Author: Neil Walker

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull triggered a double dissolution of the House of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house) and announced the federal election will take place on Saturday 2 July. Candidates and voters across the country face the prospect of a gruelling eight-week election campaign ahead of polling day as the main contenders for the seat of Dunkley – covering an area from Seaford to Mornington – square up to succeed outgoing Liberal MP Bruce Billson who is retiring from politics after a 20-years plus political career. The main suburbs in the Dunkley electorate include part of Baxter,…

FLINDERS MP Greg Hunt has pushed the case for Melbourne’s south east suburbs to remain key to climate research to complement a new Climate Science Centre in Hobart announced by the CSIRO last month. The new Hobart hub has put the future of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation’s Aspendale laboratories in doubt amid accusations the decision to favour Tasmania over Victoria is “a political fix to protect marginal seats”. The majority of the CSIRO’s climate change research is conducted in Aspendale and Tasmania and the science body is restructuring its nationwide operations, mostly focusing on cuts to climate…

CONSULTATION about options to separate road from rail at level crossings along the Frankston line has begun with a series of drop-in sessions held in suburbs along the rail line this month from Cheltenham to Frankston. Staff from the Level Crossing Removal Authority (LXRA), including engineers, were on hand to begin the process of talking to affected communities about possible design plans to remove level crossings including concern about the visual and noise impact of elevated rail along parts of the Frankston line. Opponents of elevated rail, dubbed sky rail, were unimpressed with the lack of detail on offer at…

GRADUATION rates at the individual campuses of privately operated training colleges are not being monitored by the federal government despite billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money paid out to the college operators. The cost of VET FEE-HELP courses being offered by private education providers soared to $1.6 billion nationally last year with taxpayers footing the bill for loans to students to pay for vocational college courses. Most of this money is unlikely to ever be repaid since graduation rates at the private colleges are extremely low and some colleges have ceased operations recently after coming under scrutiny by the Australian…

A WILD brawl in Melbourne’s city centre has put the focus on a gang involved in brazen violent burglaries and car thefts in the south east suburbs over the past few months. Members of the Apex gang clashed with police at Federation Square and surrounding streets last Saturday evening (12 March) as terrified bystanders attending the Moomba Festival fled for safety. The high-profile clash caused Premier Daniel Andrews to vow to get tough with violent gangs. “What happened on Saturday evening was completely unacceptable,” Mr Andrews said at a press conference the day after the brawl. “I will make sure…

THE possibility of a commercial airport at Hastings is still up in the air and many peninsula residents who contacted The News after this month’s previous article (‘Airport plan takes flight’, The News 1/3/16) believe the plan will not fly but Frankston Council is serious about its suggestion for a south east airport in the Mornington Peninsula suburb. Frankston mayor Cr James Dooley has written to Premier Daniel Andrews asking the Labor state government to consult independent authority Infrastructure Victoria about the feasibility of an airport in Hastings. In the letter dated 1 March Mr Dooley says land between Hastings and…

A WATER slide at Frankston’s Peninsula Aquatic Recreation Centre is out of action after two boys were injured while using the slide. PARC CEO Tim Gledhill confirmed the AquaSphere slide will be closed “for the next few weeks” until an investigation into the incident takes place. The two boys were using the AquaSphere water slide last Saturday (27 February), featuring raft rides for two to four people, when the incident occurred. “Both boys received immediate medical attention from our lifeguard staff before being transferred to hospital where one was treated for concussion and the other boy was diagnosed with a…

AN airport at Hastings is an idea being flown by Frankston Council and Mornington Peninsula Shire appears to be onboard. The high-flying concept was first floated at a Frankston Council public meeting early this month. Councillors unanimously voted to write to Premier Daniel Andrews and the South East Metropolitan Group of Councils “to determine the viability of the Port of Hastings site as a location for the South Eastern Airport as identified in Plan Melbourne”. “We have received support for this proposal from the members of the South East Melbourne Group of Councils,” Frankston mayor Cr James Dooley said last…

FUNDING for an enclosed structure to house the sand sculptures exhibition at Frankston’s waterfront all year round has faced criticism as “a waste of money”. Dunkley Liberal MP Bruce Billson last week announced a $750,000 federal government grant towards building a weatherproof structure to house the sand sculpting exhibition hosted by Sandstorm Events. Several Frankston residents took to Facebook to say they believed the money could be better spent housing the homeless, helping the aged or improving hospital services in Frankston. Frankston Council confirmed it had been notified of the grant before its announcement but said any ratepayer funded contribution…

KINGSTON councillor Paul Peulich and former Carrum MP Donna Bauer have missed out on Liberal preselection for the seat of Dunkley at this year’s federal election. Chris Crewther, former CEO of the Mildura Development Corporation, won the Liberal nomination in a close run race featuring eight candidates. The vote by Liberal Party members came down to the wire between Ms Bauer and Mr Crewther on Sunday afternoon (21 February) at a party convention in Mt Eliza with Mr Crewther, 31, emerging as the preferred candidate. Mr Crewther unsuccessfully contested the seat of Mallee in 2013 and is a former staffer…

A WAR of words about money has broken out between the federal and state government over funding for Frankston and Mornington Peninsula health services. State Labor Health Minister Jill Hennessy has accused the federal government of a “sneaky counting trick” that will cut $3.29 million from Peninsula Health’s annual budget. “These cuts are a direct attack on Peninsula Health, and will see patients waiting longer for surgeries and treatment,” Ms Hennessy said. “This is not good enough, and peninsula patients deserve better.” The state government says the Liberal federal government has back-flipped on National Health Funding Pool arrangements agreed with…

ANY plan to build elevated rail along the Frankston line should be dumped in favour of ‘underground’ rail according to the state opposition. Liberal opposition leader Matthew Guy told The News he would be willing to back the government’s planned sale of the Port of Melbourne to finance ‘rail under road’ instead of sky rail to remove level crossings across Melbourne’s rail network. He said sky rail “would be devastating for the Frankston line”. “It’s not what was promised and would destroy what should be a bayside Riviera for Melbourne,” Mr Guy said. “If it [rail under road] is more…

DUNKLEY preselection hopeful Donna Bauer has fallen foul of Liberal Party guidelines in her bid to win the party’s nomination as its candidate at the next federal election. The former Carrum state MP distributed leaflets last month to party members touting her credentials as the potential candidate for the seat of Dunkley before nominations closed and a candidate list was formalised by the Liberal Party. The early circulation of the leaflet to party preselectors before the candidate list was finalised is a breach of Liberal Party guidelines. Ms Bauer said she was unable to comment due to party rules forbidding…

COMMUTERS travelling on the Frankston line faced frustrating service cancellations and delays during the early morning weekday peak hours of 7-9am last week. Several scheduled train services were cancelled at short notice and customers were quick to vent their anger at delays on social media. Metro Trains spokeswoman Sammie Black said an incident involving a person being struck by a train late on Monday afternoon “had a knock on effect” throughout the week. “We understand it inconveniences customers and our aim is to ensure everyone gets to their destination while delaying the smallest number possible,” Ms Black said. Delays on…

TWO high-profile politicians may face off for Liberal Party preselection as candidate for the Dunkley electorate in this year’s federal election. Donna Bauer, the former Liberal state MP for Carrum, and Cr Paul Peulich, a former mayor of Kingston, could be set to contest the party nomination for the seat of Dunkley which includes the suburbs Frankston, Langwarrin, Mt Eliza, Mornington, Seaford and Skye. Labor’s Sonya Kilkenny narrowly won the Carrum contest in late 2014’s state election by a margin of just over 500 votes ahead of Ms Bauer. An electorate boundaries shift in 2013 after an Electoral Boundaries Commission…

BEACHES and foreshores along Port Phillip Bay will be monitored for signs of erosion and renourished as part of a $4.8 million state government project. The Protection of Port Phillip Beaches and Foreshore Program will include works at bay beaches at Frankston, Carrum, Sorrento West, Hampton, Sandringham, Geelong’s Eastern Beach, St Helens and Moorpanyl. Environment, Climate Change and Water Minister Lisa Neville announced the project late last month. “Whether it’s renourishments that widen and lengthen beaches or the work we do with local communities to ensure erosion is properly monitored over the long term, this funding is important for the…

CAR parking fees at Frankston Hospital have been condemned as “exorbitant” by Frankston councillors. Councillors unanimously voted to write to the board of Peninsula Health and Health Minister Jill Hennessy to ask fees be reviewed amid council concerns about “excessive parking fees”. Cr Suzette Tayler said she had been shocked at the price of parking at Frankston Hospital on two recent visits. She said she had been charged $9 for a one hour and 10 minute stay. “I think it’s really important as a council to stand up and say something about the fees that are being asked for Frankston…

DUNKLEY will have a new elected representative after the next federal election. That result a certainty after Liberal MP Bruce Billson announced he is quitting politics last week. In a statement released last Tuesday (24 November) Mr Billson said he will not seek re-election and “decided it is the right time to ‘hang up the campaign R.M. Williams’ [shoes]”. The former small business minister’s exit from politics follows a 20-year stint as a parliamentarian including 12 years as either a cabinet or shadow cabinet minister. Mr Billson was axed from cabinet by incoming Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull after Mr Turnbull…

WHILE footy fans sit with their feet up waiting for the new season many players are already putting in the hard yards to get up to speed for preseason training having been awarded a scholarship to the AFL Academy. Luke Davies-Uniacke, a 16-year-old midfielder from Rye, has his eyes on the prize of an AFL playing career and is determined to keep improving his game to try to make his dream a reality. In 2011 The News reported the then under-12 player represented Victoria at the School Sport Australia Championships in Canberra and Luke has hit every mark in the…

HOSPITALS have been ordered to review car parking fees after a review found some regular patients and visitors are financially burdened with hefty costs due to repeat visits. The Labor state government promised to review hospitals’ car parking fees before last year’s state election and commissioned an independent review of carparks at Victoria’s public hospitals. The review found hospitals charge different car parking rates and only some provide discounted parking to regular patients, visitors, carers and pensioners. In some cases discounted carpark fees were not displayed or promoted by hospitals. The government has ordered every public health service operating fee-based…

WHEN the Sayle family’s long-loved pet went missing 18 months ago Amy Sayle believed blue tongue lizard ‘Aussie’ would never be seen again, but a chance conversation with a neighbour has led to a family reunion. Mrs Sayle said 45 centimetre long Aussie had been part of the family for 14 years before he went missing from his Balnarring home. “We obviously thought he’d been eaten by something or died somehow,” she said. On Sunday evening the mother-of-four was talking to a neighbour who mentioned they had found a lizard last year that “was really sick and had been attacked…

EVOCCA College is refusing to reveal graduation rates at its Frankston campus in the wake of a damning Senate inquiry into the funding and management of vocational education and training (VET) providers. The Queensland based college, which has more than 40 campuses nationwide, was one of several registered training organisations offering short diploma courses criticised in the report over its marketing to students (‘College’s marketing to students slammed’, The News 27/10/15).  The Senate committee heard allegations vulnerable students with little or no chance of completing courses are enrolled by some private sector operators to boost enrolment numbers and rake in…

A COLLEGE with a campus in Frankston has been criticised over its marketing practices in a Senate inquiry into the funding and management of vocational education and training (VET) providers and by an education sector regulator. The Senate inquiry report released this month named Evocca College as one of several registered training organisations (RTOs) across Australia to face accusations of targeting vulnerable students with little or no chance of completing courses to boost enrolment numbers and hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of profits. Evocca denied the allegations in submissions to the inquiry. The inquiry found evidence of “rampant abuse”…

GOTYE has gone back to The Basics and the band is dropping in on Mornington as part of their national tour in support of their latest The Age of Entitlement album. Guitarist Tim Heath says The Basics drummer Wally De Backer, known as the solo artist Gotye, is heading back to Australia from the US where he is recording the follow-up to his commercially successful Making Mirrors album which spawned the global smash Somebody That I Used To Know. Heath says November’s Mornington gig, the last in the tour, will be “pretty energetic and perhaps emotional” amid hints The Basics…

MORE than 43,000 homes across several suburbs including Frankston, Baxter, Langwarrin and Karingal will have access to the National Broadband Network by the end of 2017 as part of an “accelerated plan” announced by the federal government. Dunkley Liberal MP Bruce Billson hailed the planned connection of “superfast internet” for many suburbs in the electorate, including some who have struggled with slow internet speeds, as “critical for our community”. “I most recently met directly with representatives from NBN Co to discuss solutions for some of the internet ‘black spots’ in Baxter, Frankston South and Seaford,” Mr Billson said. “I was…

A FUNDRAISING effort to help sick children that promotes the Melbourne Cup has been given the all-clear by the state government in the same week Gaming and Liquor Regulation Minister Jane Garrett called on the federal government to crack down on gambling adverts for the sake of young people and children. The Starlight Foundation, a not-for-profit that improves hospital experiences for children and chronically ill teenagers, has partnered with Victoria Racing Club to sell “pin & win” Melbourne Cup lapel pins to raise money for the Starlight Express Room at Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital. Ms Garrett told The Age newspaper…

CRIME across the Mornington Peninsula has risen 3.7 per cent and is likely to keep rising in the short term but police say this is a positive trend. Figures for the 12 months to June this year released by the newly formed Crime Statistics Agency reveal overall crime on the peninsula has risen from 10,164 in 2013-14 to 10,543 in 2014-15, fuelled by a jump in intervention order breaches and stalking offences. Mornington Peninsula Police Acting Inspector Dean Clinton said many of the intervention orders relate to family violence and people are more likely to report such incidents thanks to…

SPRING has sprung and so have magpies who swoop cyclists, joggers and walkers at this time of year in the mistaken belief people pose a danger to their newly born nesting offspring. Most magpie attacks are harmless apart from the shock some may feel when being swooped by the overly protective birds but some attacks cause serious injuries, especially to young children who are a vulnerable target of magpies’ ire. Those seeking to avoid any confrontation with magpies can now consult a website called Magpie Alert to see whether there have been any avian attacks in their neighbourhood. Sydney-based web…

MODERN technology was on trial in Frankston Magistrates’ Court last week in a judgement with implications for motorcycle riders across Victoria. A magistrate fined motorcyclist Max Lichtenbaum $150 for wearing two small GoPro-type cameras on his helmet and dismissed an appeal by the Frankston rider to have an infringement notice issued by police thrown out. Mr Lichtenbaum had originally been fined $289 and three demerit points after he was stopped by police on 22 March in Plowman Place, Frankston while wearing the helmet-cam. Police said the 55-year-old had broken safety standards by adding extensions to his motorcycle helmet. Mr Lichtenbaum’s…

The haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate but Def Leppard are due more credit in rock and roll’s history books than critics generally give them. Taylor Swift certainly thinks so. The biggest pop star in the world right now performed with Def Leppard in 2008 as part of a US series called Crossroads that paired modern musicians together with their idols from yesteryear. Swift reckoned that singing the likes of the hit song Photograph with the band was “my childhood dream come true”. “My mom was a huge fan of theirs when she was pregnant with me,” she said…