MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillors have been reassured they can claim child care costs for more than one child and child care agency fees. Councillors last week voted to amend the Councillor Expenses Reimbursement, Resources and Facilities Policy to make it clear that these costs can be claimed for children up to 16 years. The policy was adopted by council on 12 December 2017 and will be reviewed before the next municipal election in October 2020. Shire senior policy advisor Anthea Hastie said councillors can be reimbursed for child care costs while “discharging their official duties”. “Councillors are eligible for reimbursement…
Author: Keith Platt
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire had called on the state government to stop a $3 million rock wall being built at the Portsea front beach until a solution can be found to protect and restore the beach. The shire says the government’s rock revetment “by itself will achieve erosion protection but will not guarantee the return of this iconic beach”. The rock revetment treatment was chosen by Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) after commissioning a study in 2016 by consultants Advisian. The study produced seven options for the 600 metres of beach and foreshore which has receded by 25-30…
CELEBRATIONS come and go with regularity, most often marked by years. And this has become the norm for members of a mothers’ group in Mt Martha celebrating their decade-long friendship. Although not related, the 11 families have kept pace with each other, watching their children progress through various stages of growth and schooling. Some have moved away, but the bonds remain. The families were brought together when the mothers joined a group organised through Mornington Peninsula Shire’s maternal and child health centre at the Bentons Square Community Centre, Mornington. “The mother’s group started 10 years ago and is still going…
A BREAK in the weather could soon see “surplus” sand at Mt Martha Beach South being used to protect cliffs from erosion at Mt Martha Beach North. The Department of Environment Land, Water and Planning (DELPW) says about 150 cubic metres of sand will be used to fill a “sand tube” of geotextile fabric to be placed between the crumbling cliff and beach boxes. The tube will be held in place between two lines of rocks which, in turn, will form part of a rock revetment, designed to be a more permanent solution to the cliff erosion. Authorities fear that…
TECHNICAL reports supporting applications to build a gas pipeline from Crib Point to Pakenham will be available at “community sessions” at Balnarring, Hastings and Crib Point. The proposed $160-$200 million 60 kilometre pipeline is required to carry gas from a floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) planned to be moored at Crib Point by power supplier AGL. AGL announced last month that it has signed an agreement for the pipeline with APA as well as another agreement to prepare the berth at Crib Point for the 300 metre long FRSU (“Contracts ‘advance’ AGL’s gas plan” The News 12/6/18). Since that announcement…
IT took less than one week for more than 1000 signatures to be added to a petition protesting at the reopening of a quarry in Boundary Road, Dromana. Hillview Quarries wants to reopen and expand the old Pioneer quarry to produce about 70 million tonnes of granite products over 70 years. The proposal has reignited the public opposition which forced Hillview in 2013 to abandon its plans to use the old quarry pit as a waste tip. This time around, Hillview has applied to expand the existing 8.25 hectare pit to 38 hectares with a depth of 190 metres. Mornington…
FLINDERS MP Greg Hunt has signalled his opposition to power company AGL’s plans for a floating gas terminal at Crib Point. Mr Hunt on Monday said he had “long argued that South Port [sic] is not the place for industrial development and my view hasn’t changed in a decade. This includes the AGL proposal for a floating storage regasification unit at Crib Point.” Mr Hunt joins Hastings MP Neale Burgess – his Liberal state colleague – in blaming the Labor state government for encouraging AGL’s project. Mr Hunt’s statement yesterday (Monday 9 July), came just one day short of four…
CHANGING schools can have a detrimental effect on a student’s mental health and academic performance. Exploring the effects of “school transition on student wellbeing” formed the basis of a talk given by Toorak College, Mt Eliza principal, Kristy Kendall, to 750 educators from 22 countries in the United States. Mrs Kendall said it had been an honour to be one of the few Australians invited to speak at the Global Forum on Girls’ Education in Washington DC. “I passionately believe in girls’ education and the power of building resilience, self-esteem and self-confidence in the next generation of leaders,” Mrs Kendall…
LEASH-free signs were placed last month on the beach at Mt Martha Beach North. The signs on steel poles were about 50 metres north from the bottom of the beach access stairs, where identical signs were installed a couple of years ago. Those signs no longer exist at the stairs, but the movement of signs at the small beach has caused confusion over its status for dogs. Mornington Peninsula Shire rangers visited the 80 metre long strip of sand 41 times over summer. The shire has never directly responded to questions about the installation and removal of the leash-free signs…
RESIDENTS will be asked to consider the environmental effects on Balcombe Creek of their continuing opposition to having their roads sealed. Unmade roads are being blamed for the gradual silting of the creek’s estuary and Mornington Peninsula Shire has set aside $150,000 to help “save” the estuary. “The rate of sediment flowing into the estuary is the greatest threat facing the waterway. Without solving this, the estuary will be completely silted up within our grandchildren’s lifetime,” BERG MM president Graham Hubbard said. “For years we have been having talks and meetings with the shire and Melbourne Water about the sediment…
STATE Planning Minister Richard Wynne is under fire for allowing Hillview Quarries to bypass Mornington Peninsula Shire and begin investigating the environmental effects of reopening a quarry at Dromana. The mayor Cr Bryan Payne last week said council “is extremely disappointed with this premature decision”. Cr Payne said Hillview should have been required to first seek a planning permit from the shire “to ensure all matters pertinent to the operation of a quarry are considered at the local government level”. Instead, Hillview has been given the go ahead by Mr Wynne to undertake an environmental effects statement (EES) into its…
MORE than 400 protesters have made it clear that they do not want a floating gas import terminal at Crib Point or a pilot hydrogen export plant at Hastings. Sunday’s rally at Hastings foreshore – under the banner “one rally, two threats” – was the culmination of months of uncertainty over the two projects: one designed to meet the state’s gas needs and the other to provide fuel for vehicles in Japan. It was organised by Save Westernport and Westernport and Peninsula Protection Council with support from Environment Victoria, the Victorian National Parks Association, Friends of the Earth and Blue…
THE availability of a “resilient” water supply is seen as one of the key factors in the “protection” of green wedge-zoned areas on the Mornington Peninsula. Mornington Peninsula Shire and South East Water have announced they will join forces to investigate “the potential for sustainable water projects”, including rain water, urban run-off and artesian water. The shire and SEW agreed to extend their investigations after a recent meeting to discuss increasing the use of recycled water from Melbourne Water’s sewage treatment plant at Bangholme. There are also treatment plants at Mt Martha and Boneo. Some of the treated water is…
A CARTOON worm is being used to spearhead a campaign to involve the community in identifying “significant” trees on the Mornington Peninsula. While it can’t be said that Wilbur is providing backbone to the photographic endeavour, he is nonetheless being used to support Mornington Peninsula Shire’s efforts to increase the number of trees on its significant tree register. Photographs of “favourite trees” posted on the shire’s website will be considered for the register. There is also a three-level tree spotter puzzle to involve all the family in highlighting “the environmental importance of trees and the major role they play in…
THE Mornington Peninsula can mean many things to many people. The 2016 census puts the peninsula’s population at 150,000, but the number on the ground is often much greater. Thousands visit on a daily basis all year and, over summer, the number of people staying overnight or for days at a time is in the tens of thousands. But what attracts these people – residents and visitors – is under threat. Planning regulations decreed by state legislators seem to regard the peninsula’s towns and villages in much the same way as that of Melbourne’s inner suburbs, allowing for higher buildings…
STATE Planning Minister Richard Wynne has agreed to studies being undertaken into the environmental and social impacts likely to be caused by reopening the old Pioneer quarry in Boundary Road, Dromana. Owner Hillview Quarries asked Mr Wynne for permission to undertake an environmental effects statement (EES) into its reopening proposal as well as “door-knocking” neighbouring property owners. Mr Wynne is expected to soon release details of the draft scope, or extent, of the investigation required, known as “scoping requirements”. In a letter to surrounding property owners Hillview CEO Paul Nitas said the minister’s decision meant his company would need to…
A RALLY to “save Western Port from two threats” is being held next month at Hastings. Rally organisers say the threats come from power company AGL’s plan to moor a 300 metre long floating gas terminal at Crib Point and the building of a pilot hydrogen gas-to-liquid plant at Hastings. While AGL plans to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) to be sold into the Victorian market after being turned back into gas, a consortium led by Kawasaki Heavy Industries wants to ship liquid hydrogen to Japan. Under the $496 million project – subsidised with $50m each from the federal and…
ADVERTISEMENTS will soon be running for Mornington Peninsula Shire’s top job – chief executive officer. Held by Carl Cowie for the past four years, the CEO’s job comes with a package of nearly $400,000. The shire – with the help of consultant Topsy Petchey, a former Kingston councillor and mayor – will now select a recruitment firm to identify suitable candidates. Mr Cowie was appointed in 2014 and councillors last week decided to advertise the job, giving him the required six months’ notice of their intentions to not automatically reappoint him. The mayor Cr Bryan Payne issued a statement saying…
POWER company AGL sees two agreements signed on Tuesday (12 June) as “advancing” its plans to moor a floating gas terminal at Crib Point. The company said one of the agreements “enables berth upgrades at the Port of Hastings as well as a leasing agreement that would be required, should the AGL project go ahead”. The other agreement involves building a gas pipeline from Crib Point to Pakenham. The project for the 300 metre long floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) has yet to receive government approvals and the go ahead from the AGL board. Announcement on Tuesday of the…
ASPIRATIONS of a barbecue restaurant at Red Hill to double its number of diners have been dampened by Mornington Peninsula Shire. Red Gum BBQ, which bills itself as “the most authentic Southern American BBQ in Australia and the Mornington Peninsula’s best BBQ and Beer Hall, in the heart of Red Hill” wants to lift its allowable number of patrons from 85 to 170. The shire says there is not enough available parking and there are issues with noise and dealing with wastewater from the restaurant. The restaurant operates at the rear of the service station in a small shopping centre…
TO the north, cliffs are eroding and sand has disappeared from the beach. In the south, the sand accumulates near a rocky headland. Balcombe Estuary effectively divides Mt Martha’s two beaches with differing fortunes. This state of play is reflected in the asking prices of beach boxes at the two beaches. While plans to shore up the cliffs with rocks at Mt Martha North beach have been put on hold until later this year, Mornington Peninsula Shire has announced it is developing a coastal management plan. The shire is inviting public comment “to support the improvement and management of the…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillors have given themselves the right to get legal advice from lawyers other than those recommended by council officers. A $3 million legal services tender, which specifies six legal firms to be used by the shire for legal advice, was signed off on 6 March under delegation by council CEO Carl Cowie. Councillors at their Tuesday 22 May meeting voted to be able to “obtain legal advice from any legal firm it chooses” outside of the Legal Services Panel Tender. They also ordered “a formal and independent investigation” into the process that led to the appointment of…
AMATEUR whale spotters are being called on to provide data on the number of whales swimming past the Mornington Peninsula. With the help of these citizen scientists the Two Bays Whale Project was last year able to estimate that 458 individual whales were seen in and around the peninsula and Port Phillip and Western Port bays. The project has been running since 2015 in collaboration between the Hastings-based Dolphin Research Institute and Wildlife Coast Cruises. Experts list the best land-based whale observation points in the Two Bays region as being Barwon Bluff; Port Phillip Heads; Cape Schanck; The Nobbies, Pyramid…
IN the end, it took just one cut with the scissors for the beach at Point Leo to be more accessible to the public. The ribbon cutting by former Disabled Surfers Association Mornington Peninsula president Jenny Angliss-Goodall signalling the official opening last Saturday of a new boardwalk, viewing platform and ramp to the beach was the completion of a project started more than three years ago. The viewing platform enables sightseers and lifesavers, for the first time, to stand on a level surface to see from one end of the beach to the other. The 82 metre long “boardwalk” is…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire has watered down its demands to electrify the railway line between Frankston and Hastings. An “advocacy paper” released by the shire earlier this month stated that electrifying the railway to Baxter offered “minimal benefits” to peninsula residents and meant extending the town’s urban area into the green wedge. But councillors last week changed course, accepting Baxter as “phase one” of the railway line’s electrification and Hastings as “phase two”. In a late addition to the 22 May council meeting agenda, “team leader – peninsula wide” Rosa Zouzoulas submitted a report that identified two pieces of shire-owned vacant…
A YEAR of intense training paid off earlier this month when Michael Cole and Laura Skvor cooked their way into the final of the Bocuse d’Or, billed as “the most prestigious gastronomic competition in the world”. Cole, head chef and Skvor commis chef at the Flinders Hotel, were members of the Australian team which came fourth out of 11 countries in the Asia Pacific division of Bocuse d’Or in China. Skvor won Best Commis Chef (food preparation and basic cooking under the supervision of a head chef) in the Asia Pacific division. The final of the Bocuse d’Or is being…
FLINDERS MP Greg Hunt is urging “the community” to participate in the “feedback process” established by power supplier AGL which wants to moor a floating gas terminal at Crib Point. Work has started on preparing the existing jetty at Crib Point for the more than 300 metre long floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) although no government approvals have yet been given. The Port of Hastings Development Authority says it is undertaking “remediation works” on the jetty which are expected to be completed in January 2019. “[Sylvia] Simons was informed that Greg understands AGL are still completing their feasibility study to…
IT seems a boardwalk at Hastings is just as convenient for flippers as feet, if the appearance of a seal of Sunday is any guide. The male New Zealand long nose fur seal was spotted at 7.30am by Katrina Chalke who was jogging to Pelican Pantry for breakfast. As she tried to cross the first bridge after the Babbington Reserve the seal made it clear “with a roar and a flash of his “rather uninviting yellow coloured teeth” that he’d made a claim to a section of boardwalk. A phone call to her husband saw the message about the new…
Mornington Peninsula Shire wants Hastings, not Baxter, to be the end of the line when it comes to an electrified railway. The Labor state government has started a study to assess the cost benefits of electrifying the line from Frankston to Baxter with $3 million from the federal Coalition government. However, Mornington Peninsula Shire says Baxter – which lies within its municipal boundary – is not suitable for an electric train terminus. The shire, which feels it has been left out of the planning to electrify the line, says it is “imperative” that it be included in any future discussions.…
THE Port of Hastings Development Authority has started preparing the Crib Point jetty for a floating gas terminal “should the project proceed”. In a letter to residents dated 24 April the development authority said the work would include repairing concrete pylons, mooring dolphins and pipe racks as well as replacing the pier head. The authority estimates work will take up to nine months and has warned residents of increased road traffic. The port development authority was stripped of staff and finance following the November 2014 election of the Labor state government which dropped plans for a container port at Hastings.…