A UNION for the unemployed may seem like a contradiction in terms but that’s exactly what an organisation setting up shop in Frankston is all about. Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union volunteers will host fortnightly meetings at Frankston Arts Centre to help people on the dole negotiate the welfare system and know their rights when dealing with Centrelink and job agencies. “Our mission at the Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union is to fight for the basic human rights of unemployed Australians, most of whom are living in poverty,” the group’s mission statement says. “We are fighting back against Australia’s unfair welfare system.…
Author: Neil Walker
A PLEDGE by the state government to run “more trains, more often” along the Frankston line has been welcomed by a regional advocacy group but there is also a call for the rail line to be extended to Langwarrin. Victorian Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan visited Frankston late last month to officially open a drop-in information hub about the Skye Rd/Overton Rd level crossing removals. The Transport Minister said the separation of road from rail at 13 level crossings on the Frankston line will ease congestion for commuters. “This project is not only about removing yet another dangerous and congested…
A CAMPAIGN to save stingrays in Port Phillip Bay has made authorities act to increase protection for the animals dubbed “the puppies of the sea” by environmentalists. The Labor state government announced last week that recreational fishing rules will be tightened from 7 November to “ensure these beautiful animals are treated with respect”. An 800-strong Project Banjo action group, led by Safety Beach resident and scuba diver PT Hirschfield, has campaigned for months for state authorities to ban the catching of rays from piers and jetties along the bay (“Cruel end for ‘puppies’ of the sea”, The News 18/4/17). The…
A REPORT released by the Victorian Ombudsman this month revealed 107 complaints about Mornington Peninsula Shire were made to the watchdog over a 12-month period but council and the Ombudsman’s office will not reveal how many of the complaints were investigated or substantiated. The Ombudsman’s annual report released on Monday 16 October listed the number of complaints about each of Victoria’s 79 councils it received during the 2016-17 financial year. Mornington Peninsula Shire was listed as the 9th most complained about council – up from 22nd in 2015-16 with 62 complaints – to the state watchdog that has the power…
ART can heal old mental wounds. That’s the message of an exhibition called The Art of Recovery to be held at Frankston Arts Centre’s Cube 37 during Mental Health Week. The annual event, coordinated by not-for-profit mental health and disability support organisation Wellways, showcases the talents of artists affected by mental health issues. Annabelle Carver is one of the artists whose artwork Cries of Frustration will be on display from 8-14 October. Carver recently moved to the western suburbs, having lived in Seaford for most of her life. From the age of 14 until 22 when her family sought help for her…
OUTDOOR dining is on the menu in central Frankston as part of a state government push to encourage food and drink businesses to kick business outside to the kerbside. The state government’s appetite for kerbside dining has seen up to $40,000 of taxpayers’ money put on the table for Frankston businesses to buy street furniture or install small seating areas on pavements outside established eateries. A Kerbside Dining Encouragement Package, announced last week in partnership with Frankston Council, will offer 20 grants of $2000 each to Frankston city centre food and drink businesses offer outdoor dining for the first time…
AN ALLIANCE of six councils that lobbies state and federal governments for investment in the south east has been rebadged and relaunched but ratepayers are in the dark about how much the renewed lobbying push will cost. The South East Melbourne Group of Councils (SEM) includes Frankston, Mornington Peninsula Shire, Kingston, Casey, Cardinia Shire and Greater Dandenong councils. A new website at southeastmelbourne.org and launch event on Friday 15 September at Greater Dandenong council offices in Dandenong mentioned on the group’s new Facebook page flagged a new look for the group. The site domain name was registered last year by…
CERBERUS ward councillor Kate Roper says she believes Crib Point residents were not fully consulted about the possibility of the Mornington Peninsula Shire-owned outdoor pool being handed over to a commercial operator, Belgravia Leisure. Cr Roper said she understood the process to outsource sports centres to a commercial operator had been “going on for over a year” before her election as a councillor at council elections in October last year. She said she could not speak to locals to ask for feedback about the plan due to “confidentiality clauses” while a tender was being discussed. “I was really disappointed because…
FIVE Mornington Peninsula Shire-owned sports and leisure centres will be managed from 29 October by a private company that manages more than 120 other centres across Australia. Belgravia Leisure will manage and operate the Pelican Park Recreation Centre in Hastings, Mornington’s Civic Reserve Recreation Centre, the Somerville Health & Fitness Studio, Crib Point Pool and Western Port Gymnastics at the Hastings Hub. Ratepayers will pay $5,720,290 to Belgravia Leisure over five years in management fees. The Bayswater-based leisure centre and golf course management company will also run All Access outreach programs for older adults in Mornington, Rosebud, Hastings, Somers, Blairgowrie…
FREE all-day parking in central Frankston is being pushed as a way to encourage shoppers to support local traders and businesses. Frankston Labor MP Paul Edbrooke launched a ‘Free parking for Frankston’ petition this month calling on Frankston Council to make car parking free in “our CBD [central business district].” The state government surprisingly decided in August 2015 that a multi-deck carpark at a redeveloped Frankston train station is not needed. It was decided to instead consider a partnership with Bayside Shopping Centre to lease unused short term parking spaces for train commuters. “The state government and Bayside [Shopping Centre]’s…
POLITICIANS who may ultimately vote in Canberra to decide if same-sex marriage is legalised in Australia are taking different approaches to the outcome of the marriage equality vote. Local federal Liberal MPs Chris Crewther (Dunkley) and Greg Hunt (Flinders) have both confirmed they will both personally vote “yes” in response to the question “Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?” mailed out to all Australians listed on the electoral roll last week but have different views on voting in line with the postal survey outcome in their respective electorates. Mr Crewther said he will vote for…
AS people live longer, memories can get shorter but that does not mean families’ shared time together is any less precious. That’s the message in the pages of a new children’s book dealing with the potentially upsetting issue of dementia. Grandma Forgets, written by Paul Russell and illustrated by Langwarrin resident Nicky Johnston, tells the story of a young girl coping with her grandma’s dementia amid memories of earlier times. It’s the latest in a series of children’s books dealing with weighty topics illustrated by Johnston. The Grandma Forgets tale is loosely based on Russell’s own observations coping with “the…
A NEW sculpture has been installed near the Skye Rd alongside Peninsula Link to replace the large ram’s head Rex Australis. Iconoclast — a mock electricity pylon smashed by what looks like a meteor — was put in place last week after Rex’s removal. The artwork by Brisbane-based Michael Riddle is based on “the idea of collapse”. Riddle told ABC radio’s Breakfast show he believed reactions to the sculpture would be “a mixed bag”. “There will be some people who like it and some people who have something negative to say about it.” Public artworks along Peninsula Link, including “the…
A DECISION to push ahead with a residential subdivision in part of Langwarrin’s Cruden Farm has been delayed until later in the year. A planning application due to be discussed by Frankston councillors at August’s public council meeting on Monday 14 August was withdrawn by the trustees of the former homestead of Dame Elisabeth Murdoch. Frankston Council was set to deliberate on the contentious proposal to rezone parcels of land within the 54-hectare estate for residential development. State Labor Planning Minister Richard Wynne would have to agree to move the Urban Growth Boundary to accommodate the building of more than…
A NEW era of “cooperation” between the state government and councils across Melbourne’s suburbs has been heralded with the formation of six metropolitan partnerships by the government. The groups are “a new platform for cooperative engagement between governments, business and communities” according to Labor Suburban Development Minister Lily D’Ambrosio. A Southern Partnership representing Kingston, Frankston, Mornington Peninsula Shire, Casey, Dandenong and Greater Dandenong councils appointed Dr Elizabeth Deveny as chair this month. Dr Deveny is CEO of the South Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Network. South East Local Learning and Employment Network CEO Andrew Simmons has been appointed deputy chair. Council…
A PUSH against pokies is being planned in the lead up to next year’s state election by a group trying to enlist councils to the anti-pokies cause. The Alliance for Gambling Reform wants councils to support a campaign calling on both sides of politics in the lead up to next year’s state election to act on pokies reform. Alliance media and communications advisor Stephen Mayne addressed Kingston Council at a public meeting to hear council budget submissions last week. He asked council to get behind the campaign to rein in pokies losses by joining the group as a “tier one”…
FIVE board members of a company set up by Frankston Council to manage the Peninsula Aquatic Recreation Centre are collectively paid $116,149 each year. Frankston mayor Cr Brian Cunial confirmed last week in response to questions from The News that Peninsula Leisure Pty Ltd chair Roseanne Healy receives $33,185 and four directors sitting on the board are paid $20,741 annually. Frankston councillors voted 5-3 at last month’s public council meeting to instruct Peninsula Leisure directors “not to enter into or tender for projects outside their core obligation, that being the management of PARC and the Pines pool”. Peninsula Leisure was…
A GARDENER at Mt Eliza’s Peninsula School unwittingly set comedian Sammy J off a planned legal career garden path and into a world of adventure and justice dispensed by The Phantom comic book character. A path leading to an escape from a legal career after ditching law degree studies at university for full-time comedy capers. A path that would ultimately see Sammy J “commit a crime in Canberra” and break the law he previously swore to study. A path that would lead the comedian to become obsessed with “one of the least popular superheroes in the world”. The ghost who…
AN ACCLAIMED ballet dance teacher from Frankston South caught up in a bomb scare on a plane last month says she will not let the incident stop her travelling. Sandra McKay, who founded the Rosebud Ballet School, got right back on another flight on the day she was a passenger on a Malaysia Airlines plane where a man tried to break into the cockpit and allegedly threatened to blow up the plane. Ms McKay, 74, who was honoured with an OAM in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list this year for services to dance, was among passengers on Malaysia Airlines flight…
A LAWYER working in Frankston and on the Mornington Peninsula has been recognised as one of the best in the legal business in Victoria. Canda Glanville, of Maurice Blackburn lawyers, who specialises in helping road trauma victims was named Victoria’s Suburban Lawyer of the Year by the Law Institute of Victoria last month. Ms Glanville, a principal and office manager at the legal firm’s Frankston office since its 2010 opening, who sometimes also works at the firm’s Rosebud office, said the award is “very exciting and quite a surprise”. The 38-year-old lawyer, a member of the Mornington Peninsula Lawyers Association,…
DOCTORS need to start helping themselves as well as others. That’s the message a Frankston Hospital cardiologist hopes to spread by encouraging medical profession colleagues to show support for the all-too-often hidden sufferers of depression in their ranks. Dr Geoff Toogood hopes a “crazysocks4docs” day last Thursday (1 June) when medical colleagues wore bright and “crazy” socks will become an annual event to let doctors, nurses and anyone working in the at times highly stressful medical profession to seek help if they ever feel depressed. Dr Toogood had the idea for the crazy socks day partly from personal experience when…
PLASTICS found along Frankston beach last week are the final straw for Beach Patrol volunteers. The patrollers picked up a staggering 92 plastic straws along just 1.5km of sand in one hour. The straw poll has prompted Frankston Beach Patrol manager John Billing to call on a ban on “single use” plastics. “It is a regular occurrence,” he said. “Discarded plastic straws, plastic bottles, coffee cup lids are common sights along the beach.” Mr Billing said takeaway cafes should stock cardboard straws that are biodegradable. “They last for one drink and that’s all they’re supposed to do. Obviously, we don’t…
AN upsetting customer service experience made Joshua Kaiser determined to pool his swimming skills to make a difference. The former coffee shop worker became friendly with a regular customer who later revealed he suffered from the debilitating and degenerative disease, multiple sclerosis. Seeing the downward spiral of a customer named Greg was a confronting sight and made Joshua, 23, think about how upset he would feel if the disease afflicted a family member. The Hastings resident subsequently became a swimming teacher and participated in the annual MS Mega Swim fundraiser “in teams of 15”. This year he wants to get…
EXPANSION plans by a company set up by Frankston Council to manage swim centres have been sunk by councillors. Councillors at the May council meeting last week voted 5-3 to instruct Peninsula Leisure Pty Ltd directors “not to enter into or tender for projects outside of their core obligation, that being the management of PARC and the Pines Pool”. The vote came after The News revealed Peninsula Leisure, established in 2012 and wholly owned by Frankston Council, last year expressed an interest in managing Mornington Peninsula Shire council sports centres (“Sports ‘in the swim’”, The News 16/5/17). Councillors who voted…
CRICKET could be coming to Frankston in a big way after the Saints march out of Seaford’s Linen House sporting complex. The News can reveal Cricket Victoria has been in touch with Frankston Council to talk about possibly leasing space at the centre. St Kilda Football Club is set to leave Seaford and head back to its “spiritual home” of Moorabbin just four years after Frankston Council kicked in about $4 million of ratepayers’ money to a joint AFL, state government and council deal to entice the Saints to Seaford. The Saints pay a peppercorn rent of $1 per year…
PUTTING vista views in the picture is the focus of an art exhibition at Frankston Art Centre’s Cube 37 Gallery featuring the work of Chisholm TAFE students. The Little Landscapes 9×5 Exhibition displays student artists’ paintings of Stony Point vistas on small boards inspired by the Heidelberg School of Melbourne painters who displayed works on cigar boxes first produced in 1889. Emily Dunstan, 35, is studying for a diploma of visual arts at Chisholm TAFE in Frankston. She is “following a passion” and hopes to work as a curator in an arts gallery after graduation. “We visited an area where…
QUESTIONS over negotiations between Mornington Peninsula Shire and a Frankston Council-established company to possibly outsource the management of peninsula sports centres remain unanswered, despite the shire pouring cold water on any such plans. The shire posted a statement on its Facebook page last week but did not answer several questions for the second week in succession about talks with Peninsula Leisure Pty Ltd to manage Pelican Park Recreation Centre in Hastings, the Crib Point Pool, Civic Reserve Recreation Centre in Mornington and the Somerville Recreation and Community Centre (“Sports ‘in the swim’”, The News 16/5/17). Peninsula Leisure, the company owned…
A BUS service between Rosebud and Monash University’s Peninsula campus in Frankston will continue to shuttle students to and from classes after several trial periods proved there is demand for buses to and from the university campus. Frankston Labor MP Paul Edbrooke said last week the bus service will now be provided on a permanent basis. He announced extra morning and evening bus runs on route 887 from Rosebud. An extra morning bus will leave Rosebud at 5.57am on weekdays and arrive at Monash University at 6.55am. An additional evening service will leave the university at 7.06pm, arriving at its…
A COMPANY set up by Frankston Council to manage swim centres has been negotiating with Mornington Peninsula Shire council to take over management of peninsula sports centres. Peninsula Leisure Pty Ltd has expressed an interest in operating recreation centres across the peninsula. The shire tested market appetite for taking over management of Pelican Park Recreation Centre in Hastings, the Crib Point Pool, Civic Reserve Recreation Centre in Mornington and the Somerville Recreation and Community Centre. Peninsula Leisure Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Frankston Council established in 2013, operates the Peninsula Aquatic Recreation Centre (PARC) in Frankston and the Pines Forest…
AN abrupt about turn by Frankston councillors withdrawing support for a container port at Hastings has plunged council into troubled waters. The Frankston and Mornington Peninsula Shire councils previously officially supported the establishment of a port at Hastings by a state government potentially decades from now. A second container port to service the Melbourne area will be needed when the Port of Melbourne reaches capacity. Councillors at the Frankston council meeting on 1 May voted to oppose the establishment of a port at Hastings after Cr Quinn McCormack urged fellow elected representatives to oppose any dredging or deepening in the…