ALL was calm in Port Phillip and the view from HMAS Choules as it lay at anchor off Safety Beach last week. Signs of life on the land would have been unremarkable for those aboard the Choules at night – vehicles travelling along bayside roads, house lights ablaze on the sides of Mt Martha and Arthurs Seat. The only visible military equipment on Wednesday night was a helicopter and the aft deck, with no sign of a disaster or threat in sight. One of the Royal Australian Navy’s landing ships that are deployed for military support or to supply humanitarian…
Author: Keith Platt
YANNI Dellaportas is more often than not carrying a camera. Known throughout the Mornington Peninsula as a professional photographer Yanni (as he prefers to be known) works with flashes and available light. As a photographer with The News, he attends organised events, festivals and meetings, anything that can be classed as news. Unknown to many of his subjects, Yanni has for more than three decades had a private project: photographing lightning. He happily acknowledges being a stormchaser. While his days of keeping an eye out for incoming storms are not about to end soon (if ever), Yanni has published a…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire is putting buses ahead of trains in its efforts to improve public transport on the peninsula. While politicians and lobby groups continue to talk up the benefits of electrifying the rail line from Frankston to Baxter and beyond, the shire’s Better Buses campaign is aiming for a more realistic outcome, at least in the short term. The mayor Cr David Gill said although he and CEO John Baker had had “an extremely productive meeting” with Public Transport Minister Melissa Horne, “the harsh reality is that the shire is not getting its fair share of public transport funding…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire is being urged to be a “small business friendly council” by joining 18 municipalities that have signed a charter with the Victorian Small Business Commission (VSBC). Agreeing to sign the charter and would see the shire partner with the VSBC to “provide small businesses with the support they need to run their businesses”. The suggestion for the shire to sign up comes from the business-backed Committee for Mornington Peninsula (C4MP), which is also lobbying for the shire to be recognised by governments as “regional” rather than “metropolitan” (“Call to reclassify peninsula” The News 5/8/19). “Small businesses are…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire, neighbouring Frankston and municipalities across the state have been warned to watch out for corruption when buying goods and services. The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) says corruption and kickbacks uncovered at Darebin and Ballarat councils “are likely to be faced by most, if not all, councils in Victoria”. “Allegations of corruption associated with council procurement practices and processes are a recurring theme in the complaints received and investigated by IBAC,” IBAC commissioner Robert Redlich QC said. In a special report to parliament IBAC warns that councils need to consider the way they manage procurement to reduce…
IF there is truth in the adage “a picture is worth a thousand words”, visitors to an exhibition by Amanda Stuart will be well informed. The nine subjects of Stuart’s photographic portraits have been reproduced on posters along with their autobiographical anecdotes along with personal photos. Stuart says her intention was to produce posters that “explored, through words and images, the significant events that shaped the lives of nine very different men”. “I have done a portrait of each man, which is separate from the poster. Not a photoshopped portrait, but a photo of them as I see them for…
MORNINGTON Peninsula artists have organised two major events during October and November. The annual Peninsula Studio Trail art exhibition runs 11-23 October at Southern Buoy Studios, Mornington followed by two open studio weekends in November. There are now 20 artists in the peninsula art group, many have won awards and are known on the peninsula and internationally. They offer work in many mediums and across genres, including painting (traditional and contemporary), drawings, ceramics, sustainable sculpture from recycled materials, jewellery, metal art and printmaking. During this month’s 13-day exhibition at Mornington, several of the artists will be on hand all day…
AN angry buzz of uncertainty has arisen over how the state government intends to manage efforts to control potentially disease-carrying mosquitoes on the Mornington Peninsula. Mornington Peninsula Shire mayor Cr David Gill says a “public consultation” on the Engage Victoria website is evidence that the government wants “the power to spray insecticide without community consent”. Cr Gill’s assertion follows widespread community concern about spraying, or “fogging”, mosquito-prone areas in a bid to lessen the chances of people contracting the flesh-eating Buruli ulcer (“No fogging in ‘mossie’ fight” The News 26/8/19). Nepean MP Chris Brayne says there is no bill before…
BELEURA Private Hospital, Mornington is expanding to meet increasing demand to provide treatment for alcoholics and mental health patients. Once completed, the expansion will mean patients do not have to leave the hospital to attend a day centre. Work to increase the number of beds from 32 to 48 at the centre is expected to start before Christmas and finish about 18 months later. The announcement of the expansion at the Ramsay Health Care-owned hospital was made in the lead-up to Mental Health Awareness Week (5-11 October). Nurse unit manager, Monique Nicolaou, said there was increasing demand for alcohol addiction…
FIVE diesel-powered generators are being installed this month to help avoid summer power shortages or blackouts across the Mornington Peninsula. The temporary power sources will be installed by energy generation and distribution company GreenSync at Rye, Boneo and Dromana and removed when demand drops in April. While batteries or “renewables and demand response technologies” may eventually replace the generators, metering devices, a switchboard, concrete foundations and underground cabling will be permanent. When approving the generators at their 16 September planning services committee meeting Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors agreed to keep pressuring the federal and state governments to pay for “plug-in…
DEVELOPERS may eventually find it more expensive to build apartments on the Mornington Peninsula than in municipalities closer to Melbourne. Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors want apartments on the peninsula built with materials that protect towns’ “valued character”. They say apartments designed for inner suburbs may not be suited to the peninsula. Changes to existing apartment guidelines proposed by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) recommend using “low maintenance and durable” materials. However, shire councillors want developers to use “coastal” materials, such as stone and wood. While being more expensive and not regarded as being low maintenance, stone…
JOCKEY Michelle Payne weathered a few handicaps before winning the 2015 Melbourne Cup on Prince of Penzance. The film Ride Like a Girl, which traces the 24 year old’s life before the track as well as her victories, is being screened at Sorrento on Friday (27 September) to raise money for Sorrento/Portsea/Rye unit of the Red Cross. Former Australian of the Year, businessman and philanthropist Simon McKeon will open the screening which starts at 6pm with fish and chips and a glass of wine. Ride Like a Girl – directed by Rachel Griffiths and starring Sam Neill (Paddy Payne), Teresa…
THE amount of rental housing regarded as being “affordable” has dropped from 30 per cent of the total on offer to 7.6 per cent in a decade. “Affordable housing is generally defined as accommodation expenses that account for no more than 30 per cent of gross household income,” Peninsula Community Legal Centre CEO Jackie Galloway said. “With the Victorian housing crisis centred on the availability of affordable housing, the urgency to raise the rate of Newstart is becoming pressing. We are seeing the impact of the crisis with 75 per cent of PCLC’s clients on no to low income. Low…
SPRING can mean many things: flowers, lawn mowing, weather warming, going for walks and bike rides. It can also mean swooping birds. Magpies, much admired for their warbling, seem to be the most feared of the winged warriors, although outdoor eaters in Mornington would most likely nominate seagulls as the biggest threat. There are several other bird species that can become aggressive when nesting or protecting their young, but magpies and seagulls are the most common. “Bird swooping is part of life in Australia, as we share our environment with native wildlife,” environmental compliance manager at the Department of Environment,…
IN 2000, Caroline Vale was one of 30 Australian volunteers on a Duke of Edinburgh Awards Foundation trip to Nepal to carry out community work, including building schools and doing medical research. Ms Vale had completed her Science Degree at Melbourne University and through her previous association with the Duke of Edinburgh organisation and as a Queen’s Guide volunteered for the 10-week project. The Aussie Action Abroad organisation grew out of the expedition and is now celebrating 20 years of helping the people of Nepal. Once back in Australia, Ms Vale studied winemaking, following in the footsteps of her father…
IT would be easy for audiences to miss the nuances that go into the staging of reality shows on TV. Engrossed in the quick repertoire of “contestants” or by their sideways glances at their partners or opponents, the set – or in the case of Channel 9’s The Block, a building under renovation – can go relatively unnoticed. But for Mornington-based artist Maria Radun one decoration added to a master bedroom stood out like a shining light. Sitting atop a chest of drawers on the show’s Sunday 25 August episode was one of Radun’s works, a painting of a nude…
WHEN it comes to moths as works of art, they can also be a metaphor for the benefits of migration. Nocturnal pollinators without borders, moths inspired US artist Hilary Lorenz to design a “Moth Migration Project” that would see thousands of hand-painted moths come flying to her from around the world. Lorenz sees the paper moths crowd-sourced from around the world as a symbol of communication in both the physical and digital world and “a tool for building communities of diverse cultures, ages, and nationalities”. The hand drawn and cut paper moths started arriving after Lorenz published an invited on…
ALL aspects of the mental health system will be the main topic this week at a meeting in Safety Beach. The public meeting is part of the National Mental Health Commission’s nation-wide Connections Project to eventually provide “a new system [that] will essentially respond to a person’s individual needs in their community”. The commission is visiting Safety Beach as part of a 26-city national tour that began in July and ends this month. The mental health commission’s CEO, Christine Morgan, said the commission was committed to ensuring people with “living experience of mental health and suicidality were supported in the…
FLINDERS MP Greg Hunt says the left-leaning activist GetUp was “completely and utterly engaged with the Labor Party” in his electorate during the lead-up to the May federal election. “You could see them working with them, talking with them, handing out for each other,” Mr Hunt told his audience at the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday 14 August. In Flinders, GetUp distributed three how-to-vote cards, one with former Liberal MP Julia Banks in the number one position, one with Labor’s Joshua Sinclair first and the other headed by The Greens (Vic) Nathan Lesslie. GetUp placed Mr Hunt seventh…
PENINSULA Aero Club is working to get its 2020 air show off the ground despite delays caused by a dispute over a permit with Mornington Peninsula Shire. A last-minute settlement with the shire has sent club members metaphorically scrambling to get the show together on time. Club president Jack Vevers late on Sunday predicted all the necessary paperwork would be completed this week and confirmed the show would go ahead as originally planned. “We’re in the process of resurrecting it all,” Mr Vevers said of the air show which, earlier this month, he announced was cancelled. The shire issued a…
A RISING tide of anger has greeted the announcement that no action will be taken to ensure sand remains at Mt Martha Beach North. However, the anger and political backlash is being aimed at recommendations made by engineers and scientists who say any physical efforts to save the beach would transfer the problem elsewhere. Flinders MP Greg Hunt and Mornington MP David Morris, who is also the state opposition’s environment, climate change and bay protection spokesperson, accuse the state government of abandoning the beach and its beach boxes. The state government has paid for large boulders to be placed behind…
INCREASING money for free legal services could help improve the early detection of family violence on the Mornington Peninsula and in Frankston. The Peninsula Community Legal Centre, which has offices in Frankston, Rosebud and Cranbourne, says increasing the financing of “health justice partnerships” is a key to improving the early detection of family violence. In a submission to Victoria’s mental health royal commission, the legal centre says “specialist pathways” are needed to connect patients who are victims of domestic violence to lawyers experienced in psychosocial health and family violence. These pathways must come from both the public and private health…
NEXT year’s scheduled Tyabb air show has been cleared for take-off. Peninsula Aero Club president Jack Vevers late Monday afternoon said he had signed a permit for the air show with Mornington Peninsula Shire. Agreement for the permit followed a week of “intense negotiations” between the club and the shire. The permit drawn up by the shire was delivered to Mr Vevers by shire CEO John Baker on Friday, just days after the club announced cancellation of the Sunday 8 March 2020 air show. On Monday morning, Mr Vevers said the club had been “talking all weekend [about signing the…
THERE will be no further steps taken to restore sand to the beach or protect beach boxes at Mt Martha North. A report released on Friday by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) found that the most feasible options at the beach are to “monitor” and, if necessary, reinforce a rock wall protecting the bottom of the cliff and “allow natural processes to take place without further intervention”. “This option aligns with the Victorian Coastal Strategy’s directive to allow natural coastal processes as the preferred approach to coastal erosion management,” the report states. It also recommends Mount…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire’s youngest councillor, Sam Hearn has stood in houses flooded by storms that come now annually instead of once in 100 years. Cr Hearn last week gave a graphic account of the effects of climate change already being felt on the Mornington Peninsula when urging his colleagues to declare that the municipality is in the grip of a “climate emergency”. He says residents are removing tonnes of plastic waste from some beaches while other beaches are being lost to rising seawaters. “We are studying the effects of climate change inundation at Balnarring Beach, I’ve stood in homes with…
EXPERTS are being asked for ways to control mosquitoes on the southern Mornington Peninsula using “alternative approaches to spraying” that will not harm the environment. The move by Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors follows a packed public meeting on Saturday which highlighted residents’ concerns over a spraying program planned for October as part of studies into the flesh-eating Buruli ulcer. The spraying program will now be put on hold until more is known about the effect its chemicals will have on the environment. “The mood of the meeting was that we all want to work towards eradicating Buruli ulcers on the…
THE Mornington Peninsula may this week be declared to be facing a “climate emergency”. If adopted by Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors, the measure will see them develop an action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lessen the effects of climate change. The decision follows the release over the weekend of the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report which said that without massive changes to food production, cutting emissions from transport and industry would not be enough to avoid dangerous climate change. Cr Hugh Fraser says there is “widespread support” among councillors and among peninsula residents for…
LEADERS of the newly formed business-backed Committee for Mornington Peninsula have told the state Opposition that the peninsula should be recognised by governments as “regional” rather than “metropolitan”. Opposition leader Michael O’Brien and members of the shadow cabinet meeting at Rosebud last week were told that classing the peninsula as metropolitan was hurting business, causing job shortages and lost government grants. The committee was launched in March and now has 50 members (“Business behind new lobby group” The News 10/4/19). Its president, former Liberal federal government MP for Dunkley, Bruce Billson, said the committee would pay for research to examine…
A farm at Boneo has been given permission to build motel type accommodation for foreign farm workers. The workers will come to Australia under the federal government’s seasonal worker program. Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors have been told that it is hard to find workers locally and that allowing workers from overseas will “further underpin” the viability of the land for agriculture. The development approved by shire in May includes eight units with a total of 32 bedrooms, a common study, laundry and amenities block with a kitchen and entertainment area. A condition of the permit is that the buildings cannot…
A “UNDERSTATED and simplistic” house in rural Dromana has been awarded the building design of the Year. Moat’s Corner was praised by the judges for its understated and simplistic design as well as its emphasis on ensuring views of the manicured gardens and natural vegetation can be seen from every angle. Results of the annual Building Design Awards – formerly known as the Building Designers Association of Victoria (BDAV) Building Design Awards – were announced on Saturday 27 July at the National Gallery of Victoria. Designed by the Vibe Design Group, Moat’s Corner is described as acting as a centrepiece…