A LACK of scientific evidence has seen all but one of the shire’s 11 councillors decline to call for a ban on the slaughter of kangaroos on the Mornington Peninsula. Cr David Gill said kangaroo shooting should be stopped because “we don’t know how many there are and how many are being killed”. His move failed to get the backing of even one councillor and lapsed without a vote being taken at the council’s Tuesday 9 February meeting. Cr Gill’s motion called for a ban of kangaroos shooting “until scientific research is undertaken justifying the need for this practice and…
Author: Keith Platt
THE words “Almighty God” were again recited before the most recent meeting of Mornington Peninsula Shire Council. Dropped from the list of agenda items in December, the prayer and its reference to God was resurrected on Tuesday 9 February because of moves by Crs Antonella Celi and Hugh Fraser to ask the public for guidance. Councillors agreed at the 8 December meeting that although still called The Prayer, the actual wording would be changed to a pledge by them to do the right thing by their community. In short, they were told by their in-house lawyer Amanda Sapolu that as…
THE state Opposition has announced it opposes power company AGL’s plan for a gas import terminal at Crib Point. The Opposition’s resources spokesperson Ryan Smith said on Monday the decision was based on supporting “local residents”, “serious environmental concerns” about the route of a proposed pipeline to Pakenham and because “the legally recognised indigenous traditional owner group opposes the project”. The latest declaration follows concerns raised by the Opposition last year that the public was not being enough time to comment on an environmental effects statement prepared by AGL for the gas import terminal (“Libs in call to delay AGL…
RACISM has been raised as a reason by some Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors for not supporting the creation of a database of foreign owned land in the green wedge zone. Cr Sarah Race said moves to establish a database of foreign owned land within the peninsula’s green wedge areas “seems to have racist undertones”. “I’m very uncomfortable highlighting foreign ownership rather than generally,” she said. Cr David Gill said having a database made sense following revelations about the many millions of dollars in donations being made to political parties by land developers. “Finding out who makes donations and is putting…
ENVIRONMENTALISTS, animal protection groups and landowners are concerned that kangaroos may become extinct on the Mornington Peninsula. There are no reliable statistics of kangaroo numbers on the peninsula, but estimates range from 1500 to 3500. Fears for their survival have grown since the state government announced it would lift the number of kangaroos that can be killed each year, along with allowing them to be “harvested” and sold for human consumption. Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors were this week asked to seek a ban on killing kangaroos on the peninsula “until scientific research is undertaken justifying the need for this practice…
DOLPHINS have become victims of their own popularity when they come close to shore in Western Port. After years of becoming an attraction at Balnarring for appearing to swim alongside racehorses being exercised in the shallows, there are now concerns about dogs also joining the dolphins in the water. Dolphin Research Centre executive director Jeff Weir said he had received reports of “dogs, paddlers and swimmers pestering dolphins in Western Port”. He had also received “many calls” about vessels in Port Phillip doing the same. In December, the DRI launched a campaign to persuade boaters to keep their distance from…
DEFINITIONS of a prayer and a pledge have become part of the ongoing debate following the December decision by a majority of Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors to amend the wording of the prayer said before council meetings. While the word “prayer” remains as part of the council’s Governance Rules adopted in August 2020, the words recited at the start of each council meeting begin with “We pledge that this council…”. The decision to not change the wording of the rules followed advice from the shire’s in-house lawyer Amanda Sapolu, who said “the form of prayer is not prescribed” in the…
SECRECY surrounds the location and identities of nine Mornington Peninsula buildings with combustible aluminium cladding. In keeping with its long held policy, Mornington Peninsula Shire last week avoided identifying the buildings uncovered in a state-wide audit by the Victorian Building Authority. Instead of agreeing to call on its own staff to report on the progress of making the buildings safe, councillors at the year’s first Planning Services Committee meeting (27 January) agreed to the mayor telling the state government that its building surveyour, not the shire’s, should be responsible for ordering buildings to be repaired or even evacuated. The decision…
THE state government is giving $500,000 towards an educational centre where the old and the young can learn together. The intergenerational learning centre is being established at Andrew Kerr Care in Tanti Avenue, Mornington by The Herd ILC, run by sisters Anna and Fiona Glumac. The announcement was made by the government three days before the Andrew Kerr board said it was recommending that the aged care centre’s business and assets be transferred to Uniting AgeWell, which is owned by the Uniting Church. The Andrew Kerr board said the “difficult decision” followed significant changes which started about three years ago…
THE arts in all its various forms is acknowledged as being one of the hardest hit industries as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. But the lockdown and fluid restrictions have not deterred Mount Eliza-based filmmaker Riley Sugars from embarking on a new project. Although not yet fully financed (hopes are pinned on GoFundMe), Sugars is planning a March shoot around various Melbourne locations. Cast and crew are already signed up for the feature which has also been mentioned by industry websites Film Ink and Film Magazine. Sugars says the “black comedy” Hatchback, co-written by Chloe Graham, “could best be…
AN ORGANISED rave party, illegal campers and fireworks have highlighted the ease with which intruders can enter Point Nepean National Park. Although concerns about the rave, or “bush gath”, attended by “hundreds of local kids”, were raised on social media on New Year’s Day, two weeks later police said they were unaware of the incident. Parks Victoria last week said it was “working with Victoria Police to assist with their investigation of this incident”. The social media post said those who attended the “illegal rave” broke through a gate, made tracks into bushland, leaving behind “a disgusting trail of mess”…
ROSEBUD Australia Day Association has “reinvented” its annual Australia Day Day Fun Run and this year will hold an extended virtual event. The event will still start on Australia Day Tuesday 26 January and end Sunday 28t February. Those registering for the event will be emailed a race bib as a PDF. The first 1000 to register will be mailed a medal. A copy of the usual fun run course will accompany the email in the case that applicants choose to follow that course The association says anyone wanting to record their time should download a running app such as…
A DELIVERY van was knocked over onto its side in a crash with a car at Balnarring, on Monday (18 January). The two-vehicle crash was in the shopping area of Russell Street about 12pm. Paramedics assessed the driver of the van and a woman in her 70s who was taken to Frankston Hospital in a stable condition with upper body injuries. Police and Balnarring CFA crews attended. Captain Graeme Briggs said the woman possibly had a “medical episode” before the crash. A tow truck righted the van and towed both vehicles away.
WENDI Seymour lives by the sea and finds it as a great inspiration for her art. Appropriately, her exhibition which opened on Sunday (16 January) is titled At Sea and features her sometimes whimsical view of life in the waters that cover most of the planet. Before coming under the spell of the sea, Seymour was influenced by such artists as E H Shepard, Aubrey Beardsley and Ronald Searle. “After that, every artist I meet inspires me,” she said. “While looking out to sea, I love to scan the horizon, always hopeful of spotting a whale or a least…
THE weekly mobile library service to 16 Mornington Peninsula towns may be taken off the road permanently as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The service was stopped in March due to state government coronavirus restrictions and replaced by a home delivery service. Mornington Peninsula Shire says the alternative has been so popular that it had decided to review the future of the mobile service. Libraries, arts and culture manager Karina Lamb said the online “click and deliver” was used 1729 times during its first three weeks. “We’ve received exceptional feedback on this service, and it has prompted us to…
COVID-19 restrictions have forced Mornington Peninsula Shire to drastically cut back its Australia Day events. Among the events cancelled are the parade down Main Street, Mornington, a carnival and stalls at Mornington Park and fireworks over the harbour at night. However, there will be a low key fun run, flag raising ceremonies and the announcement of the citizen and young of the year and community event of the year (nominations closed 6 November 2020). The shire is also compiling a list of the community’s favourite songs to be played on Australia Day by radio station RPP FM (98.7FM). Billed by…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire has apologised for “the harm suffered” by television and radio presenter, comedian, producer, author and screenwriter Steve Vizard and his wife Sarah for a “false statement” made by the council and planning compliance manager Paul Lewis. The statement, alleging that the Vizards “or any other person on their behalf, had undertaken earthworks which ‘effectively created a dam within Waterfall Creek’”, Arthurs Seat was published on 15 December by the Herald-Sun and the online Leader newspapers. The shire’s Christmas Eve retraction said it had told Mr Vizard, who is also a lawyer, that it would be making no…
CAMPING at Mornington Peninsula Shire-run foreshore reserves at Rye, Rosebud and Sorrento is continuing despite the latest COVID-19 outbreaks. The shire says it has not changed protocols announced in late November to allow limited numbers of campers. Campers were allowed in as from Saturday 2 January to avoid large gatherings over Christmas and New Year. The shire’s property and strategy manager Nathan Kearsley last week said camping on the foreshores was “operating at about 40 per cent capacity and extra cleaning of the amenity blocks is in place”. The shire was regularly reviewing its risk plan and making contact with…
LESS than six months before the official end of World War II headlines were made in Melbourne when thieves fatally fell out during a robbery at Mount Martha. The “mastermind” behind the robbery at the Maryport guest house in Lempriere Avenue, 18-year-old Kevin Albert Joiner, had outlined his plan to his two accomplices during an afternoon meeting in a Burke Street cafe. On 17 April 1945 – the war ended on 2 September – Joiner recruited Thomas Charles Clarke, 29, a soldier, and a 14-year-old youth (identified only as “Harris”, to rob his previous employers, James Eric Dowdle and family.…
THE Mornington offices of Centrelink and Medicare have received a second reprieve and will stay in the town at least until late September. Flinders MP Greg Hunt said the “further extension” would allow the offices to remain open “to support locals through COVID-19”. In August, then Mornington Peninsula Shire mayor Cr Sam Hearn welcomed the federal government’s backflip when it announced the offices would stay open an extra six months, but said the shire would “continue to advocate for Services Australia to permanently reinstate the Mornington Centrelink office” (“Reprieve for Centrelink” The News 3/8/20). Echoing comments he made in August…
A GOOD a reporter is one who can, metaphorically, be parachuted into any situation and come away with a good yarn. Tim Baker fits that category and, since making his way as a newspaper reporter, has been able to utilise his skills writing articles and books that allow him to follow a lifestyle that revolves around his passion, surfing. With his latest venture, The Rip Curl Story, Baker demonstrates his reportage skills, but also adopts a narrative that is both entertaining and factual. He knows his subject. The book is basically a biography of the two founders of what has…
WHILE social distancing will go down in history as one of life’s necessities in 2020, the principle is now being extended into the sea to protect dolphins. “After 30 years, we are trying to get smarter with an evidence-based approach to behaviour change. We call it dolphin distancing,” the Dolphin Research Institute’s executive director Jeff Weir said. Boaters are being urged to place a “Dolphin Distancing” sticker on their vessels to “create a new norm” in Port Phillip and Western Port waters. “Dolphin Distancing is not just a quirky twist on COVID,” Mr Weir said. “We saw some appalling harassment…
THE economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic is being felt at all levels of Australian government, with Mornington Peninsula Shire factoring in revenue losses of $9.4 million. In his introduction to the shire’s 2019-20 annual report CEO John Baker refers to “operational savings” of $3m, $1.4m saved by not filling staff vacancies and cuts of $1.7m to materials and services. “The shire itself has not been immune from the financial impacts of COVID. Modelling suggests non-rate income could be reduced by around $6 million,” Mr Baker states. Without providing actual figures, Mr Baker says that both he and the then…
GRANDMOTHERS were out in force in Mornington on Human Rights Day to bring attention to the plight of refugees being held in detention by the federal government. Grandmothers for Refugees and Friends of Grandmothers walked along Main Street on Wednesday 9 December in support of the Time for a Home Campaign aimed at freeing refugees held in Australia and overseas. “After seven long years of cruel politics it is time the government frees these men, women and children and quickly resettles them into our community, so they can be safe and have a place to call home,” Ann Renkin, of…
BEACH box owners at Mount Martha North Beach have missed out on what was planned as a sand-filled beach Christmas present courtesy of the federal government. Plans to move 10,000 cubic metres of sand from Mount Martha Beach South were abandoned on Thursday 3 December following concerns for public safety. WorkSafe Victoria wanted the beach closed while earth moving equipment was being used to shift the sand, but the Department of Land, Water and Planning said it had no intention “to fully close Mount Martha Beach to complete works during summer nor at any other time of year”. Storms also…
THERE is almost certain to be a revival of newly-elected councillor Anthony Marsh’s failed bid to drop the prayer that is said before each Mornington Peninsula Shire Council meeting. Cr Marsh was stopped from being able to introduce the move as “urgent business” at the first meeting of the new council last Monday (23 November). He has also been criticised for not including his plans to remove the prayer in his election campaign (see Letters Page 12). Cr Marsh was supported by Crs Paul Mercurio, Sarah Race, Kerri McCafferty and the mayor Despi O’Connor. Councillors against allowing him to move…
AWARDS are often made to those who offer hope and understanding in areas that are sometimes misrepresented in the public realm. The work by Kent Stannard over the past 18 years fits that description and has qualified him as being the recipient of the Outstanding Individual Achievement Award in the inaugural Victorian Marine and Coastal Awards. Stannard’s award recognises the research and education he has spearheaded into the feared, but endangered, great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias). Not always the most popular of creatures, the great white plays a key role in the marine ecosystem and Stannard, through the Tag for…
GIVEN her scientific knowledge, underwater experience and background it takes something really special in the marine world to excite Sheree Marris. But what she saw during a dive off Blairgowrie a couple of weeks ago left her scrambling to find a comparison. “I was greeted by a sea of baby sea ponies. It was like a thick soup of these delicate little jewels,” Marris said of what she described as “one of the most spectacular events I’ve seen in all of my years exploring Port Phillip”. “These baby sea ponies – or fry – measuring a tiny two to three…
DESPITE the advice of experts to the contrary, Flinders MP Greg Hunt and members of the Mt Martha Beach Group Committee say an “engineering solution” can be used to stop sand erosion. Starting this week, 10,000 cubic metres of sand will be taken from Mount Martha South beach to its sand-depleted northern end. The work is being carried out by the state Department of Environment Land Water and Planning with $1.5 million provided by the federal government. However, both Mr Hunt and the Mt Martha Beach Group Committee want the money spent on providing sand and building a rock groyne…
THE president of Peninsula Aero Club Jack Vevers has questioned the existence of a report written following a legal investigation into the operations of Tyabb airfield. Calling it “the mythical QC report”, Mr Vevers said the report – commissioned by Mornington Peninsula Shire – did not seem to have “delivered any silver bullets” for the shire in two cases heard by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. He said the shire had been forced to “concede” the cases “at great expense to ratepayers”. Cases heard this year included a Sunday morning ban on aircraft using the airfield to protect parishioners…