ELEVEN new councillors will be sworn in this week to face a four year term that could end up being the most testing in the shire’s history.Fundamental challenges face the new council, including a reduction in federal government funding, rate capping at below CPI, and a cost-shifting crisis expected to cost the shire $234m over the next five years (Financial crisis looms for shire, The News 22/10/24). They will also have to contend with the controversial paid-parking decision that was delayed into the new councillor’s term by the last term councillors (Paid beach parking ‘mayhem’ not over yet, The News…
Author: Cameron McCullough
HASTINGS’ stalwart Brian Stahl has called on the state government to take action to remedy the “deplorable state” of the Hastings railway station. In a letter to Hastings MP Paul Mercurio, Stahl said “As a significant public transport arrival point it leaves a lot to be desired”. “Surely this is not an acceptable situation and certainly not a welcoming place for those who regularly use the station or visit Hastings for the first time by public transport. “On behalf of our community I appeal to have this unacceptable situation dealt with promptly and properly maintained in the future.”Nearly all stations…
All 11 wards that make up the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council have now been decided.Already declared last week were Kate Roper in Beek Beek Ward, Anthony Marsh in Briars Ward, Stephen Batty in Kackeraboite Ward, and Bruce Ranken in Moorooduc Ward. Last Friday (8 November), preferences were distributed for a further five wards where no single candidate polled greater than fifty percent of the primary votes. That resulted in the declaration of Max Patton in Benbenjie Ward, Patrick Binyon in Brokil Ward, David Gill in Coolart Ward, Paul Pingiaro in Tanti Ward and Cam Williams in Tootgarook Ward.On Monday (11…
THE Short Stay Levy Bill has been passed by parliament, and a 7.5% short-stay levy will be applied to short-term accommodation from 1 January 2025. But concern has been raised at the high contribution the peninsula will make to the levy, which will go towards funding affordable housing projects, and the small amount of funds to be spent back into the area.It is believed the Mornington Peninsula has over 4,500 homes listed on the Airbnb platform alone. It makes the peninsula the highest short-stay accommodation rental market in the state, dwarfing the Surf Coast (2,254) and City of Greater Geelong…
Ballots that had arrived by last Friday’s cutoff date were counted yesterday in Beek Beek Ward, Benbenjie Ward and Briars Ward, giving an indication of two clear winners, and one close race. Those votes (Group A) made up the bulk of expected votes with the final batch, those signed and dated no later than 25 October, and received by midday Friday 1 November (Group B) expected to be counted for the three wards on Wednesday 6 November. In Beek Beek Ward, the Group A results were 5515 votes for incumbent councillor Kate Roper, and 2709 for Lavinia Jenkin, meaning Kate…
THE Australian Conservation Foundation (Mornington Community Group) is calling on the state government and the Environmental Protection Authority to immediately implement sustainable procedures to ensure roadside cleanliness in Victoria on an ongoing basis.The organisation believes roadside litter has significantly increased since covid, and is creating traffic hazards, drain blockage issues as well as various environmental issues. “The current situation is not acceptable,” said ACF Mornington Community Group member Maria Remova. “The level of the roadside contamination in the area is very high. Not only is it disheartening and ugly to residents and our millions of visitors each year, but it…
VOTING has closed for the 2024 Mornington Peninsula Shire Council election, and the 36 remaining candidates now face a nervous wait for the results.The Victorian Electoral Commission will continue to receive postal votes until Friday 1 November, but will begin counting the first group of votes (received by 6pm Friday 25 October) between Tuesday and Thursday this week. Scrutineer observations during this counting may shed light on some of the eventual winners, especially in wards with only two candidates where preferences will not play a role.Only one candidate was withdrawn by the VEC during the election period, Bill Daish from…
JOHN Baker resigned as CEO of Mornington Peninsula Shire Council last Thursday (24 October) and will take up the role as CEO of Sunshine Coast Council in Queensland.Baker was appointed shire CEO in 2018 after the departure of former CEO Carl Cowie, and spent six years in the role dealing with a myriad of challenges, both natural and man-made. His resignation will be effective from 6 December.In a letter to officers, seen by The News, Baker said “It has been a privilege to serve as CEO of the shire and I want to thank you all for your trust, your…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council is moving towards a “precarious financial position” over the next five years with a “perfect storm” of rate capping, reduced federal government grants, and state government cost shifting “jeopardizing both the provision of essential services and the financial sustainability of local government”. The claims by the shire have been made at two recent inquiries into local government funding and sustainability at the state and federal level.Of greatest concern to the shire is state government cost-shifting which it estimates to balloon to $234m over the next five years. The shire’s submission to the Victorian inquiry noted the…
MEMBERS of the Hastings Western Port Historical Society are concerned that one of Hastings’ oldest buildings will be soon be lost to the elements, due to neglect by Mornington Peninsula Shire Council.The Old Pioneer’s Cottage, located on the corner of Skinner and Herring Streets, was originally in Victoria Street and believed to have been built by the Spositos family in the early 1900’s. The building was donated to the Shire of Hastings in the mid 1980’s, and moved to its current position at that time, and is owned by the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council.“Over the last forty years, the council…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council reduced the gender pay gap for staff by 12% over the last financial year, from 24.3% to 12.4%. They also achieved an equal gender balance in their management team with a 50/50 female to male ratio at the end of the 2024 financial year compared to a 38/62 female to male ratio in 2021. Overall, women made up approximately two-thirds of the shire’s “full time equivalent” workforce of 765 staff.The results were highlighted in the shire’s annual report and are in line with their “Gender Equality Action Plan 2021-2025” which established, as one of its fundamental…
CANDIDATES for this year’s Mornington Peninsula Shire Council elections are facing a huge number of survey requests from local and national organisations, many about issues that are beyond the scope of the role of a councillor.The ‘insurmountable’ number has left some surveys and questionnaires incomplete, giving the impression the candidate doesn’t have opinions on the issues. Others have vague or misleading questions, some requiring “yes or no” answers that candidates fear could be misleading to the public.Current Red Hill Ward councillor, and candidate for the newly formed Coolart Ward, David Gill, told The News “This is an issue for all…
THE registration of two websites by a Mornington Peninsula Shire councillor, with other entities listed as the “registrant” has drawn the ire of the Liberal Party, and a request for removal from the shire. Current councillor and former mayor Steve Holland recently registered the website “morningtonpeninsula.org.au” with a Facebook post indicating he intended to use it as a “council-watch” style website. While Holland used his personal name and contact details for the registration, he used “Mornington Peninsula Shire Council” as the “registrant”, complete with the shire’s Australian Business Number. One possible explanation is the requirement for a “.org.au” to be…
ARTHURS Seat Eagle have announced plans to undertake a $25 million upgrade of its “facilities, attractions and natural green space” raising the ire of community members concerned about the scope of the works and lack of consultation.The proposed upgrade would add a new observation tower, pedestrian bridge over Arthurs Seat Road, function centre, luge ride attraction and an “experiential interpretive centre designed to celebrate the natural wonders of the Mornington Peninsula”.A statement from Arthurs Seat Eagle said, “As a result of securing further capital from the destination’s investors, the upgrade intends to diversify the types of experiences offered to tourists,…
THE Committee for Frankston and Mornington Peninsula have written to the CEO of Homes Victoria, Simon Newport, seeking clarification on whether revenue from the proposed short-stay levy will be used to alleviate the housing and accommodation crisis on the Mornington Peninsula.The 7.5% short-stay levy is proposed through the Short Stay Levy Bill 2024 and, if adopted, will be applied on short-term accommodation across Victoria.In September 2023, when the state government announced the proposed levy, it was suggested the estimated $60 million generated would be spent on housing projects across Victoria. It is believed the Mornington Peninsula has over 4,500 homes…
THE nomination period for candidates in the 2024 Mornington Peninsula Shire Council elections has closed, with 37 candidates nominating to contest the shire’s eleven wards.Of the candidates, six current councillors (Crs Bissinger, Celi, Gill, Marsh, O’Connor and Roper) have thrown their hats in the ring to serve another four-year term. Five current councillors (Crs Brooks, Dixon, Holland, Mar and Race) have decided not to stand again.This election will see the move away from a six-ward system (three with multiple councillors) to an 11-ward system, with only one councillor to be elected from each ward.In Beek Beek ward, which covers the…
THE review of governance and decision making around the “Harry Potter: Forbidden Forest Experience” held at The Briars has been approved by shire councillors after a fiery meeting on 16 September. The report, hundreds of pages in length, was sent to councillors Friday afternoon (13 September) to be discussed at the unscheduled council meeting on Monday 16 September, mere hours before caretaker period kicked in.The report followed a council resolution on 28 May to “review the processes leading to, and the outcomes of the event being held at The Briars” requiring the report be “presented to councillors prior to the…
RESIDENTS and visitors are up in arms at Mornington Peninsula Shire’s near two year closure of the Birdrock Beach access stairs. A recently formed action group ‘Repair the Stairs – Birdrock Beach Action Group’ held a protest rally on Saturday (21 September) in front of the closed stairs leading down to Birdrock Beach.The spokesperson for the Birdrock Beach Action Group, Sharon Forrest, told The News that the Birdrock Beach stairs were closed to the public at the beginning of December 2022 after a severe storm and associated king tide caused the collapse of the bottom three sections of the stairway…
PROUD and with a long history, the Hastings Senior Citizens club was first formed in 1962 as a social outlet for the elderly. To stave off the loneliness and isolation that often comes with old age. The club went from strength to strength, and a purpose built hall was erected for the club on Herring Street in the early 1980’s.Facilities aged over the years, but in 2019 the club received the “wonderful” news that Mornington Peninsula Shire Council and the state government would spend over $1 million refurbishing and extending the building to accommodate Hastings Senior Citizens club and Hastings…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council is facing an unintended consequence of their short stay accommodation law, with the State Revenue Office demanding they hand over their database of short stay property owners. It is believed the data will be used by the SRO for “ascertaining whether liabilities exist under the provisions of the Land Tax Act and the Taxation Administration Act”.The Mornington Peninsula Short Stay Accommodation Local Law 2018 was introduced with great fanfare to place responsibility for occupant behaviour in short stay rental accommodation (SSRA) on the owner of the property. It requires the registration of all short stay properties…
IT has been a tumultuous year for the Hastings Club. Declining use of gaming machines coupled with soaring government charges and taxes had changed profits into losses post-covid. Attempts to negotiate with the state government failed the situation came to a head at a special general meeting on 2 April where members voted to place the organisation into liquidation.Not all was lost, though. The committee resolved to continue and formed a new entity unencumbered by the burden the gaming machines had created. The Hastings Community and Sports Club Inc was born. The chair of the new community club, David Gibbs,…
THE Mornington Peninsula Shire council has welcomed a $2.19m Disaster Ready Fund grant from the federal government to contribute to remediation and protection works for the Mount Martha landslip. Council is also contributing $2.19m to this project. The project will reinstate a local access road after it collapsed and slid onto The Esplanade beneath it on 29 September 2020 (Landslip closes Esplanade, The News 5/10/2020).At the time, the collapse was blamed on stormwater run off and saw an estimated 30 tonnes of material and vegetation dislodge on the slope above the Esplanade, between Ellerina Road and Bradford Road. Works to…
THERE were mixed emotions after the 3 September council meeting where councillors voted to award a tender for the operation of a market at Red Hill Recreation Reserve.The winners were the Red Hill Agricultural and Horticultural Society who had the successful tender. The losers were Craft Markets Australia, who have lost the licence to run a market at the reserve after nearly fifty years of operation.Council will now enter into a five-year license agreement with the society to enable trading to continue at the reserve. The society will take over as licensee from Craft Markets Australia.Red Hill Community Market went…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillors have endorsed officer’s two recommended options as potential sites for consolidated shire offices.The two locations have been whittled down from seven slated for investigation at the council meeting on 21 November 2023. The locations are 35 Wannaeue Place, Rosebud and a combination of two Mornington locations; 2 Queen Street (the current Mornington office) and 5 Queen Street.Removed from the recommended list are Waterloo Place Mornington, 90 Besgrove Street Rosebud (current Rosebud offices), 21 Marine Parade Hastings (current Hastings offices) and 350 Dunns Road Mornington (Civic Reserve). Council will now conduct further investigations and business case analysis…
IT is with deep gratitude, and a sense of sadness, that we say goodbye to our friend and colleague, Keith Platt, who is retiring this week.Life can feel like a strung-together series of wins and losses, randomly thrust upon us by an ambivalent universe.One of our great wins was that Keith came to work for us at Mornington Peninsula News Group in 2012 as our group editor.Keith has spent his entire career working in journalism across newspapers, magazines, television and documentary making. When he came to MPNG he was already well-known in the community for his long years at the…
Police are continuing to search the Sorrento area today and appeal for public assistance to help locate missing woman Laura. It’s believed the 36-year-old left an address in Murrumbeena about 7.40am on Tuesday, 27 August and has not been seen since. Police and family have concerns for Laura’s welfare due to her disappearance being out of character. Laura is Asian in appearance, about 158cm tall, with a slim build, short black hair with golden ends and wears round glasses with gold frames. Police located Laura’s grey Mazda CX30 parked in a carpark on St Pauls Road, Sorrento about 2pm yesterday.…
A man has died in waters off Rye this afternoon, 31 August. It’s believed the man went into the water, just off Rye pier, around 2.45pm. The yet to be formally identified man was unable to be found for around 30 minutes until Air Wing located him in the water around 3.15pm. Divers retrieved the man and brought him back to shore where CPR was commenced but he died at the scene. Police will prepare a report for the coroner.
ELEVEN–year–old Oscar Baker has secured himself golf ‘bragging rights’ for life after getting a hole-in-one on 10 August.The keen golfer was playing a round with his grandmother at Eagle Ridge Golf Course when he managed the feat.“When I hit the ball, it was going to the right. It hit the bank and it rolled right into the hole!” said Oscar.The grade six student from Red Hill Consolidated School could hardly believe what he had seen. “Nana Coralie saw it, as did two other witnesses,” said Oscar. “They rang through to the clubhouse to tell them what had happened.” Nana Coralie…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillors have approved the commencement of a preliminary concept design for a performing arts centre and precinct in Hastings. The motion was approved at the August 20 council meeting and would involve furthering the business case and concept development already completed and presented to the councillors at the meeting.The “Mornington Peninsula Performing Arts Centre” (PAC) would transform the five acre block of land bounded by High Street, Marine Parade, Herring Street and Salmon Street in to a multi-use performance and entertainment precinct. The feasibility report presented to councillors stated the cost of the development would be in…
Severe thunderstorms have been forecast for the majority of Victoria today and are heading eastwards towards the Mornington Peninsula. A strong cold front with strong associated upper-level winds is crossing the state. This high-instability, high-shear environment is producing conditions conducive to severe thunderstorm development, unusual for this time of year. Severe thunderstorms are currently impacting to the north and west of Melbourne produce damaging winds, large hailstones and heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding in the warning area over the next several hours; Bendigo, Maryborough, Castlemaine, Kyneton, Ballarat and Bacchus Marsh. Three-centimetre hail has been observed near Bendigo.…