. Boiling the water kills any contaminants that might be there. Low water pressure and interruptions to water supply can lead to a build-up of bacteria that…

Victoria Police caught 835 drink and drug drivers in the Frankston area and along the Mornington Peninsula over the past year. Preliminary data from the 24/25 FY reveals more than half of all drug drivers were repeat offenders, while one in five drink drivers had been previously caught over the blood alcohol concentration limit. 471 drug drivers were detected, with Peninsula Link and the Mornington Peninsula Freeway hotspots for these offenders. 83 drivers – or 18% – tested positive to more than one illicit substance, with 359 – or 76% – testing positive for methylamphetamine. Alarmingly, more than 60% of…

The Board of Inquiry into the McCrae landslide will hold its next block of public hearings at the Federal Court of Australia in Melbourne starting at 10 am on Monday 4 August 2025. The Board of Inquiry is investigating the cause of the 14 January 2025 landslide that occurred in McCrae.  Expert witnesses will concurrently give evidence to the Inquiry on Monday 4 August and Tuesday 5 August regarding the cause of the McCrae Landslide, and again on Monday 18 August and Tuesday 19 August regarding prevention and mitigation measures. These follow previous public hearings in May and June, where…

THE Mornington Peninsula Football Netball League is under fire for scheduling its women’s football finals matches on a Sunday night. Last week the MPFNL announced that the Women’s Division One qualifying and elimination finals would take place at 6pm on Sunday, 3 August. Division One Women’s games are almost always played on a Saturday, with just two Sunday games played during the home-and-away season this year. John Coburn Oval, the home of Frankston YCW, will host the women’s matches. A viral post from social media page Not All Clubs, which spotlights inequality in sports, called out the MPFNL for its…

THE Blairgowrie Caravan Park is officially up for sale and is set to change hands for the first time since the 1960s. Expressions of interest are being sought for this five-acre site at 45–73 William Rd, Blairgowrie, as its owner Ross Hartnett, who has been running the park for 60 years, prepares for retirement. CRE Brokers, which specialises in selling motels, hotels, and caravan parks, is managing the sale, opening the door to a rare opportunity on the peninsula with the site’s location being near Point Nepean Rd and within a few hundred metres of the beach and shopping village.…

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillors have voted to hand residents of retirement villages across the peninsula a 20 percent rebate on their general rates for the 2025/26 financial year. The decision comes after an assessment by Valuer-General Victoria’s (VGV) contract valuers led to increased Capital Improved Values (CIV) for retirement village units across the peninsula. Further, a historical bulk discount to the CIV of these units was removed by the shire following VGV advice, leading to substantially higher rates for retirement village residents. The motion presented to councillors recommended a 10 percent rebate on general rates for retirement village units for…

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire will review recent changes that have seen several previously on-leash dog areas abruptly reclassified as no-dog zones without public warning. The changes, which affect various reserves and parks on the peninsula, have sparked frustration and confusion among dog owners and residents, many of whom were caught off-guard by the restrictions (“New dog ban areas spark concern”, The News, 16/07/25). Impacted areas include Balnarring Beach Creek Reserve, Fawkner Ave Bushland Reserve in Blairgowrie, Bernards Way Reserve in Cape Schanck, Craigie Rd Bushland Reserve in Mt Martha, and Serpentine Reserve in Mornington. According to a shire report, officers had…

THE Mornington Peninsula Shire is developing a new concept design for the Hastings boat ramp carpark, aiming at easing congestion and improve safety at Victoria’s second-busiest ramp.The proposed upgrade is part of the shire’s effort to support the growing boating and recreational community in Hastings and across the Western Port region. Proposals include changes to the parking layouts, while retaining vegetation, green space, and connections to the Western Port Bay Trail.Under the plans, which is now available for the community to have their say, there would be 34 more sealed car and trailer unit (CTU) parks and two more accessible…

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire will cut its public meetings from 13 to nine for the remainder of the year after citing an “intense schedule” including working with three different CEOs and producing its biggest budget ever.The decision was adopted unanimously by councillors at their 17 June meeting which will see their future ordinary meetings held every three weeks rather than fortnightly. However it maintained it “will continue to provide opportunities for council to meet its legislative responsibilities and maintain public transparency”. An additional meeting will be held on 16 December for councillors to address any urgent items before Christmas.Deputy mayor Cr…

Offenders armed with a machete have targeted six shops and petrol stations across southeastern suburbs in just about seven hours yesterday, including two in Somerville. Police allege five offenders entered a petrol station on Frankston-Flinders Road in Somerville about 3.50pm before staff members challenged them, leaving them to flee empty handed. However, the same crew entered another service station on Frankston-Flinders Road, believed to be a Shell, a short time later, where they allegedly stole cash and cigarettes. A police spokesperson said a dark coloured SUV was allegedly used in a petrol drive off at a service station in Wonga…

CONSTRUCTION of a new eastern pavilion at Emil Madsen Reserve in Mt Eliza will soon begin after the Mornington Peninsula Shire awarded a multi-million-dollar contract for the works. Councillors made the decision at their 17 June meeting to award the contract to its preferred tenderer.The project will be fully funded by the federal government after it provided $15m last year to initiate stage one of the Emil Madsen Reserve Master Plan. This includes the construction of a new single-storey, multi-use sports eastern pavilion to cater to soccer, junior football, cricket, and netball clubs.As part of the works, one existing netball…