Thanks to Keith Platt for being a ‘truth seeker
I would like to express my sincere thanks to editor Keith Platt for all his work at Mornington Peninsula News Group (Retirement marks the end of an era, The News 4/9/2024). His commitment to the truth and reporting the facts on issues around the Mornington Peninsula has been outstanding.
We are very, very fortunate to have an independent newspaper that puts our community first, gives a voice to the people and shines a torch on individuals or organisations who require investigation.
Best wishes to Keith on his retirement – he will be greatly missed.
Dale Stohr, Crib Point
Thanks Keith
On behalf of many of your readers and residents, I wish to express my thanks to Keith Platt who is retiring after years of journalism and leadership in our local media (Retirement marks the end of an era, The News 4/9/2024).
Mornington Peninsula news group fills a really important role in the Mornington Peninsula. We hear local news, see local opinions, and excellent photographs, and we can still read an actual newspaper. OK, I know I can do it online, but one of my favourite activities is opening the actual newspaper and reading.
We will miss Keith’s work and I do trust that his retirement is not the end of the MPNG. I know there are financial issues, and I know we are supposed to be supporting the local advertisers but I do not want to see our newspaper go the way of so many regional newspapers. As an active members of various community groups, I know how important MPNG is for spreading the news about local issues and giving us insights into the workings and fights in our council.
Keith, you have enabled us to send in press releases, letters and to send reporters to key events and we appreciate those opportunities, even if it involves me being dropped into rubbish heaps, Tanti Creek, and restored prickly bushland! Thank you Keith for all your dedicated work and thank you for building up the media team. Enjoy your retirement.
Jan Oliver OAM, Mornington
Enjoy retirement
It is with some degree of sadness that I read of Keith’s retirement from his magnificent work with our local newspaper.
You have done an outstanding job with your reporting of our local news and your capturing of local concerns. Your reporting has been fearless at times, but fair.
In my many contacts with you as a Rotarian and in relation to the Mornington Art Show and on other local matters, you have been a delight to work with. I wish you well for many enjoyable years of retirement and hope we cross paths again in the future.
John Renowden, Mt Martha
Sorry to see you go Keith
I am so sorry to see you go. How can you be replaced? I have been so comforted to know you are there to inform and expose and tell us the truth without fear or favour. You will be greatly missed. All the best in your retirement.
Annette Patrick, Dromana
Bin confusion
I think I need a PhD with honours to put out my rubbish. Our esteemed council gave us a chart in 2021 which I keep on my fridge, but with eight different options it’s quite difficult. Plastic soft wrap, for example, has to go to the “supermarket soft plastics collection”. What? Every time we use glad wrap? And now we have three or four different bins. Surely, with AI, we should be able to put everything in one bin, and AI could have developed a sorter at the depot to sort our rubbish. My bins are practically empty each week as I compost most of my rubbish, and often, being so light, are swept over by the wind. Please, council, don’t give us another bin. In the inner suburbs you don’t see front gardens any more, just a row of bins!
Wendy Doyle, Mornington
No vote for me
In an effort to save money could the shire not send me a voting slip for the upcoming council elections because if I do get one I will only send it back with a big cross on it. I will start taking an interest (and voting) when it starts to get back to basics fixing the things that matter to us (the ratepayers).
Our roads are atrocious with potholes taking ages to get fixed, the Esplanade at Mt Martha (between Bentons Road and Craigie Road) needs resurfacing because it is that rough. I am sure other residents on the peninsula can say the same about the areas they live in. And the decision to put off the vote on bringing in paid parking along all coastal roads and parking areas along the coast until after the elections just smacks off hypocrisy.
Potholes only get fixed when we ring council to point out they need fixing. What happened to the old road patrols that regularly patrolled our roads and fixed up any dangerous potholes and road surfaces? Don’t get me wrong. Council has put some new rules in place like being able to take mattresses and car tyres to the tip for free. This has resulted in reduced rubbish dumping of these items that was problematic in the past. Just get back to basic services first and if you have any money left over (which I doubt) then spend it on your pet projects.
Living in hope.
Barry Kirkpatrick, Mt Martha
Unjustified eyesore
As a resident of Red Hill, I lament the entirely disproportionate guardrails now installed in the heart of our small hamlet. The section of Arthurs Seat Road between White Hill Road and Nashes Lane had only three accidents with injuries in five years. Even so, the recently reduced speed limit of 60kph significantly lowers the probability of future accidents. The site isn’t within a bull’s roar of the government’s Black Spot crash criteria of two casualty crashes over five years and a project benefit-to-cost ratio of at least two to one.
That raises the question of why the Shire mistakenly used a sledgehammer to crack an egg and when the Shire will remove the unjustified blot on our once-notable landscape.
Russell Kenery, Red Hill
Protecting flora
Mornington Peninsula Shire have established Significant Landscape Overlays and listed trees of important heritage value as a means of protecting important flora. However, this does not provide sufficient protection for heritage listed trees. Unfortunately, some residents who seem to love the peninsula enough to live here think it acceptable to remove such vegetation because it might restrict their view or limit the size of house they can build.
One strategy is to utilise the state government blanket approval to remove trees within 10 metres of a dwelling in bush fire prone areas even if the block of land is vacant but trees are close to another dwelling on an adjoining property. Further subversion of these protective measures is to obtain planning approval to build close to protected trees and, at a later date, apply the same proximity to a dwelling rule to have the trees removed.
To avoid this destruction of important flora the state government needs to grant the local councils the authority to decide whether trees pose a real threat and can be removed. The Councils should also be able to impose conditional planning approval to deny further tree removal regardless of proximity to dwellings.
Additionally, the Council should require permits to remove indigenous vegetation in highly sensitive wildlife areas instead of allowing the present absolute right to clear in most places on the peninsula.
Keith Williamson, Balnarring Beach
Rubbish dumped
Since when has Bunurong Track and Dromana Cemetery become departments of the municipal tip? There’s a washing machine dumped by the track and at the cemetery, we have several sections of paling fence dumped at the top of it. I let the cemetery trust know of the paling fence around four to five weeks ago now.
Perhaps the councillors might like to revert back to the old ethos of rates, roads and rubbish instead of the little party intrigues that they seem to enjoy. Here’s a thought, how about reducing tip fees or, better still, abolish them altogether?
John Cain, McCrae
Preparedness is key
Although it seems glass-half empty, ensuring that a coastal hazard and vulnerability risk assessment is part of Western Port building approvals is sensible policy (Building for climate change, The News 28/8/24). Sea levels are rising. How much they rise this century depends on how effectively humanity manages to limit our climate pollution, particularly this decade. The Coastal Risk Australia website is a useful tool providing a clear visual of Australia’s projected sea level rise of 0.8m by 2100. Foreshores around Hastings, Balnarring and Stony Point are particularly at risk.
Mornington Peninsula Shire Council’s foresight to prevent building and development in regions vulnerable to sea level rise and coastal erosion is the safe and right thing to do. No-one wants an inundated and uninsurable home or business.
Amy Hiller, Kew
Thanks for recognition
We write in response to your story on the new Pauline Powell Walk (Family views mother’s tribute, The News 4/9/24)
We wish to publicly acknowledge the initiative of the members of both the Rye Community Group Alliance and the Rye Historical Society, along with the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council, in the realisation of the Pauline Powell Walk in Rye, in honour of our late mother, Pauline Powell OAM. We wish to express of heartfelt gratitude to these organisations for their efforts.
We are very proud of Pauline’s achievements and know that she would be most humbled at this lasting recognition of her involvement in her local community.
Janice Smith (nee Powell), Andrew Powell, Margie Powell
Help needed
Your article (Thousands Seek Support To Live, The News 26/8/24) show clearly that the cost of living in Frankston is hurting and residents are going hungry and needing the support of organisations like Community Support Frankston where funding is becoming scarce.
The Prime Minister Albanese .has said that “nobody will be left behind” but state and federal governments are not funding organisations who assist struggling families and homeless people in a cost of living crisis.
With the SRL becoming more distant proposition because the Allan government is backing down on the project then the state government can easily give more funding to organisations assisting the hungry.
Some good news is that the Prime Minister Albanese has put a “post office bank” on his agenda which will create more competition for banks to create more competitive interest rates for borrowers in Frankston. But those who will open accounts in the the CBD will have to travel to nearby post offices to do their banking because of the closing of the Wells Street post office.
Russell Morse, Karingal
Money we don’t have
After reading the article regarding the intended new shire offices (Shortlist of two for new shire HQ, The News 3/9/24) and the letter regarding a performing arts centre in Hastings (First steps towards a performing arts centre in Hastings, The News 28/8/24) in our local paper, I am appalled that the councillors can even consider spending this much money on projects that are only going to cost millions in ratepayers money. I for one won’t be voting for anyone in the next elections that have supported these projects.
Get your heads out of your backsides and think about all the other areas that have become so badly in need of repairing throughout the peninsula. Roads, roadside vegetation, cleaning up the unsightly shopping precincts, overhanging dangerous trees along the roads. These are just the tip of the iceberg that the funding could be used on instead of wasting it on buildings that are an unnecessary expense.
Gail McMillan, Rye
Business decision
Little Grasshoppers, surely you and the shire were aware of the road speeds when you set up your business. Personally I would have looked at that first before setting up a child care business on a busy country road.
Secondly, it only goes to show the lack of attention and duty of care by the shire to allow this to go ahead.
Now you are there you want to inconvenience us more by the lowering of speed limits.
Once again more stuff ups by this inept Council. Roll on October.
Valerie Brittian, Mornington
Environmental care?
I find amusing and somewhat ironic that Dutton, Joyce and other Coalition members have suddenly discovered the environment. They have been perfectly happy to see the land ravage with open cut mines and massive land clearing in the past. Now they don’t want wind or solar because it will, according to them, devastate the arable landscape of Australia or hurt whales. Seriously who knew they cared? What changed? (rhetorical questions).
Ross Hudson, Mt Martha
Threat coming
The Avian flu variant H5NI is likely to impact Australia this spring. It is proving to be one of the most damaging variants to wildlife in the planet’s history. Its impact on wildlife on all other continents has been devastating and has been linked to the latest species extinctions. It has crossed over to many species, including humans, and has resulted in human deaths.
Spring will bring migrating birds from the rest of the world, and the virus will accompany them. Many species of native animals are already under threat on the Mornington Peninsula due to the failure to control feral and wandering cats. This problem has increased recently with the RSPCA and our shire failing to show any leadership in realistic control of cats. According to the Invasive Species Council, cats kill 75 million small animals across Australia per night.
The virus could wipe out some of our small animal populations on the Mornington Peninsula. The impacted species on the other continents included the largest of animals, including humans and cattle, and sea animals as large as sea lions, as small as penguins, and all in between. The death rates in some species have been close to 100%. The impact on our unique species, such as platypus, koalas, and some kangaroos, already under some threat, could be catastrophic.
The RSPCA and the shire have ignored their responsibilities by failing to control the cat population. This failure and its consequences may lead to wildlife devastation of the magnitude the Mornington Peninsula has not experienced. The virus’s possible impact on farming may also be significant, and I would ask if the shire has addressed this or even acknowledges the threat.
Eric Dettman, Rye
Job well done
I would like to thank the construction crew, managers and designers of the new Cancer Centre at the Bays Hospital Mornington. It was an amazing piece of work to see it go up so smoothly, with a minimum of disruption to either Main Street traffic or pedestrians. So often we stand back and criticize these sorts of major civil works, without thinking of the combined effort that goes into a building of this size, and the long-term benefits they bring.
Well done guys.
John Dusting, Mornington
