MORNINGTON Peninsula councillors have rejected the “divisive” suggestion that the Aboriginal flag be flown at half-mast on Australia Day. In doing so, they chose not to show the courage urged by Cr Sarah Race to “symbolise that this is a day of mourning of our First Nations people”. Cr Race said she will “walk as an ally” with Aboriginal people following a “mourning ceremony” on Wednesday 26 January. She said Indigenous Australians had regarded 26 January as a day of mourning since 1938 and would never consider it a celebration. “And here we are in 2021, still not recognising this…
Author: Keith Platt
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillors seeking election to either state of federal parliament do not have to stand down until after their nominations are lodged with the electoral office. In the year since being elected (November 2020), three of the shire’s 11 councillors have shown ambitions to stand for either state or federal government. Two are now candidates and one tried but missed out on getting a seat in state parliament. Rules for councillors wanting to be MPs have been highlighted by Cr Despi O’Connor announcing her intention to stand as an independent in next year’s federal election and Cr Paul…
FEARS are held overt the export of hydrogen from Western Port leading to the import of marine pests. Kawasaki Heavy Industries has agreed to conduct surveys to monitor Western Port for marine pests already introduced into Port Phillip by ships from Japan. The hydrogen being transported from western Port to Japan is being produced from brown coal in the Latrobe Valley, a process that depends for success on carbon being stored underground through CCS (carbon capture and storage). The hydrogen from brown coal project began more than a decade ago and the state and federal governments each gave $50 million…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillors are being asked to fly the Aboriginal flag at half-mast on shire buildings on Australia Day next year, 26 January. Cr Sarah Race says the gesture would “recognise our First Nations people and their sorrow on this day [26 January was declared a day of mourning by Aboriginal Australians in 1938]”. Flag protocols set out by the Commonwealth and followed by the shire prevent the Australian national flag being flown at half-mast on Australia Day. However, the shire’s flag rules allow the Aboriginal flag to be flown at half-mast as a sign of mourning after the…
THE Mornington Peninsula is facing possibly the biggest ever change to its political landscape. None of the familiar faces of multiple past elections will be contesting next year’s federal or state polls. Chris Brayne, first-term Labor MP for Nepean, is the only current MP on the peninsula who will be contesting the election. First-up for voters (possibly as early as March) to decide will be the federal seat of Flinders, left vacant by the retirement of Greg Hunt, who has held it for the Liberal Party for 20 years. The Liberal candidate will not be officially endorsed until early next…
SOMERS residents fear that people fishing for sharks are endangering swimmers. Baited lines are being carried out to deeper water off the beach by kayaks or dropped from drones. Mornington Peninsula Shire is helpless to stop the practice and the fisheries department says it is not illegal. Cr David Gill said luring sharks towards the swimming beach was a “dangerous practice” that the public needed to know about. “It is of great concern if shark-attracting baiting is occurring off Somers beach. It increases the chances of lives being put in danger,” he said. “Apparently there are no state government rules…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire mayor Cr Anthony Marsh laid down new rules five days before running this Tuesday night’s council meeting at Rosebud. In an email to councillors on Thursday 2 December – three weeks after being elected mayor – Cr Marsh outlined his changes to meeting procedures. He said the new “approach” stemmed from his desire to “encourage much better transparency of councillor decisions and improve the level of debate”. The changes prevent councillors from questioning council officers during public council meetings without permission from Cr Marsh. As well as reducing the number of officers attending council meetings, Cr Marsh…
AFTER more than 20 years representing the people of the Flinders electorate in federal parliament, Liberal Greg Hunt is looking forward to spending more time at home with his family. When announcing his retirement from federal politics last week, Mr Hunt told parliament “it’s time to turn to focus on another family: Paula, Poppy, James, Elsa and Charlie the cavoodle”. “But for all the time that we have spent together, and as fond as I am of the Prime Minister [Scott Morrison] and the Treasurer [Josh Frydenberg], my card is ultimately elsewhere – sorry, Josh,” he said. “It is with…
A PERMIT is being sought to “humanely” remove kangaroos from a Cape Schanck property, instead of killing them. The land manager has agreed to wait an extra eight-weeks before the cull was about to start and, in the meantime, seek a permit under the Wildlife Act to move the kangaroos back through a fence into Mornington Peninsula National Park. The reprieve for the “several hundred” kangaroos was due to “determined work” by Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors and “tireless negotiation” by CEO John Baker, according to Paul Saunders of the Mornington Peninsula Greens. The first stay of execution was due to…
THE Liberal Party will next week choose its candidates for November 2022 state election for the seats of Hastings and Mornington. David Morris, who has safely held Mornington since November 2006, is being challenged by Chris Crewther, who lost the federal seat of Dunkley to Labor’s Peta Murphy in 2019. Dunkley, which Mr Crewther lost after one term, had previously been held until 2016 for 20 years by Liberal Bruce Billson. In July, Mr Crewther failed to get his party’s endorsement for Dunkley in next year’s federal election and in September lost to Sarah Henderson in a bid to fill…
IT may seem hard to imagine now, but 100 years ago on Thursday 2 December crowds gathered at Red Hill to welcome the arrival of dignitary-packed passenger train. After the official ceremony, the dignitaries were looked after in newly-built cool stores near the station and picnics were held nearby by the crowd of an estimated 1000 people. The train eventually pulled out to take the passengers back to Melbourne along the recently-completed tracks from Bittern to Red Hill, but the celebrations by the public continued into the night. The reign of the train as a major means of getting to…
IT traces its origins to a mistaken identity and is acknowledged by its maker as being “quite a challenging style”, but there is no doubting the success of Crittenden Estate’s 2016 Cri de Coeur Savagnin. The wine produced by the Dromana-based estate has been named Australia’s Best Overall Drink in the 2021 Drink Easy Awards. Unlike most wine awards, the annual Drink Easy competition is open to all beverages, including spirits and non-alcoholic. The early “mistake” made by today’s savagnin producers dates back to several years before 2009, when they thought they were growing and harvesting Spanish albarino grapes. Doubts…
THOUSANDS of tonnes of sand are being spread at Mount Martha Beach North with the knowledge that in time they will be swept away by tides and storm surges. The sand will be in place for summer, providing extra space for beach users and protecting beach boxes. However, it is a foregone conclusion that the sand, and taxpayers’ money used to deliver it, are doomed to disappear. In recent years sand has been poured onto the beach and rocks placed behind beach boxes to prevented further erosion of the cliffs which ultimately threatens the stability of The Esplanade between Alice…
CONTENDERS have entered the final straight in this year’s race to be mayor of Mornington Peninsula Shire. The betting among shire officers continues to strongly favour Anthony Marsh being elected to the top job, although the odds are now 3:1 as opposed to 1:1 last week and 2:1 the week before that. Cr Marsh is being backed as mayor with the same 3:1 odds with either Cr Lisa Dixon or Cr Susan Bissinger as deputy mayor. Still close to the front is Cr Sarah Race 5:1 with Cr Dixon as her deputy (6:1 last week and 2:1 when the betting…
ALLEGIANCES and alliances appear to be changing along with the odds on who will be the next mayor of Mornington Peninsula Shire. The shire’s 11 councillors will vote for their next leader on Tuesday 16 November. Last week’s favourite 2:1 combination of Cr Anthony Marsh for mayor with Cr Lisa Dixon as deputy has firmed to 1:1 (“Favourites pushed aside in race to the front” The News 26/10/21). Since last week, the duo of Cr Sarah Race (mayor) and Cr Dixon (deputy) has slipped from 4:1 to 6:1. Next on the list is Cr Marsh (mayor) and Cr Race (deputy)…
ONCE free of lockdown and allowed out to gather as a group, the Sybil Disobedients wasted no time in arranging a performance to emphasise their belief that Australia needs a “properly articulated” plan to cope with the “climate crisis”. Dressed in their signature hooped dresses, hats and signs, the troupe walked slowly along a section of The Pines beach at Shoreham last Tuesday morning (26 October) before assembling in front of a sign in the sand marked Code Red – Climate Crisis. More specifically, the Sybils were calling for an end to gas exploration in Bass Strait. “We are forced…
STORM chaser photographer Yanni was in his element on Thursday, although the biggest decision was where would be the best vantage point. Drawn to the darkness of wild windswept Cape Schanck, Yanni knew the possibilities of lightning and clouds creating an awe-inspiring silhouette and background for the both the lighthouse and cliff-clinging vegetation. He was not disappointed. Yanni has published a book, Beautiful Storm, which not only records many storms to have hit the Mornington Peninsula, Port Phillip and Melbourne, but also acts a diary for storm-chasing travels. The storm of Thursday 28 October shows there will always be no…
FEARS have again been raised over the future of 150-year-old blue gums growing along the Pioneer Woodland section of a historic track in Sorrento. Members of the Tuckey Track Friends Group say the “majestic trees” are threatened by the building of a 2.5 metre high paling fence. Mornington Peninsula Shire has confirmed work on the fence was stopped after being inspected by a local laws officer. However, the property owner has applied for a permit which has yet to be assessed by the shire. In 2016, the shire rejected an application for a permit to have them cut down by…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire mayor Cr Despi O’Connor left five of the 11 councillors out of an email discussion because she knew they would not support changes she wanted to council’s operating rules. “I knew I wouldn’t get their support,” Cr Despi O’Connor said last Friday. Cr O’Connor said she had also chosen not to mention the amendments to the Governance Rules during a confidential councillor briefing before the public 14 August online council meeting. “Yes, we could have [mentioned the amendments], but not all stuff – lots of amendments as a matter of fact, amendments from the last two meetings…
FAVOURITES have again been pushed aside in the scramble to be frontrunners in Mornington Peninsula Shire’s Mayoral Stakes. Last week’s 3:1 combination of Cr Sarah Race for mayor with Cr Lisa Dixon as deputy has been overtaken by the 2:1 duo of Cr Anthony Marsh with Cr Dixon deputy (“Race is ‘on’ for mayor” The News 19/10/21). Cr Marsh’s strong run (he was 10:1 last week) appears to have been enabled by the shire’s officer punters switching his deputy from Cr Race to Cr Dixon. The Cr Race and Cr Dixon combination has now dropped out to 4:1, followed by…
LABOR’S spokesperson on climate change and energy Chris Bowen says the Prime Minister Scott Morrison should assure next month’s United Nations’ COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow that his government will legislate “a 2050 net zero emissions target and a more ambitious target for 2030”. “Anything less would be a cop out at COP,” Mr Bowen said. Mr Bowen was speaking to an online audience of more than 60 people from the peninsula on Thursday 14 October at an event organised by the Mornington Peninsula Labor Environmental Action Network (MPLEAN). Surbhi Snowball, Labor candidate for Flinders held for the past…
PARKING permits will be issued to residents in streets near The Pillars cliff jumping site at Mount Martha. The move is hoped to lessen the problems caused by the thousands of mainly young people drawn to The Pillars over summer. Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors made the decision last week following a survey that found most residents preferred permits over a complete ban on parking in their streets. Parking officers will still make regular patrols to book illegally parked cars and residents will be asked for feedback on the November to March permit trail. Although the survey showed residents wanted permits,…
ALTHOUGH debate continues over whether the Mornington Peninsula is part of metropolitan Melbourne or a region, the Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has approved two projects under the federal government’s Building Better Regions Fund (BBRF). Mr Joyce attributes $188,000 for an environmental and education centre at Red Hill and $300,000 for a “recovery event” at Balnarring as being “a testament to the dedication of [Flinders MP] Greg Hunt”. The joint news release from Mr Joyce and Mr Hunt announcing the grants quoted Mornington Peninsula Shire mayor Cr Despi O’Connor as saying the shire was being “thrilled to receive this funding…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillor Steve Holland is believed to be one of four Liberal Party candidates seeking to take over the Upper House seat of Eastern Victoria about to be vacated by Edward O’Donohue. Mr O’Donohue announced last month that he would retire by Christmas, less than one year out from the next state election. Other Liberals in the running to fill the vacancy are Renee Heath, a member of the City Builders Church and a member of the party’s administration committee; journalist and author Sue Smethurst; and Yarra Ranges councillor, Catherine Burnett-Wake. The successful candidate will be chosen by…
SARAH Race (pictured), this year’s deputy mayor, remains favourite to be the next mayor in a sweep being run by a group of Mornington Peninsula Shire Council officers. However, the race to next month’s prestigious finish saw the odds on Cr Race ease over the week from 2:1 to 3:1, with Cr Lisa Dixon as her deputy (“Lining up for mayoral stakes” The News 12/10/21). With punters backing just five starters out of the council’s 11 members, Cr Race is also second and third favourite at 6:1 with the current mayor Cr Despi O’Connor as her deputy and 10:1 with…
A SELECT group of councillors were given the opportunity to discuss amendments to rules under which Mornington Peninsula Shire operates at least 12 days before they became a last minute addition to the council agenda on Tuesday 24 August. Six councillors knew about the amendments which were not revealed to their five council colleagues until well after the public online meeting had started. Although the changes had been the subject of a series of emails going back at least 11 days, they were not raised at the pre-meeting councillor briefing. The five councillors were not informed of the amendments proposed…
Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors elect a new mayor early in November and lobbying for votes is already reportedly underway. The prestigious $100,000 plus position comes with a car – the mayor mobile, an electric BMW hatch – as well as the demands of representing the shire in different forums and publicly. While councillors usually keep their intentions inside the tent, that does not mean that other “insiders” cannot speculate. Council officers are running a book on the likelihood of who will be the next mayor and who will be that person’s deputy. Betting odds late last week show the smart…
POLICE have been given details of a jet-ski rider using a mobile to record chasing down a dolphin in the bay off Mornington. Unknown to the jet-ski rider one of the Dolphin Research Institute’s dolphin watchers was watching from the cliffs off the Esplanade near the Royal Hotel. The volunteer took photos of the jet-ski both in the water and later when it was loaded on a trailer at the Fishermans Beach boat ramp. The incident happened about 5.15pm on Tuesday 28 September. Regulations stipulate that jet-skis must stay at least 300 metres away from dolphins. The DRI volunteer said…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Beach Box Association, which lost a Supreme Court challenge against Mornington Peninsula Shire, now wants the shire to pay its own legal bills. The action taken by the association is understood to have cost each side at least $80,000, an amount that is believed to be being sought by the shire from the association. The shire will not disclose how much it wants the association to pay. Legal and governance manager Amanda Sapolu said it was “not appropriate to disclose” details about the negotiations” as the issue was “still before the court”. “Councillors have been briefed throughout the…
THE company awaiting the go ahead to build a battery storage system at Tyabb says advanced safety precautions have been included in its design. Risks have been reduced by using lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries and having 24/7 fire detection and suppression systems. Maoneng co-founder and CEO Morris Zhou said that safety was the company’s “top priority”, and it was important for people to understand how battery technology varied and risks were mitigated. “Batteries will play an increasingly important and necessary role as Australia transitions from traditional energy sources to renewable energy,” he said. “LFP technology has a very good…