BATHING boxes on Mornington Peninsula beaches will be checked for asbestos. Councillors have been asked to approve $50,000 in the 2017/18 budget for an audit of the 830 bathing boxes managed by the shire. If any of the asbestos on bathing boxes is seen as a risk to public health the owners will be told to “undertake necessary corrective works”, Mornington Peninsula Shire’s property and strategy manager Yasmin Woods said. “Many of the boatsheds and bathing boxes on the Mornington Peninsula may contain asbestos due to the era in which they were constructed,” she said. “Asbestos-containing material is an important…
Author: Keith Platt
FIVE Mornington Peninsula beaches make the top 10 of cleanest beaches in Port Phillip, according to summer testing by Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA). Water quality recorded by the EPA over summer saw Eastern Beach, Geelong, The Dell, Portarlington and St Leonards tied at the top. Portsea came fifth and Blairgowrie and Sorrento sixth; Dromana and Rosebud were equal 10th. Over summer the EPA provides twice-daily forecasts for 36 beaches of either good, which equates to suitable swimming conditions, fair, meaning beaches may not be suitable, or poor, which advises beaches are not suitable for swimming. Other peninsula beaches ranked…
PUBLIC comment is being sought on plans to build a two-storey ferry terminal at Sorrento. The terminal is part of a $30 million upgrade at Sorrento and Queenscliff by ferry operator Searoad Ferries. “This is important infrastructure and we want to get it right. We want to hear from local people, ferry users, community groups and businesses,” CEO Matt McDonald said. Describing the terminal as a “once-in-a-generation proposal” Mr McDonald said the design would “provide safer access and better amenities for the local community and ferry users”. “If the proposal attracts community and government support it will include significant funding…
A PAIR of wedge-tailed eagles has moved into Pearcedale and, with the birds’ known longevity, they are almost certain to be long term residents. The eagles are living in a specially-constructed aviary at Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park and cannot be released into the wild because of being domesticated while under treatment for injury. The 30-metre aviary is based on a raptor rehabilitation design that is free of any wire and includes slatted wooden sides and a seven-metre high dome with double netting, to ensure the huge birds – Australia’s largest birds of prey – do not injure themselves and…
THE not-for-profit club which has been running Devilbend Golf Course for the past 43 years may be sidelined to make way for a commercial manager. Mornington Peninsula Shire officers have told councillors that appointing a manager for the 18-hole golf course in Loders Rd, Moorooduc would create “a reasonable commercial return to council”. The recommendation to advertise for a manager follows a request for renewal of its 21-year lease by the 450-member Devilbend Golf Club. The club has six full time and seven part time staff and last year showed a net operating profit of $71,642 from a turnover of…
THE Hastings Cricket and Football Social Club is contesting plans by Mornington Peninsula Shire to increase its rent by more than 900 per cent. The club says it “cannot be a signatory” to the proposed lease as it is “a contradiction of the Gambling Act (2003)”. Councillors last month agreed to increase the annual rent for the club’s Marine Pde, Hastings, premises – which also houses gaming machines run by The Hastings Club – from $4000 to $42,234 for the first year of a new 21-year lease (“Rent rise tied to pokies”, The News 11/4/17). The club will then face…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire is expected to approve changes to its planning scheme to allow a two-storey ferry terminal to be built at Sorrento. The terminal is part of a $30 million proposal by Searoad Ferries to extend and update buildings and car parks at both Sorrento and Queenscliff. Under present zonings the transport terminal at Sorrento should be run by Parks Victoria, but the shire is likely to agree to amend the planning scheme and override the prohibition. The proposed terminal will be 9.5 metres high and include a cafe, shop, souvenir shop, “Museum at the Bay” and offices for…
A NEW memorial will be unveiled during Tuesday’s Anzac service at Balnarring. The memorial comes four years after Commander Matt Keogh, above, discovered that there was no official place set aside to honour the more than 35 people from Balnarring and district who “were sent to fight for the Australian Imperial Forces (AIF) in World War I – seven never returned”. “The only acknowledgement of their sacrifices is a list of names on honour boards located in the Balnarring hall and in St Marks Church,” Commander Keogh said. “I felt that they, and those who followed them in subsequent conflicts…
A CAMPAIGN has been launched to stop the mostly hidden killing and maiming of a group of fish known as smooth rays. The rays are rarely sought after for food but are often killed so they won’t waste a second bait or out of fear, in the case of stingrays. Although the rays will only attack if provoked, scuba diver PT Hirschfield says the level of fear has risen noticeably since Australian wildlife expert Steve Irwin died in 2006 after being pierced in the chest by a stingray barb while filming for the documentary, Ocean’s Deadliest. Hirschfield likens the subsequent…
IT’S taken just 14 months for nine-year-old Cadel Ambrose to get to the front in go karting. Cadel, of Bittern, won the second round of the Australian kart championships at Geelong two weekends ago when racing in a field of 18 seven to nine year olds, including last year’s winner. The next championship race will be in late May at Monarto in South Australia. “He’s come a long way in a short time,” his mother Suzie Morrell said. “It’s not surprising he likes to drive as his father [Rohan Ambrose] and my father [Geoff Morrell] raced cars in the improved…
SIX-year-old Abigail Court has become something of an orange-bellied parrot expert since learning of how close they are to extinction. The youngster was taken to Moonlit Sanctuary, Pearcedale, by her mother Rebecca soon after the opening last year of a breeding aviary designed to help increase the number of orange-bellied parrots. The species is clinging onto survival with Zoos Victoria – which also runs a breeding program at Healesville Sanctuary – estimating there could be as few as 50 birds left in the wild. The 200mm long mainly green and yellow parrots are larger than budgerigars and only breed at…
TRIBUTES for satirist John Clarke flowed from far and wide on Monday as news spread of his death the previous day while hiking in the Grampians National Park. The location of his passing indicated his love of nature, which for many years had included a deep concern for the future of Western Port. Born in New Zealand, Clarke, 68, was a founding member of Western Port Seagrass Partnership, an independent trust formed in 2001 to lobby for the protection and restoration of Western Port and its catchment. Regarded by many as the funniest satirist in Australia, Clark three years ago…
MEMBER councils have bailed out the Western Port Biosphere which in January warned money would run out by this month, April. Executive officer Cecelia Witton says the biosphere foundation has survived a “hectic” few months with the help of “our biosphere councils and others, [and] secured the funding required to meet the projected cash flow shortfall”. In a bid to secure future funding a memorandum of understanding (MOU) is now being drawn up between the biosphere and its member councils: Mornington Peninsula Shire, Bass Coast, Cardinia and Casey. Frankston Council withdrew its $20,000 commitment four years ago, leading to the…
RECOMMENDED ways to protect Portsea beach from erosion for the next 50 years vary in cost from $2.2 million to $32.5m. However, consultants hired by the state government say that only two of five options tackle the causes of erosion along 400 metres of the beach near Portsea pier. The consultants warn that doing nothing and removing rocks and sand bags laid to protect the beach will “result in the loss of some existing foreshore buildings within 10 years”. Of the two options that the consultants believe will fix the problem – configuration dredging or building a breakwater – dredging…
TWENTY experts who buy and recommend what wines are served in some of the world’s top restaurants were last week taken on a tour of Mornington Peninsula wineries. The marketing exercise organised by Wine Australia saw two busloads of sommeliers being driven around the peninsula on Tuesday and Wednesday. The sommeliers were in Melbourne for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards which saw New York’s Eleven Madison Park take out the top spot. Tuesday’s tour of the peninsula started at Stonier Winery, Merricks, where the group was welcomed by Mornington Peninsula Vignerons Association CEO Cheryl Lee. From there the sommeliers…
SUPER heroes, kings, pirates, punks, presidents (ex) and bogans seem an unlikely mix, but seemed ideal for Saturday’s surf contest at the somewhat appropriately named Atlas break at The Pines, Shoreham. The 12-team event was being held to raise money for the Disabled Surfers Association Mornington Peninsula branch with the help of Maladiction Longboarders Club. Four-member teams dressed for the occasion (pirates were pirates, presidents wore suits, the punks were in plastic and so on) and the starter’s horn was blown while the reef at the Pines Beach was still exposed. Despite a lack of waves the early heats showed…
THE rent paid by the Hastings Club for premises in Marine Parade is about to be increased tenfold. The club has been paying $4000 a year since 1996, but Mornington Peninsula Shire last week decided to bring the rent more into line with market values and how much income the club raises through gaming machines. After a long and sometimes bitter debate councillors agreed to raise the rent to $42,234 for the first year of a new 21-year lease. The club will then face $5000 a year increases for two years with reviews every five years. The shire manages the…
NEARBY residents believe a skatepark at Narambi Reserve, Mornington will reduce vandalism to bus shelters and Mornington Park. A 298-signature petition calling for a skatepark at Narambi Reserve was delivered to Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors at their Monday 27 March meeting. Sport and recreation infrastructure planner Mark Stahel said the shire’s skate and BMX strategy did not include a skatepark at Narambi reserve “however there is a large skate facility located at Civic Reserve in Mornington, which is approximately one kilometre from Narambi reserve”. Mr Stahel said the strategy “will be reviewed once the implementation plan from the existing strategy…
IF signatures on a petition are anything to go by, Rye will not be getting a fourth boat launching ramp. Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors have received two petitions about an extra ramp, with 342 signatories calling for another ramp and 1067 going against. However, the councillors were not pressed to make a decision on the petitions when told about the conflicting viewpoints at their Monday 27 march meeting. Property and strategy manager Yasmin Woods said she reported to council after the Ports Minister Luke Donnellan answered her inquiries about “further information … regarding a variation to the grant obtained for…
THE controversy that surrounded the erection of a sculpture at crossroads in the centre of Flinders may be about to be revived. The work “I am” by Andrew Rodgers has been in place on the Cook and Wood streets roundabout for nearly two years and Mornington Peninsula Shire, its nominal owner, is about to run a survey to see if the public approves of the site. The unveiling of the sculpture was part of Flinders’ 150th celebrations, but its location was made subject to later public approval. Rodgers “I am” works were described by Bhakthi Puvanenthiran in the Sydney Morning…
CONVERSATION and communication within families and the wider community is the most readily accessible way of detecting and tackling depression among teenagers. This message was brought out by speakers and organisers at a forum in Mornington earlier this month designed to help young people “stay mentally healthy”. The forum follows the findings of a report commissioned by the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council which found 25 per cent of peninsula teenagers suffered from depression, six per cent higher than the national average. The shire has listed “youth and teen mental health first aid training” as one of seven priority projects in…
WHILE it’s not something they’re likely to encounter in Australia, just a short look at any television news service will dish up images of war-ravaged cities and towns. Examples of besieged cities filled with terrified citizens are all too real and no doubt help inform the young actors in this year’s production by the Dreamhouse Theatre Company – Stories in the Dark, by Debra Oswald. Oswald’s narrative centres around 12-year-old Tomas and Anna, 16, who are caught in a war-torn city. Seeking refuge, they find each other in a derelict mansion. As the nightly bombing raids unfold, Anna tells Tomas…
SCIENTISTS predict the large number of small King George whiting entering Port Phillip and Western Port bays will be “catchable” by spring 2018. The whiting larvae drift eastward from spawning grounds off far western Victoria and eastern South Australia for about three months before entering the bays and estuaries in spring. Studies of whiting living in seagrass beds in Port Phillip have shown they stay about four years before heading back out to sea. “Westerly winds help drive the currents that bring the whiting larvae into the bay, where they take about two years to reach the legal minimum size…
THE state government is promising strict contract conditions to ensure a reliable ferry service from Stony Point to French and Phillip islands. Public Transport Victoria is offering a five-year contract for the service with a five-year extension option. The current contract ends in June and tenders for the contract close 5 April, with the successful applicant expected to be announced in May. “The Western Port ferry service provides an important service for the communities of French Island, Phillip Island and Stony Point,” executive director of franchise operator management at PTV Alan Fedda said. “PTV understands the importance of public transport…
THE latest “discussion paper” released by Infrastructure Victoria estimates building a container port at Hastings will cost more than double that of developing a new port at Bay West, inside Port Phillip. Using scenarios based on ships capable of carrying either 14,000 TEU (based on 20 foot long containers) or 18,500 TEU, the paper puts the cost of developing Hastings to handle nine million TEU a year brought in by the smaller vessels at $12.8 billion; building Bay West for the same number of containers is $6.14 billion. When the larger ships are taken into account, costs at Hastings go…
THE Disabled Surfers’ Association Mornington Peninsula branch set a new record in the number of participants at one of its surfing event. With 163 taking to the surf at Point Leo on Saturday 4 March the branch broke the national record of 160. Australia’s 16 DSA branches are in Victoria, NSW, South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland. There is also a branch in New Zealand. The day at Point Leo was “a relief” for DSAMP secretary Bill Hallett as it followed an event scheduled in January which had to be cancelled because of sharks being attracted to the decomposing body…
STATE Planning Minister Richard Wynne is now the deciding factor in whether or not a skateboard park is built close to Mt Martha Tennis club’s courts. Mr Wynne has been asked to approve changes to the Mornington Peninsula planning scheme enabling the shire to compulsory recover land it has leased to the tennis club until December 2023. The shire’s property and strategy manager Yasmin Woods expects to get the all clear to advertise the proposed planning scheme change “in the next two to three months”. The shire’s grand plan for a $825,000 skatepark on the former parade ground came to…
DESPITE knowing it would be a breach of the Local Government Act, Cr David Gill says he won’t sign a councillors’ code of conduct unless it is changed to lift the veil of secrecy involved in decision making. “Too many things are debated in private [by Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors], the public hardly gets to hear anything,” Cr Gill said. The clock is ticking for Cr Gill with just two council meetings to go before the one-month signing deadline. If he has not signed the code before Monday 13 March Cr Gill will lose his right to be a councillor.…
AFTER developing a rural property at Merricks North for wedding receptions Mt Martha couple Chris and Donna McEvoy decided one thing was missing: a church. Buildings already set among Tanglewood Estate’s vineyard, eucalypts and gardens include the barn (seating for up to 200 and with an interior made from recycled timbers); a winery (seats 130 with commercial kitchen, bar and deck); and the mud brick studio (suitable for before or after ceremony drinks and small “cocktail” weddings). There is also a residence that can be used by bridal parties and a heart-shaped dam with a back drop of Port Phillip…
IT was a weak, inconsistent beach break, and the wind wasn’t favourable, but the Maladiction surfers were not about to be wiped out when it came to their February contest. Club president Greg Lloyd described the conditions at St Andrews Beach (near Rye) as “challenging”. Formed 20 years ago this October, the club’s riders favour long, Malibu surfboards and the stylist surfing made possible with a large deck area, although there is a contest division for “retro” short boards. Any former members who would like to be involved in Maladiction’s 20th celebrations can contact club president Greg Lloyd through the…