HOLD onto your pint glasses, beer lovers – Jetty Road Brewing is about to rock your taste buds in the most unexpected way. The Dromana-based brewery has whipped up a bold concoction so unique, it might just be the sweetest idea to hit the craft beer scene: a Neapolitan Ice Cream Ale. The new brew, which features the triple threat of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry flavours, will be making its grand debut at this year’s Great Australian Beer SpecTAPular (GABS) festival at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, where attendees are bracing themselves for a taste experience like no other.…
Author: Brendan Rees
WORK will soon begin on rebuilding the Mornington Fishermans Jetty, restoring not only access for berthing but also injecting new life into the harbour. The much-anticipated announcement was made last week by the state government with construction preparations set to start in April. The jetty was closed to pedestrians in November 2020 due to advanced structural deterioration with berthing access ceasing in 2022 following inspections by maritime engineers. The existing nearby Mornington Pier has been providing short term berthing for vessels. Once complete the new jetty will reinstate access for berthing, improve access, and provide an “attractive visual feature” for…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire has put forward five options for cleaning the region’s iconic beaches following a divisive hand beach cleaning trail that has sparked heated debate in the community. The 12-month trial, which began last July, involves cleaning all Port Phillip beaches solely by hand on a fortnightly basis instead of a mechanical rake which had reportedly removed about 40 per cent of litter with plastic items being broken down into smaller pieces and buried in the sand (Tide turns for beach cleaning, The News 14/01/25). Together with volunteers, the shire’s contractor Citywide has employed four beach hand cleaners plus…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire has reforecast an end of financial year surplus of $3.78m, which will be dispersed to fund the McCrae landslide emergency response, storm damage, and bolstering its emergency response reserve. Councillors have approved a “2024/2025 mid-year reforecast” which will see $2m allocated to the recovery of last August’s storm events, $1.2m towards the McCrae landslide emergency response, and $580,000 to top up the shire’s emergency response reserve. Funding spent on the McCrae landslide response included a back fill of staff, technical experts, legal costs and traffic management. According to a council report, this “will continue to be monitored…
A PROJECT to expand the size of the existing wildlife sanctuary at The Briars conservation park in Mt Martha is nearing completion with volunteers working hard to plant thousands of trees. The sanctuary, managed by the Mornington Peninsula Shire, will increase from 90 hectares to about 130 hectares with the community having already planted more than 7000 indigenous plants as part of revegetation efforts. According to a shire report, fencing of the new section is almost complete. New walking trails for people of all ages and abilities, outdoor education nooks, quiet reflection nooks and educational signage including Aboriginal cultural stories…
A HEARTWARMING rescue unfolded at Martha Cove in Safety Beach on 25 March when a dog became trapped between rocks, drawing a swift response from the community. Emergency crews from State Emergency Service, Country Fire Authority, Victoria Police, and Fire Rescue Victoria worked together to free the three-year-old German Shepherd after responding to the incident just before 7pm. Roxy had been on a walk with her family when she slipped and fell at the rock wall near the Safety Beach Sailing Club. Her head was only just above water as the tide was coming in. A local fisherman had tried…
AN owner and operator of Donut King at stores at Rosebud and Berwick has been fined $10,000 for breaching child employment laws. Sam Minto, the sole director Minto Nominees Pty Ltd, the company of which Donut King trades under, pleaded guilty to 12 charges of breaking Victoria’s child employment laws at the Melbourne Magistrate’s Court on 21 March. He plead guilty to employing three children under the age of 15 without a licence on 28 occasions; failing to ensure the children are supervised by someone with a Working with Children Clearance; and failing to provide a rest break of at…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillors have raised the alarm over recent changes proposed by the Victorian Fisheries Authority, warning fewer officers would lead to a “much higher risk” of illegal fishing and habitat destruction. Cr Max Patton successfully moved a motion at the council’s March 11 meeting expressing concerns over the VFA’s restructure which would see a significant reduction in fisheries officer positions and enforcement capacity across Victoria, including Port Phillip Bay. In February the VFA proposed to close its Mornington station and replace it with a “community office” in Carrum (Fisheries office closure sparks concern of weak compliance, The News…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire ratepayers will foot a $1.125m bill to clean up a former Crib Point tip after the site was subject to scrutiny by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) four years ago.A contractor has been appointed to undertake landfill cap rehabilitation works at the former landfill – now the Lens Reserve at 2 Lens St in Bittern – to reduce the infiltration of rainwater and prevent leakage of landfill gasses. The project includes repairs to the existing compacted clay liner, which prevents contaminants from leaking to the surface, in areas that have been reduced to below 500mm in thickness.…
A CONTENTIOUS proposal by Mornington Peninsula Shire to charge locals for road sealing to address sedimentation runoff into the Balcombe Creek and Estuary has been dropped following overwhelming opposition. The shire had considered a 50-50 funding proposal by applying a “Mt Martha special charge scheme” to property owners near the estuary to help cover the costs of sealing dirt roads including Mark St, Gregory St and Matthew St (known as the Augusta Street group of roads) to reduce sedimentation in the Balcombe Estuary. According to a shire report, silt runoff from the unsealed roads has been “one of three leading…
THEFT from motor vehicles, burglaries, and car theft have fuelled a soaring crime rate in the Mornington Peninsula Shire – up 28.3 per cent in 2024, according to the latest official Crime Statistics Agency data. Crime rose across most suburbs and most criminal categories including 1297 incidents of theft from motor vehicle offences (up 40 per cent) and 1330 burglary incidents (up 34 per cent), among the big movers in the year ending December last year. Also up were family violence order breaches (762 offences, up 28 per cent), assaults (13 per cent), residential non-aggravated burglaries (32 per cent), other…
A HOUSE has gone up in flames in Rosebud on 20 March with all those inside lucky to escape.Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV), alongside firefighters from CFA responded to the blaze just before 9pm at Ninth Avenue in Rosebud after receiving multiple triple-zero calls of a large fire. “Firefighters arrived on scene within five minutes to find the upper level of two storey house engulfed in flames,” an FRV spokesperson said. “Crews worked quickly to extinguish the fire on the upper level of the house before attacking hot spots on the lower level.” The occupants safely evacuated the building and were…
PLANS for 68 warehouses and 14 storage units have been given the green light for development in Hastings despite some fears over traffic problems and lack of parking.Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors endorsed the proposed development at 2153 Frankston-Flinders Rd in Hastings, which would see an existing caravan storage site converted into warehouses and rear storage units at the 12,810sq metre site.The warehouses, abutting Frankston-Flinders Rd, would be 7.5 metres high, while the rear section would have a mix of warehouses and three storey storage units of a maximum height of 14.15 metres, primarily abutting the Stony Point rail line. A…
AMENDED plans to build three boat sheds instead of four at Westernport Marina in Hastings has been given the go-ahead after initially being knocked back by Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors. The decision comes after the original application faced significant community opposition with concerns about its bulk and coastal environmental impacts at 21 Skinner St, attracting more than 350 objections.Councillors had refused to issue a planning permit last August, which resulted in the applicant appealing the matter at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). Following a compulsory conference, the applicant filed an amended VCAT application which was made in a…
CONTROVERSIAL plans to allow development of up to three storeys at Sorrento’s township entrance will go to a state government-appointed panel because of unresolved issues including heritage values and coastal character impacts.The proposed changes by the Mornington Peninsula Shire would see new buildings have a two storey, nine metre building height limit fronting Point Nepean Rd, and a three-storey, 12-metre height limit for new development abutting Ocean Beach Rd. It also proposes that new development has a maximum of two storeys or nine metres at street frontage while any third storey would see a reduced setback from eight to four…
MAYOR Cr Anthony Marsh has fully supported community calls to undertake a “like-for-like” rebuild of a popular Mt Martha boardwalk two years after a section was closed following damaging storms.The 3.5km Balcombe Creek Estuary boardwalk was inundated by floods in November 2022 during heavy rainfall causing significant damage to one section which had been unrepaired and fenced off near Nepean Hwy and Uralla Rd in Mt Martha.Delays to fixing the boardwalk have left the community disappointed and frustrated including the Rotary Club of Mount Martha whose members originally built the boardwalk in the 1990s before it was handed over to…
THE CFA is warning the community that the fire season still remains active after a burn pile reignited two months after last being lit, causing a fire requiring a water bomber to be called in.Fire crews were called to the incident on a Coolart Rd property just after 3pm on 10 March where they found a “column of smoke” and a fast-spreading fire. Crews brought the fire under control within 30 minutes and were on scene for over three hours. Units from Somerville, Moorooduc, Tyabb, Baxter and Mt Eliza attended.Somerville Fire Brigade captain Joshua Caron said with conditions still dry…
A huge high-tech industry and business park proposed for Somerville which has raised concerns of traffic impacts and being inappropriate for the area is set to go before an independent panel.The proposed development at 79 and 83 Bungower Rd in Somerville is predicted to provide up to 1100 jobs with the aim of addressing a “critical shortage” industry land on the peninsula. It would also act as a community hub with cafes, sports facilities, retail tenant spaces, and potential for a micro-brewery, while bringing the Brunnings homestead heritage site into an open space area to ensure its protection including any…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire has been accused of a “reckless disregard” for community fire safety as several concerns, including its handling of high fuel loads, continued to pose a significant danger.Sam Norris, a concerned local resident and Red Hill CFA brigade captain, has written to the shire calling for immediate action after highlighting a myriad of “systemic failures” that they believed had created “undue risks to public safety”.His concerns were raised in a letter last month to the shire’s former acting chief executive officer Bulent Oz, which Norris said was a shared concern among CFA brigades across the peninsula.It included an…
WORK has begun on a new “tropical paradise” industrial business park in Mornington, which will provide a mix of warehouses, retail, and studio spaces.Located near the racecourse at 41 Watt Rd, Mornington, the new $5 million business precinct called “Free Form” officially broke ground last week, creating a new opportunity for those who “want modern workplaces with a Mornington address”. Once complete it will feature 32 warehouses, nine offices, a café, five storage units, car parking, and one caretaker’s residence across the half a hectare site.A sod-turning ceremony on 5 March was celebrated by dignitaries including Flinders MP Zoe McKenzie,…
PLANS for a new 250-home residential estate in Dromana could be reconsidered under federal environment laws as the Mornington Peninsula Shire pushes to protect a threatened lizard species within the site. The shire will formally make a submission to federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek requesting that the proposed development of land at 62 Collins Rd and 170 Boundary Rd in Dromana be deemed a “controlled action” to protect the swamp skink, a nationally endangered species of lizard. The proposal includes 250 residential lots, a new 6.99-hectare conservation reserve that would protect existing “high-value” native vegetation, additional public open space areas…
MOTORISTS are being urged to take care on roads across the peninsula after a mother kangaroo, her at-foot joey and pouch joey were all tragically killed in the one incident in Merricks North last week. The incident occurred along Balnarring Rd near the Jackalope Hotel, early on the morning of 26 February when the kangaroos were struck by a passing vehicle on the 80kph stretch of road and left for dead.Belinda Eden, vice-president of the Mornington Peninsula Koala Conservation, raced to the scene after being alerted by a distressed local about 7am where she initially found an eastern grey kangaroo…
MORNINGTON Peninsula author and Rosebud-based chiropractor Adam Mackey has been awarded a prestigious honour for his new book in recognition of its powerful impact on readers.Mackey, also known as Angel A, was bestowed the Difference Maker award from Australian company, Store With A Heart, which recognises books that “exhibit the courage, foresight, and initiative to bring about significant change—whether on a worldwide or local level”. It also celebrates authors who use their words to “tackle important issues, challenge perspectives, and light the way to a better future”.Mackey said his book and first novel titled Holy Parrot, published in December 2022,…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillors have taken aim at their role as “revenue collectors” for the state government’s emergency services fund levy, which is expected to rake in $51.1 million from ratepayers next financial year.Councillors will call for a full review including on the financial impact of the new Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund (ESVF), which begins in July, replacing the current Fire Services Property Levy.All revenue raised from the fund, which is collected through councils across Victoria via rates notices, will go towards 87.5 per cent of Fire Rescue Victoria and 77.5 per cent of Country Fire Authority’s annual budget.But…
SORRENTO Lifesaving Club has official won approval to rebuild its ageing clubhouse. Under the proposal, the existing building would be demolished to make way for a new clubhouse with new amenities including on-site accommodation, as well as a new beach access ramp.Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors voted unanimously in favour of granting a planning permit at their 25 February meeting. As it stands, the club’s 23-year-old building is no longer fit as a training facility or to have lifeguards or equipment onsite.The state government, which owns the land at Ocean Beach Rd, has provided $3.5 million towards the club’s redevelopment while…
LONG-awaited repairs to the historic Flinders Pier could be set back or sections of timber piles left to deteriorate because of a lack of funding, Parks Victoria has signalled.While the full 327-metre length of the pier remained open to the public, the old part of jetty, a 180-metre timber approach section, has remained closed since April 2020 “until a course of action has been determined” following the deterioration of piles and decking.Planning for safety repairs having been under way since late 2022 with Parks Victoria applying to Heritage Victoria in January seeking a permit to deliver repairs to the 1860s-built…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council has thrown its support behind the revised target of 24,000 new homes on the peninsula by 2051 despite it being a reduction of 7000 homes to the number set in last year’s draft target.Premier Jacinta Allan and Minister for Planning Sonya Kilkenny announced the final council housing capacity targets on 24 February, saying the government had met with every Victorian council to understand their “plans and the barriers they face in unlocking the capacity”. The new target for the Mornington Peninsula was down from the original 31,000 marking a 22.6 per cent decrease. But mayor Cr…
OPPONENTS of a luge-style development proposed for Arthurs Seat are ramping up their campaign, holding a public information session to help the community understand its “serious impacts”.The $25 million plan proposes to expand the popular tourist attraction including adding a new observation tower, a pedestrian bridge over Arthurs Seat Rd, a function centre, a luge ride attraction and an “experiential interpretive centre”. But community group Save Our Seat are objecting to the controversial plans by developers Arthurs Seat Eagle in what they have labelled as a “roller-coaster-style luge” for a massive tourism redevelopment.Save Our Seat spokesperson Kylie Greer said community…
A MORNINGTON Peninsula kangaroo welfare group is sounding the alarm after a recent bushfire came dangerously close to hundreds of kangaroos trapped on a private property in Cape Schanck.According to Save the Kangaroos on Mornington Peninsula Inc. (SKOMP), more than 600 kangaroos have been trapped on the Rogers Rd property since September 2021 after the land manager erected gates and closed off all exits.SKOMP’s spokesperson Jo Hansen said they had unsuccessfully appealed to authorities including the Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action (DEECA) to secure the release of the kangaroos, noting of particular concern was a bushfire came dangerously…
A MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire plan to install roadside barriers along a scenic route in Red Hill has sparked concern from residents who argued it overlooked “far greater” road safety issues.The shire has locked in state government funding to develop concept plans to improve motorcycle safety on Arthurs Seat Rd near Mechanics Rd, with a proposal to install a 30-metre barrier with under-rails on the eastern embankment that sits within the hinterland region. Funding for the plans has been provided under the government’s Motorcycle Safety Levy program as the council investigated “possible solutions to reduce risk” at this site. However, the…