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…
Author: Cameron McCullough
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.…
Police are investigating after a fatal collision in Baxter this afternoon. Emergency services were called to reports of a collision involving a car and a pedestrian on Frankston-Flinders Road, near the Peninsula Link off ramp, about 3pm. The pedestrian, a 68-year-old Baxter woman, died at the scene. The female driver and sole occupant of the car was not injured and is speaking with investigators. The exact circumstances surrounding the collision are yet to be determined and investigations remain ongoing. Anyone who witnessed the incident, has CCTV, dashcam footage or any other information that could assist police is urged to contact…
IT has been long journey for Judy Tricker to get to her first art exhibition. One where she had to separate herself from other’s expectations, and follow her heart.“As a teenager, I remember being told my drawings were not very good,” said Tricker. “As a result of that, I spent most of my life thinking I wasn’t artistic. That I wasn’t good at art.” Everything changed when, just four years ago, one of Tricker’s friends convinced her to accompany her to an art course. “I went with the usual ‘I can’t paint, I can’t draw, I don’t have an artistic…
IT’S a labour of love for the volunteers at JackanAndys and Rye Beach op shops. Staffed by volunteers, they work tirelessly to process donations, sell them on to new owners, and in the process raise much-needed funds for charity.But sometimes, the goods left on the doorstep are not resaleable, and are just plain rubbish that amount to costly dumping for the op shops. “Our rubbish removal costs have increased considerably because some of the donations are dirty, broken and unsuitable for sale,” said the president of the two op shops, Beverley Baltissen. “Our shops take great pride in recycling and…
Somerville Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal collision in Frankston South this morning. It is believed a motorcyclist was riding along Frankston-Flinders Road when they collided into the back of a green hatchback about 9.40am. The rider died at the scene. The driver of the other vehicle was not injured and is currently assisting police with their enquiries. The exact circumstances surrounding the collision are yet to be determined and investigations remain ongoing. Anyone who witnessed the incident, has CCTV, dashcam footage or any other information that could assist police is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000…
THE heritage-listed Norman Lodge gatehouse on Nepean Highway, Mount Eliza, faces demolition after a structural engineer’s report identified the building as having suffered “total loss of structural integrity”. Norman Lodge Estate’s listing on the Victorian Heritage Register, which includes the gatehouse, notes the site “is significant to the history and development of Victoria and is protected by law.” The estate is considered a rare intact example of one of several bayside estates constructed in the 1860s as summer retreats for Melbourne’s businessmen. It is one of the few of these estates which was not substantially subdivided during the mid-20th century,…
A PLANNING scheme amendment that allows for 1,200 new homes a year to be built on the peninsula was adopted by council at their meeting last week (6 August).The shire states the amendment C219morn provides a sustainable approach to housing on the Peninsula by: A shire release stated “Amendment C219morn meets the State Government’s draft housing targets under its long-term housing plan for Victoria. The amendment will provide for about 1,200 new homes per year to house our growing population which is expected to reach 180,000- 200,000 residents by 2036,” and insisted the new planning scheme would not affect the…
A NUMBER of state government-managed toilet facilities in Mornington Peninsula tourist hotspots have been closed for months, with padlocked doors or fencing around them, and no sign of reopening. An attempt by Cr David Gill to shine a light on the closures was seized by his colleague Cr Steve Holland who tried to turn the issue into an attack on both Gill and The News. Tourism is a vital segment of our economy, and the visitor experience essential for our future prosperity. A notice of motion from Gill presented to Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors at the 23 July public meeting…
PLATO said “music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.” It is also an industry that has been under constant challenge with a lack of opportunities plaguing participants, and potential economic and social benefits lost. Mornington Peninsula Shire is stepping up to face the challenge face-on and is holding the MP Music Summit on Monday 12 August to do just that.Billed as a “day of collaboration, conversation and connection”, the summit is open to all those interested or involved in…
POLICE are investigating the theft of a large tract of steel fencing from a property in Pearcedale.The fencing bounded one side of a property broiled in controversy with the owners, Hindu organisations Melbourne Ayyappa Seva Sangam (MASS), planning to build a $4.5 million development on green wedge land. “We are at a loss as to what has happened,” said the secretary of MASS, Vijay Senguttuvan. “We came here last Sunday to find 200 metres of our fencing had been taken.” “We are unsure if it was motivated by the opposition to our development, or if it was just an opportunistic…
IT’S been a huge week for Mornington Junior Football Club player Rhiannon Rollo. Not only did she notch up 100 games on Sunday (21 July), an impressive feat for a 15-year-old in the fledging women’s footy code, but she has been named by Schnitz Mornington as their monthly “Local Legend”. Rhiannon has taken it all in her stride though, perhaps surprised she hadn’t reached her 100th game earlier belonging, as she does, to a family that is both footy mad and local footy royalty.But it hasn’t all been easy for Rhiannon, who is in year 9 at Mornington Secondary College.…
Compiled by Cameron McCulloughAFTER a residence of about five years in Frankston, as mechanic in charge of the telephone system on the Peninsula, Mr. R. E. Fairnie will take his departure on the 17th inst. for Ararat, to which district he has been transferred to take up a similar position to which he filled here.During Mr. Fairnie’s stay in this district he has made himself very popular with those with whom he came in contact, and has taken a leading part in most of the amusements of the town and district.He was secretary of the Frankston Football Club for two…
Homicide Squad detectives have charged a 36-year-old man this morning following the death of another man on Frankston Pier yesterday. The man, of no fixed address, has been charged with murder. The charge follows an incident where officers were called to the pier, which runs off Pier Promenade, following reports of an alleged assault just after 6am on Saturday 29 June. Officers found a man injured and unresponsive on the pier. A 45-year-old Cranbourne North man died at the scene. Shortly after, another man was arrested by police on the foreshore nearby. The man will appear before Melbourne Magistrates’ Court…
A man has been arrested by police following the death of another man on Frankston Pier this morning. Officers were called to the pier, which runs off Pier Promenade, following reports of an assault halfway down the pier just after 6am. Attending officers found a man injured and unresponsive on the pier. The man sadly died at the scene. Another man was arrested by responding police on the foreshore nearby shortly after the incident. He is currently assisting police with their enquiries. The area has been cordoned off and a crime scene established. Homicide Squad detectives are investigating and at…
IN a record turnout at a special general meeting on 2 April, members of the Hastings Cricket and Football Social Club voted to place the organisation into liquidation.The dire situation of the club had been caused by the venue’s gaming machines. Declining use of the machines coupled with soaring government charges and taxes on gaming have changed the profits from the machines into losses, with attempts to negotiate with the state government regarding the situation failing.Although the task was grim, those present had their eyes firmly on the future. “There was an incredibly positive attitude in the room,” said club…