THE jury is still out on the precautions taken to make sure nearby residents were not disturbed by noise from a country music festival held last Sunday at The Briars, Mount Martha. Following complaints about over-amplification of electronic music at an event on 16 February, Mornington Peninsula Shire said it would make sure noise levels were kept under EPA levels (“Feedback a part of noise review” The News 26/2/20). Briars manager Rebecca Levy said the country music festival was “quite a different event [and] therefore we are not anticipating the same level of noise issues”. In a letter to Mount…
Author: Keith Platt
IT may sound a bit biblical, but a Mornington Peninsula wine is being turned into turtles. The wine is labelled “endangered” and some of its sales profits are helping turtles survive in North Queensland. However, while wine maker Garry Crittenden’s commitment to “saving” the endangered grape variety arneis has now been abandoned, its loss is the turtles’ saviour. Mr Crittenden’s grandson Oscar became concerned at the threat plastic posed to turtles after being inspired by Molly Steer, the “straws no more” campaign girl who lives in Cairns. When Mr Crittenden decided to stop making wine from the arneis grapes growing…
PROPERTY owners will be billed for safety works at the intersection of Pottery and Jones roads, Somerville. Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors have authorised a special charge scheme to help pay the estimated $565,000 needed for the “high risk” works. The shire will pay 35 per cent of the cost with the rest being apportioned among property owners seen to benefit from the works. However, unlike most special charge schemes which are based on road frontages, the apportionment will be judged on properties seen to be receiving a “special benefit”. Peninsula Quarries, established by Bayport Industries in July 2017, operates a…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire’s declaration of a “climate emergency” may put it on a collision course with both state and federal governments over the Port of Hastings. Two significant moves made by the shire last month could lead to it opposing hydrogen gas produced in the Latrobe Valley and opposing a container port because of potential environmental, social and economic impacts on Hastings. A brown coal-to-hydrogen scheme involves a plant now being built at AGL’s Loy Yang power station site and a hydrogen liquefication and loading terminal in Bayview Road, Hastings. The project consortium is led by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and…
A RANGE of measures are being proposed to protect endangered wildlife on the Mornington Peninsula. While the focus is on the welfare of the dwindling number of koalas on the peninsula, the state government and Parks Victoria are being asked to help establish a hospital for injured and ill wildlife. Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors will be asked next week to seek backing for a wildlife hospital at Highfield Farm, part of the Greens Bush section of the Mornington Peninsula National Park near Cape Schanck. Cr David Gill said at hospital at Highfield would be a central location for the peninsula’s…
IT was 11 or 12 years ago that Ron Farnill was told he could expect to live “about another two and a half years”. Not one to give up on enjoying life so easily, Farnill decided to “paint, instead of spending time cutting grass or fixing up the house”. While still painting daily, he’s also spending time choosing 100 or so paintings for his upcoming exhibition, Sky, sea, sail and other things (93 years in the making). The exhibition at Oak Hill Gallery, Mornington is also a lead-in to his 93rd birthday. “People have talked about the need for me…
AN “external planning expert” is being hired to review all permits relating to the development of Martha Cove at Safety Beach. The audit of the $650 million housing and marina project will go back 20 years. The Martha Cove investigation will run parallel to Mornington Peninsula Shire’s review of all planning approvals involving three Mornington-based companies, engineers, planners and developers Watsons, Schutz Consulting and Wolfdene Built. Frankston and Kingston councils are also undertaking similar internal investigations in the wake of last year’s hearings by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) which last week led to the state government sacking of…
LITTLE did the judge know when sentencing a 19-year-old farm labourer to spend years in Britain’s Van Dieman’s land penal colony that his actions would have a profound effect on as yet unnamed town of Portsea. James Sandle Ford was transported to what was to become Tasmania aboard the Eliza in 1831, a convicted fellon because of his role in an uprising of agricultural workers. After being granted a free pardon in 1836, Ford went to Sydney in 1838, marrying Helen Sullivan in 1841. The Sullivan family had emigrated from Ireland two years earlier hoping to find employment in the…
Surfboard manufacturers Paul and Phil Trigger are riding a wave of nostalgia. Mostly used to designing and liaising with clients over the shape and size of a custom surfboard, the two brothers are increasingly involved in restoring boards that have historical or sentimental value. In some instances, surfboards have become family heirlooms. One of the more interesting restoration jobs to come the Triggers’ way in recent months was brought in by their long time friend, former Peninsula Surf Centre proprietor, Ted Bainbridge. When shown the board Bainbridge wanted to refurbish, both in looks and function, Phil Trigger’s advice was to…
IN what has become a battle of motions, toilets at four Mornington Peninsula Shire-controlled campgrounds may be open all year to the public. Councillors last month agreed to open the toilets exclusively to the family and friends of beach box licence holders at Sorrento, Rye, Rosebud and McCrae instead of closing them from May to September. However, Cr Hugh Fraser last week told The News it was ridiculous to reserve the toilets for a select few people, most of whom did not live in the shire. He said the motion by Cr David Gill adopted by council at its 28…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillors are being asked to change their briefing sessions from night to day and be held once a fortnight. Briefings are now held three Mondays and one Tuesday a month starting at 5pm. Cr Julie Morris says there are health benefits and cost savings by changing the meeting times and has asked her colleagues to trial her suggestion for a year from 4 May. Cr Morris wants fortnightly briefings held between 9am and 5pm with a report after the first six months on “the productivity benefits and cost savings”. In an email to her fellow councillors (sent…
Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors hope local laws officers will be able to book hooning jet ski riders in summers to come. The shire officers this year have the power to collect evidence that can lead to prosecutions, but must be content with issuing verbal warnings and not infringement notices. The mayor Cr Sam Hearn said the shire would continue lobbying for its officers to be able to book hooning jet ski riders. The shire will also continue its campaign for safe swimming areas, where jet skis are banned. Cr Hearn told The News that jet skis should be kept closer…
AS any good punter knows, it’s par for the course that all winning streaks come to an end. And so it is for the rabbits living in and around the two 18-hole golf courses and gated communities at Peppers Moonah Links Resort, Fingal. Their frisky, brown fur covered bodies and bobbing white tails are readily visible almost all over the property early morning and in the evenings. But the dream run of grazing in the rough alongside manicured fairways and greens is about to end. The rabbits are about to be poisoned. A sign leading into the resort off Truemans…
CELEBRATIONS of the Chinese New Year have been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak and declaration of a global health emergency, but symbols that point towards a prosperous, healthy year are still eagerly sought. In keeping with the Year of the Rat, glassblowers at Red Hill have created a symbolic “metal rat” to be auctioned online, with some of the proceeds going to animals and the environment affected by bushfires. The making of the glass rat over the Australia Day long weekend by Grant Donaldson, his wife Eileen Gordon and their sons Hamish and Calum was streamed live on Facebook.…
THE investigation into planning decisions involving three Mornington-based planning and development companies could “potentially encourage [the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission] to look at the Mornington Peninsula”. This eventuality would be a “welcome outcome … if we get greater transparency” as a result, according to Mornington Peninsula Shire mayor Cr Sam Hearn. Councillors last week endorsed moves outlined in December by CEO John Baker to review decisions made on planning requests by developer John Woodman and his Mornington-based company Watsons Pty Ltd as well as associated companies Wolfdene Built Pty Ltd and Schutz Consulting Pty Ltd (“Permit probe goes further than…
IT is not remembered as the shot that was heard around the world, but the firing of a gun at Fort Nepean on 5 August 1914 is acknowledged as being the first shot of World War I. The firing of the Vickers Mk VII naval gun three hours, 45 minutes after war was declared in London led to the capture of the German merchant vessel, the SS Pfalz and its crew, as they tried to leave Port Phillip for the safety of international waters. Heritage Victoria has given the First Shot Committee approval to restore the gun and its emplacement…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire is taking the lead role in pressing the state government to make it easier for municipalities to enforce planning and environment regulations. Under the Planning and Environment Act 1987 shire officers cannot stop work or force breaches to be rectified. The officers have told councillors the cost and time of enforcing the act is being played “for clear commercial advantage”. They can negotiate, issue $800-$1600 fines or apply to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for enforcement orders or embark on costly and time-wasting court cases, where fines can go as high as $180,000. The shire wants…
FLINDERS MP Greg Hunt has sailed into a storm of controversy over grants handed out to sporting groups and clubs in the lead-up to the 2019 federal election. Calls are being made for his colleague, then Sports Minister Bridget McKenzie, to resign or be sacked over the way the grants worth $100 million had a “distribution bias” towards marginal Coalition electorates. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has ordered his department head to investigate how the grants were handled and whether Senator McKenzie, the Nationals deputy leader, breached ministerial standards. Allegations of pork barrelling followed a critical assessment by the Auditor-General, Grant…
WILDLIFE is being threatened by the artificial opening of the entrance to the Balcombe Estuary at Mt Martha. Estuary wildlife has adapted to a natural cycle of flooding as the sandy barrier at the entrance to the bay opens or closes depending on the weather and tides. However, this cycle is disrupted when a channel is cut through the sandy barrier – or berm – to create waves for body boarding or surfing. “This is probably great fun, but we need to understand that artificial human intervention in the flooding and emptying cycle poses a serious risk to the health…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire wants to protect the peninsula’s “unique landscape” by having the power to decide how much land is set aside for and commercial and industrial purposes. The shire says projections for industrial and commercial land that will be needed on the peninsula are wrong in a plan prepared for the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP). In a submission to DELWP, the council says the amount of commercial floor space that needed on the peninsula by 2031 is overestimated in the draft Melbourne Industrial and Commercial Land Use Plan. The shire’s submission criticises parts of the…
SWAMPS and low-lying areas were once seen as a blot on the landscape, fit only to be drained. But the ecological importance of wetlands is well documented and has been recognised for decades, so much so that there is an annual World Wetlands Day. The day has been held since 1977 and marks the date of the adoption of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971. Activities based around the importance of wetlands are being held on Sunday 2 February at Boneo Park, on the Mornington Peninsula and the Edithvale-Seaford Wetlands. The activities at Boneo (312 Boneo Road)…
TWO groups operating on the Mornington Peninsula are part of a global movement seeking government action to counter climate change. XR Westernport and XR Mornington are part of the British-based Extinction Rebellion movement that has a “core strategy” of “mass disruption of city centres through nonviolent civil disobedience”. Along with XR Frankston, the two peninsula-based branches are among 66 similar groups throughout Australia. Murray Lindsell Turner said people who joined XR Westernport at a meeting in Balnarring Hall on Tuesday 14 January were “willing to be arrested” at future demonstrations. He said the inaugural meeting included school teachers, former politicians,…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillors are being told that it is “prudent, diligent and in the public interest” to make sure the shire has not made corrupt planning decisions similar to ones alleged at the City of Casey. The advice is contained in a report seeking council’s support for a review announced by shire CEO John Baker last December of decisions made on planning requests from developer John Woodman and his Mornington-based company Watsons Pty Ltd as well as associated companies Wolfdene Built Pty Ltd and Schutz Consulting Pty Ltd. Several employees of two of these companies have previously worked for…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire officers are “reviewing decisions” made over the past seven years involving three companies at the centre of investigations by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC). However, the review involving hundreds of files will be extended back decades, if necessary, according to the mayor Cr Sam Hearn. “We want to look at everything, not just back to an arbitrary date,” he said. “Three decades is quite a lot to look into and we want enough external involvement so it doesn’t just appear to be council looking at itself.” Cr Hearn said council “intends to make [the review findings]…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire is reviewing all permit approvals involving three companies at the centre of an investigation into allegations of corruption involving land developments in the City of Casey. The Mornington-based companies under scrutiny by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) and now the shire are Watsons Pty Ltd, Schutz Consulting Pty Ltd and Wolfdene Built Pty Ltd. IBAC is set to broaden the scope of its inquiry when it resumes next year. Watsons’ engineers, planners and developers have been involved in hundreds of planning permit applications on the peninsula. The largest is the $650 million (2002 estimate by City…
A GROUP that offers health care to the 6000 people in Frankston and on the Mornington Peninsula identifying as being Aboriginal or Torres Strait islander is in dispute over federal funding with Health Minister and Flinders MP, Greg Hunt. Mr Hunt says the First Peoples’ Health and Wellbeing organisation received $779,000 this year. However, First Peoples Health and Wellbeing’s medical director Dr Peter Walsh says no money has been allocated by either the state or federal government for the organisation’s recently opened clinic in Station Street, Frankston. Mr Hunt said organisations could apply early next year for help in expanding…
A DREDGE pulled up off Rosebud beach and earth moving machinery arrived onshore last week to pump sand onto depleted beaches. The works will see 20,000 cubic metres of sand taken from offshore sandbars to renourish two beaches. Rosebud West beach is impassable at high tide and beach boxes have been undermined, while the Bay Trail boardwalk has been washed by waves east of the pier. Further south, work has ended and the beach has been fenced off for the summer break before work resumes in February repairing sandbags at the eroded Portsea beach (“Millions poured into beach sand” The…
A SHIP to carry liquified hydrogen from Hastings to Japan was launched in Kobe on 11 December. Kawasaki Heavy Industries says the 8000 tonne, 116-metre-long Suiso Frontier, pictured right, is the world’s first liquefied hydrogen carrier. The ship will be fitted with a vacuum insulated double-shelled tank and is expected to be finished by late 2020. The launch and anticipated completion of the Suiso Frontier is timed to coincide with completion of a plant in the Latrobe Valley to extract hydrogen gas from brown coal which will be tuned into liquid at Hastings for export to Japan (“Start on Latrobe…
THE state government is being urged to protect wildlife on the Mornington Peninsula and throughout Victoria. Koalas top Mornington Peninsula Shire’s list of wildlife concerns and it wants the government to set up and finance a koala survival master plan for Victoria. The shire has asked the state’s other 78 municipalities to pressure the government to “safeguard koalas and other threatened species from extinction”. It has also called for assurances from Energy, Environment and Climate Change Minister Lily D’Ambrosio that powerboats will continue to be banned on Devilbend Reservoir. Cr David Gill said the reservoir was a “key international classified…
THE First peoples’ Health and Wellbeing organisation says Aboriginals in Frankston and on the Mornington Peninsula have been left out of the federal government’s “commitment to improving the health of all Australians”. The health service’s CEO Karinda Taylor said that despite the area having 6000 Aboriginals, it was “one of the only regions in the country where the local Aboriginal health service did not receive any investment under [Flinders MP and Health Minister] Greg Hunt’s recently announced $90 million boost for Aboriginal health services”. First peoples’ Health and Wellbeing earlier this year opened a clinic in Station Street, Frankston to…