Author: Keith Platt

RECOMMENDED ways to protect Portsea beach from erosion for the next 50 years vary in cost from $2.2 million to $32.5m. However, consultants hired by the state government say that only two of five options tackle the causes of erosion along 400 metres of the beach near Portsea pier. The consultants warn that doing nothing and removing rocks and sand bags laid to protect the beach will “result in the loss of some existing foreshore buildings within 10 years”. Of the two options that the consultants believe will fix the problem – configuration dredging or building a breakwater – dredging…

TWENTY experts who buy and recommend what wines are served in some of the world’s top restaurants were last week taken on a tour of Mornington Peninsula wineries. The marketing exercise organised by Wine Australia saw two busloads of sommeliers being driven around the peninsula on Tuesday and Wednesday. The sommeliers were in Melbourne for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards which saw New York’s Eleven Madison Park take out the top spot. Tuesday’s tour of the peninsula started at Stonier Winery, Merricks, where the group was welcomed by Mornington Peninsula Vignerons Association CEO Cheryl Lee. From there the sommeliers…

SUPER heroes, kings, pirates, punks, presidents (ex) and bogans seem an unlikely mix, but seemed ideal for Saturday’s surf contest at the somewhat appropriately named Atlas break at The Pines, Shoreham. The 12-team event was being held to raise money for the Disabled Surfers Association Mornington Peninsula branch with the help of Maladiction Longboarders Club. Four-member teams dressed for the occasion (pirates were pirates, presidents wore suits, the punks were in plastic and so on) and the starter’s horn was blown while the reef at the Pines Beach was still exposed. Despite a lack of waves the early heats showed…

THE rent paid by the Hastings Club for premises in Marine Parade is about to be increased tenfold. The club has been paying $4000 a year since 1996, but Mornington Peninsula Shire last week decided to bring the rent more into line with market values and how much income the club raises through gaming machines. After a long and sometimes bitter debate councillors agreed to raise the rent to $42,234 for the first year of a new 21-year lease. The club will then face $5000 a year increases for two years with reviews every five years. The shire manages the…

NEARBY residents believe a skatepark at Narambi Reserve, Mornington will reduce vandalism to bus shelters and Mornington Park. A 298-signature petition calling for a skatepark at Narambi Reserve was delivered to Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors at their Monday 27 March meeting. Sport and recreation infrastructure planner Mark Stahel said the shire’s skate and BMX strategy did not include a skatepark at Narambi reserve “however there is a large skate facility located at Civic Reserve in Mornington, which is approximately one kilometre from Narambi reserve”. Mr Stahel said the strategy “will be reviewed once the implementation plan from the existing strategy…

IF signatures on a petition are anything to go by, Rye will not be getting a fourth boat launching ramp. Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors have received two petitions about an extra ramp, with 342 signatories calling for another ramp and 1067 going against. However, the councillors were not pressed to make a decision on the petitions when told about the conflicting viewpoints at their Monday 27 march meeting. Property and strategy manager Yasmin Woods said she reported to council after the Ports Minister Luke Donnellan answered her inquiries about “further information … regarding a variation to the grant obtained for…

THE controversy that surrounded the erection of a sculpture at crossroads in the centre of Flinders may be about to be revived. The work “I am” by Andrew Rodgers has been in place on the Cook and Wood streets roundabout for nearly two years and Mornington Peninsula Shire, its nominal owner, is about to run a survey to see if the public approves of the site. The unveiling of the sculpture was part of Flinders’ 150th celebrations, but its location was made subject to later public approval. Rodgers “I am” works were described by Bhakthi Puvanenthiran in the Sydney Morning…

CONVERSATION and communication within families and the wider community is the most readily accessible way of detecting and tackling depression among teenagers. This message was brought out by speakers and organisers at a forum in Mornington earlier this month designed to help young people “stay mentally healthy”. The forum follows the findings of a report commissioned by the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council which found 25 per cent of peninsula teenagers suffered from depression, six per cent higher than the national average. The shire has listed “youth and teen mental health first aid training” as one of seven priority projects in…

WHILE it’s not something they’re likely to encounter in Australia, just a short look at any television news service will dish up images of war-ravaged cities and towns. Examples of besieged cities filled with terrified citizens are all too real and no doubt help inform the young actors in this year’s production by the Dreamhouse Theatre Company – Stories in the Dark, by Debra Oswald. Oswald’s narrative centres around 12-year-old Tomas and Anna, 16, who are caught in a war-torn city. Seeking refuge, they find each other in a derelict mansion. As the nightly bombing raids unfold, Anna tells Tomas…

SCIENTISTS predict the large number of small King George whiting entering Port Phillip and Western Port bays will be “catchable” by spring 2018. The whiting larvae drift eastward from spawning grounds off far western Victoria and eastern South Australia for about three months before entering the bays and estuaries in spring. Studies of whiting living in seagrass beds in Port Phillip have shown they stay about four years before heading back out to sea. “Westerly winds help drive the currents that bring the whiting larvae into the bay, where they take about two years to reach the legal minimum size…

THE state government is promising strict contract conditions to ensure a reliable ferry service from Stony Point to French and Phillip islands. Public Transport Victoria is offering a five-year contract for the service with a five-year extension option. The current contract ends in June and tenders for the contract close 5 April, with the successful applicant expected to be announced in May. “The Western Port ferry service provides an important service for the communities of French Island, Phillip Island and Stony Point,” executive director of franchise operator management at PTV Alan Fedda said. “PTV understands the importance of public transport…

THE latest “discussion paper” released by Infrastructure Victoria estimates building a container port at Hastings will cost more than double that of developing a new port at Bay West, inside Port Phillip. Using scenarios based on ships capable of carrying either 14,000 TEU (based on 20 foot long containers) or 18,500 TEU, the paper puts the cost of developing Hastings to handle nine million TEU a year brought in by the smaller vessels at $12.8 billion; building Bay West for the same number of containers is $6.14 billion. When the larger ships are taken into account, costs at Hastings go…

THE Disabled Surfers’ Association Mornington Peninsula branch set a new record in the number of participants at one of its surfing event. With 163 taking to the surf at Point Leo on Saturday 4 March the branch broke the national record of 160. Australia’s 16 DSA branches are in Victoria, NSW, South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland. There is also a branch in New Zealand. The day at Point Leo was “a relief” for DSAMP secretary Bill Hallett as it followed an event scheduled in January which had to be cancelled because of sharks being attracted to the decomposing body…

STATE Planning Minister Richard Wynne is now the deciding factor in whether or not a skateboard park is built close to Mt Martha Tennis club’s courts. Mr Wynne has been asked to approve changes to the Mornington Peninsula planning scheme enabling the shire to compulsory recover land it has leased to the tennis club until December 2023. The shire’s property and strategy manager Yasmin Woods expects to get the all clear to advertise the proposed planning scheme change “in the next two to three months”. The shire’s grand plan for a $825,000 skatepark on the former parade ground came to…

DESPITE knowing it would be a breach of the Local Government Act, Cr David Gill says he won’t sign a councillors’ code of conduct unless it is changed to lift the veil of secrecy involved in decision making. “Too many things are debated in private [by Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors], the public hardly gets to hear anything,” Cr Gill said. The clock is ticking for Cr Gill with just two council meetings to go before the one-month signing deadline. If he has not signed the code before Monday 13 March Cr Gill will lose his right to be a councillor.…

AFTER developing a rural property at Merricks North for wedding receptions Mt Martha couple Chris and Donna McEvoy decided one thing was missing: a church. Buildings already set among Tanglewood Estate’s vineyard, eucalypts and gardens include the barn (seating for up to 200 and with an interior made from recycled timbers); a winery (seats 130 with commercial kitchen, bar and deck); and the mud brick studio (suitable for before or after ceremony drinks and small “cocktail” weddings). There is also a residence that can be used by bridal parties and a heart-shaped dam with a back drop of Port Phillip…

IT was a weak, inconsistent beach break, and the wind wasn’t favourable, but the Maladiction surfers were not about to be wiped out when it came to their February contest. Club president Greg Lloyd described the conditions at St Andrews Beach (near Rye) as “challenging”. Formed 20 years ago this October, the club’s riders favour long, Malibu surfboards and the stylist surfing made possible with a large deck area, although there is a contest division for “retro” short boards. Any former members who would like to be involved in Maladiction’s 20th celebrations can contact club president Greg Lloyd through the…

NEW research has highlighted the health and social benefits of spending time semi-immersed in a hot spring. Family and friends tend to enjoy the shared experience, while the shedding of mobile phones and time spent in singular contemplation have emerged as being among the main attractions to a hot springs. The latest research findings (first published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research) are based on 4265 responses to survey of bathers at Peninsula Hot Springs, in Springs Lane, Fingal, near Rye. As well as highlighting beneficial social outcomes,  he study also found bathing at the hot springs provided…

WITHOUT an urgent injection of funds the Western Port Biosphere could collapse within two months. Dire financial circumstances being faced by the biosphere were outlined last week at an extraordinary general meeting which gave the board of directors the power to wind up the “company” if money is not found by the end of this month, February. With only four of the five “partner” municipalities contributing towards its annual income the biosphere has been forced to use its cash reserves to make up the shortfall. Executive officer Cecelia Witton told the Tuesday 31 January meeting that the biosphere looked like…

NEVER one to miss an opportunity to make fun (and make a point) of those he sees as benefitting from the public purse, Seaford artist Tony Sowersby has chosen Foreign Minister Julie Bishop as the subject of his entry in this year’s Bald Archy Prize. Billed as “the art that laughs at art’s lighter side” the Bald Archy Prize “provides artists of all styles and standards with a genuine opportunity, ranging from the hilarious to the bizarrely vulgar, to create portrait paintings of humour, dark satire, light comedy or caricature”. Sowersby, who regularly wryly comments on public affairs through his…

IT could be a scenario from Alice in Wonderland. One of those scenes where nothing lines up; there are plenty of angles but nothing is quite vertical or horizontal. Some of the beach boxes at Mt Martha beach north defy gravity, they lean at odd angles, their feet (stumps) sit above the sand with concrete pads looking like ill-fitting shoes. Other sheds are being undermined, threatening to topple onto the sand or into the back walls of other beach boxes. At high tide walkers squeeze between the bathing boxes and a crumbling cliff, ignoring a warning sign out of necessity…

WHILE politicians and environmentalists are on a collision course over plans to build a coal gasification plant at Hastings, Kawasaki Heavy Industries is already building a test vessel to carry liquefied hydrogen. The ship now being developed by the Japanese company is designed to carry 2500 cubic metres of the gas which will be produced with brown coal from the Latrobe Valley. Because of hydrogen’s high evaporation rate the ship will have a double shell to provide vacuum insulation. Kawasaki says it will have the Liquefied hydrogen transportation pioneering test vessel ready by 2020, the same year the state government…

A POWER struggle has developed between one of Mornington Peninsula Shire’s newly-elected councillors and its CEO Carl Cowie. Although Mornington Peninsula Shire’s CEO is the only officer directly hired by councillors, Cr David Gill says he is being denied access by Mr Cowie to the contract under which he operates. Cr Gill says he asked Mr Cowie – who is paid more than $380,000 a year – for a copy of his work contract “because Carl has made it clear that the shire councillors employ him and he employs the rest of our shire staff”. “However, the answer to me…

MEMBERS of Maladiction Longboarders are organising a surfing contest to raise money for the Disabled Surfers Association Mornington Peninsula branch. The teams’ event will be on Saturday 1 April – April Fools’ Day – at The Pines beach (pictured above) Shoreham. Entry is $200 for each four-person team and surfers will ride the “soft” surfboards used at the annual events run by the DSAMP. As well as surfing ability, points will be awarded for surfers’ costumes. Prizes for the DSA Champs Surf Competition include $2000 in Jetstar travel vouchers; a Trigger Brothers surf pack; and dinner for four at Stillwater,…

A PILOT project to produce hydrogen from brown coal will require the gas to be liquefied near Hastings before being shipped to Japan. Kawasaki Heavy Industries says it will release more details of the project “in the first quarter of 2017 for consideration and consultation”. The company says it has been “exploring the opportunity” to create a hydrogen energy supply chain from Australia to Japan for more than six years. During that time discussions had been held with state and federal governments, industry and research organisations. “The initiative is well known,” general manager of Kawasaki’s hydrogen development centre, Dr Eiichi…

ANGLERS after game fish in and around Port Phillip are helping research and contributing to fish numbers with a catch and release policy. Fisheries Victoria’s acting executive director Dallas D’Silva said the population of yellowtail kingfish had “rebounded strongly” since 2010 and some were being electronically tagged as part of a two-year study. “The research aims to determine whether kingfish caught in Victorian waters are from one stock or several, and to better define population characteristics like age, growth and spawning habits,” Mr D’Silva said. “Yellowtail kingfish populations have rebounded strongly since 2010 and they are now regularly caught at…

A WARNING has been issued that plans to create liquid hydrogen from brown coal in the Latrobe Valley could ultimately lead to a polluting industry being established in Western Port. Hastings MP Neale Burgess says Kawasaki Heavy Industries has signed a “secret deal” with the state government that could lead to “long coal trains or a coal slurry pipe bringing huge amounts of coal to Hastings, building of a huge coal gasification plant at Hastings and the produced hydrogen being shipped through Western Port”. Mr Burgess was last Thursday turned away from a meeting between the Port of Hastings Development Authority…

NEW lines, new rules, wooden bollards and flashing signs are all part of a comprehensive safety plan on two of the Mornington Peninsula’s busiest roads. The traffic management changes have been made along the Esplanade between Mt Martha and Safety Beach and Marine Drive to Dromana. The main attraction for many visitors to Mt Martha is the Pillars, a swimming and jumping spot on the steep cliffs off the Esplanade between Deakin Drive and Marguerita Av. But along with its popularity – increased by its many mentions on social media – the Pillars has created traffic safety issues, including parking…

REGULATIONS designed to keep boats and jet skis away from seals, whales and dolphins have been extended to include one of the latest gadgets to take off – drones. While jet skis must not be closer than 300 metres from whales and dolphins and boats 100 metres away from dolphins and 200 metres from whales drones are prohibited from flying directly over, approaching head on or landing on the water near marine wildlife. Land and sea patrols the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) are on the lookout for breaches of the regulations which can attract $233 on…

BEACHES, “country feel”, absence of high rise development, public open spaces and nature reserves are top of the list when it comes to what makes the Mornington Peninsula a “special” place to live. These findings are the first results of an analysis of responses to an online survey conducted by the self-described community advocacy organisation, Peninsula Speaks. Further analysis of the “Looking Forward – Mornington Peninsula 2030” survey taken in the latter part of 2016 showed 70 per cent of respondents believe “preserving the unique character rather than economic growth (10 per cent) is vital”, organiser Peter Avery said. “Overwhelmingly,…