Author: Neil Walker

NEW councillors elected to Mornington Peninsula Shire council will have half the support staff available to their predecessors. Council CEO Carl Cowie told councillors last week, just before council elections, that two councillor support positions will be made redundant. In an email, seen by The News, Mr Cowie said he had made a judgement call to make the council support team “even better” despite the loss of two jobs from a team of four female employees. All four positions were made redundant and the staff involved have been told they can apply for the two new jobs. “We have a…

NEW councillors elected this weekend who have never served on council may get a helping hand from mentorship services provided by a former Kingston councillor and mayor. Topsy Petchey, a four-time Kingston mayor and councillor for eight years until 2008, has been a consultant for hire to both Frankston and Mornington Peninsula Shire councils in the past few years. Her TePee Pty Ltd business offers mentorship, mediation and consultation advice and help for councils and companies. Frankston Council confirmed $59,695 was paid to Ms Petchey over two council terms, totalling eight years, for work done to assist council and councillors.…

A COUNCILLOR running for re-election in Nepean ward says he spends most of his time in Rye despite also owning a property in Toorak. Cr Hugh Fraser said he spends most weeks on the peninsula and heads to Toorak “most weekends”. “I live at Rye. It’s a family house that my parents built in 1971,” Cr Fraser said. “My wife and I bought it from my parents in 1995.” The News asked Cr Fraser about his Toorak address after being contacted by several people in the lead up to council elections on 22 October claiming Cr Fraser lived in Toorak.…

VOTERS will not know how much Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors spent on expenses during the full current four-year council term before this weekend’s council elections. The shire’s 11 councillors collectively spent $135,357 — about $100,000 more of ratepayers’ money on expenses compared to neighbouring Frankston and Kingston councils — over a 12-month period in the 2015-16 financial year. The 11 shire councillors also spent about $150,000 more than 18 Frankston and Kingston councillors combined in 2014-15. The shire previously pledged to publicly release all councillors’ expenses for the first two financial years of this four-year council term but has subsequently…

A STEERING group formed to help Frankston Football Club negotiate choppy financial waters says community support for the Dolphins’ continued existence is rising. Club record games holder Peter Geddes says the group is urging members and supporters to “keep your feet” and not stumble in backing the beleaguered club after AFL Victoria stripped its VFL licence for next season. “We have been inundated with a tide of support for the Dolphins over the last week and are confident that we can put together an effective business plan to guide us through the next few years,” Mr Geddes said in a…

POKIES bankrupted the Frankston Football Club. The Dolphins went into voluntary administration late last month as the club struggled under large debts and the administrators called in by the club have now confirmed most of the club’s debts are related to pokies machines licences. Worrells Solvency and Forensic Accountants, administrators called in by the club, revealed at a creditors meeting last Wednesday (7 September) that the footy club owes the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation about $475,000 and $230,000 to Tabcorp. Both debts are related to 27 electronic gaming machines the Dolphins decided to remove from its new…

THE administrator tasked with sorting through Frankston Football Club’s finances says it is too early to determine the way ahead for the Dolphins. Worrells Solvency and Forensic Accountants managing partner Paul Burness said he hoped to have a clearer picture of the Victorian Football League club’s financial position this week. About $800,000 in debts is believed to have caused the football club to put itself into voluntary administration this month (“Dolphins sink under”, The News 30/8/16). Tabcorp Gaming Solutions is owed money for pokies machine licences. The 27 electronic gaming machines at the Dolphins’ stadium and function centre, rebuilt at…

THE St Kilda Football Club’s welcome back to Moorabbin Reserve, and impending exit from Seaford, is official after Kingston Council voted to approve a 50-year lease at Linton St for the AFL club. Kingston councillors voted at a public council meeting last Monday evening (22 August) to give the Saints a 25-year lease with an option for a further 25 years despite some community concern about a $420,000 rates discount over the first decade of the lease. An 84 per cent reduction on building rent means the football club will pay $80,000 rather than $500,000 in building rent over the…

MENTAL health workers walked off the job for two hours on Tuesday 9 August in protest over “violent incidents and increasing demand” at Peninsula Community Mental Health Service at Frankston Hospital. The Health and Community Services Union (HACSU) said extra staffing and safety for staff should be a top priority and is demanding a new enterprise bargaining agreement “to improve service delivery, staffing levels and safety for workers and consumers”. “We need a system that meets the demand, we need to attract, retain and value the work of mental health workers in order to meet this demand,” HSU representative Paul…

‘Thirty days has September/April, June, and November/All the rest have thirty-one/Except February alone/Which has twenty-eight days clear/Twenty-nine in each leap year.’ So goes the rhyme, although there are variants, taught to children to remember how many days are in any specific month in any given year, but it was seemingly forgotten at Mornington Peninsula Shire council which added an extra day to next year’s calendar. Rates notices posted out to peninsula property owners show the third instalment should be paid before a ‘29/02/2017’ deadline. The date 29 February 2017 does not exist as, unlike 2016, it is not a leap…

THERE can never be a reunion of The Beatles but the closest modern fans of the most influential band of the 1960s and beyond can see the next best thing in Frankston early next month. The Bootleg Beatles, widely regarded by fans and music critics as the best Beatles tribute band in the world, will play the Frankston Arts Centre on Sunday 4 September and ‘Paul McCartney’, also known as Steve White, is looking forward to the show. The 47-year-old joined The Bootleg Beatles about five years ago replacing original Paul who retired after two decades on the road. Right-handed…

THERE were no photos of girls attending Frankston area schools on a website targeting Australian schoolgirls as part of a vile trade of nude snaps of women without their knowledge. The overseas-hosted site where people publicly swapped images of nude women was reportedly set up in December and taken offline Friday (19 August) amid fears underage girls’ private photos sent to friends or boyfriends were subsequently exposed to the online world. While a person posting on the site last week specifically sought nude photos of students from two Frankston area schools The News understands none were ever uploaded to the…

CRIMES by youths across Melbourne and its suburbs mean people increasingly feel unsafe in their own homes according to state Liberal opposition leader Matthew Guy. Mr Guy visited Seaford and said it is unacceptable that young offenders are released on bail, especially for violent crimes including home invasions and carjackings. Some of those released show no respect for the law and reoffend upon release. “We need to get tougher on law and order in this state by changing the bail laws, particularly for juvenile offenders who can’t now be held,” he told The News. “You don’t give a second chance…

A PLAN to halve Victoria’s suicide rate over the next decade by following up on hospital patients with mental health issues and increasing awareness in the community was launched by the state government in Frankston last week. Premier Daniel Andrews visited Frankston Hospital last Thursday (28 July) to announce a $27 million program, funded in this year’s state budget, aimed at increasing workforce training, school-based support and mental health literacy program within several regions including Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula. Suicide was the cause of death of 646 people across Victoria last year, more than double the road toll of…

IMAGES on a Facebook page dedicated to the killing of feral cats have been called “disturbing” by federal Liberal MP for Flinders Greg Hunt. Mr Hunt, appointed as Industry, Innovation and Science Minister in a Coalition government cabinet reshuffle last week, was contacted by The News for comment on the Cat Busters page while still Environment Minister. In 2014 Mr Hunt launched a $10 million federal government program “to tackle feral cats”, as part of a Threatened Species Strategy, across Australia since the wild cats pose a threat to native animals. Despite the government’s push to eradicate feral cats, Mr…

FRANKSTON councillors have finally adopted a united front against any possibility of sky rail along the Frankston line after unanimously backing rail under road as Frankston Council’s official position on level crossing removals. Councillors last month deferred a decision on opposing elevated rail last month. Frankston Council’s decision to formally oppose elevated rail follows neighbouring Kingston Council’s stance against sky rail adopted in May. At last week’s council meeting Frankston councillors voted to tell the state government tthey did not support elevated rail to separate rail and road at Seaford Rd in Seaford and Skye/Overton Rd crossings in Frankston. But…

A FACEBOOK group dedicated to hunting down feral and stray cats has denied it encourages the killing of domestic pets. The Cat Busters page on Facebook sprang to prominence on Friday (15 July) thanks to a flyer posted in letterboxes in the Frankston area urging cat owners to keep pets indoors since Cat Busters “is in your area”. “Domestic cats kill millions of native birds, reptiles and mammals every year in Australia,” the flyer stated. “Cat Busters catches cats. In suburban areas this includes the use of cage and leg-hold traps.” The flyer warned cats “may be shot on sight”…

THE seat of Dunkley remains in Liberal Party hands by a narrow margin with Chris Crewther elected as its federal MP to represent the area in Canberra. A 4.2 per cent swing to Labor with 77 per cent of votes counted by last Friday was not enough to overcome a 5.6 per cent margin held by retiring Liberal MP Bruce Billson at the 2013 federal election. “I am very humbled by the result achieved by the Liberal Party in Dunkley and would like to thank the community for the honour and responsibility they have placed upon me by electing me…

THE father-in-law of outgoing Dunkley Liberal MP Bruce Billson had complaints to the Australian Electoral Commission about alleged “misleading” union and Labor Party flyers handed out at polling booths dismissed by the independent electoral regulator. Arthur Ranken, the father of Mr Billson’s wife Kate, wrote to the AEC on 22 June demanding “election material” including posters and flyers urging voters to “put the Liberals last” and “vote to save Medicare” be immediately removed from Dunkley polling booths ahead of the weekend 2 July federal election. Mr Ranken did not disclose his Liberal Party membership or former official party office bearing…

A MARATHON eight-week election campaign has led to the narrowest of margins in the seat of Dunkley despite the Liberal Party declaring victory on election night. Liberal candidate for Dunkley Chris Crewther was jubilant on Saturday evening when addressing supporters at an election function at the Frankston Dolphins Junior Football Club. He said “a team effort” had got him over the line, after the departure of retiring Liberal MP Bruce Billson, against a challenge from Labor candidate Peta Murphy. Mr Crewther’s confidence in declaring a win seemed well-placed at the time with election night pundits on TV calling the seat…

WHOEVER loses, Dunkley wins. That’s the state of play for the electorate as the federal election campaign heads into its final week before polling day on 2 July. The party that wins government on 2 July will be obliged to see through its extensive funding promises for Dunkley even if its candidate does not win the seat. Both major parties have made pledges worth tens of millions of dollars to sporting clubs, schools and community groups in the marginal seat held by the Liberal Party by 5.5 per cent at the 2013 election. Former small business minister Bruce Billson’s retirement…

BIPARTISANSHIP is thin on the ground around plans to tackle the scourge of ice in Dunkley ahead of the 2 July federal election. Both the Liberal and Labor candidates for the marginal seat are taking pot-shots at political opponents over similar approaches to help drug users in the Frankston and Mornington regions to hopefully also drive down crime associated with ice. Liberal contender Chris Crewther launched an “ice action plan” this month to establish a Frankston and peninsula taskforce “to fight the savage effects of the drug” and said Labor had ignored increasing ice use. “Labor ignored ice. Labor failed…

THERE will be no extended sky rail from Mordialloc to Frankston along the Frankston line. Labor Transport Minister Jacinta Allan declared at last weekend “there has never been a plan for extended elevated rail on the Frankston line”. The state minister in the Andrews government decided to step in and end speculation about sky rail being built along the full rail line amid a doublecrossed.com.au flyer campaign, financed by the Liberal Party, in the federal seat of Isaacs urging voters to “put Labor last” and vote against federal MP Mark Dreyfus since “Labor is now planning to build Sky Rail…

VOTERS bored with a seemingly interminable eight-week federal election campaign can now begin to focus attention on polling day on 2 July after the political runners were confirmed on Friday. The Australian Electoral Commission released the official list of candidates on Friday (10 June). A field of six will contest the seat of Flinders and 11 candidates will battle to win the hotly-contested marginal seat of neighbouring Dunkley. Liberal Environment Minister Greg Hunt holds Flinders by a whopping 11.8 per cent margin so there seems little chance of an upset victory as he faces challengers Carolyn Gleixner (Labor), Willisa Hogarth…

LIBERAL candidate for Dunkley Chris Crewther has distanced himself from previously held views on limiting penalty rates. A ReachTel phone poll released last week found more than 83 per cent of undecided voters questioned in the marginal seat of Dunkley said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who backs any cuts to weekend loading rates. Now, five weeks out from the 2 July election, Mr Crewther has deleted a self-penned article from his campaign Facebook page in which he put forward a plan to only pay penalty rates on the sixth or seventh day straight that…

AN “important postal vote information” letter mailed out to Flinders electorate residents last week by the Liberal Party attempts to obtain personal information about voters for the party’s database ahead of the 2 July federal election. The mass mailout addressed to “enrolled voter/s in the ‘Division of Flinders” features a letter from Malcolm Turnbull, Prime Minister of Australia urging the electorate to “back my team’s Plan for a Strong New Economy” and includes a Postal Vote Application Form sent by federal Flinders Liberal MP Greg Hunt. Voters who “can’t get to a polling booth on election day” are encouraged to…

A LIQUID lunch was not on the breakfast menu when Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull visited the Mornington Peninsula Brewery in Mornington while on the election campaign trail late last week. Mr Turnbull seems to be running a ‘hit and run’ election campaign – featuring short and sharp visits to electorates – while Labor leader Bill Shorten focuses on spending more time in specific marginal seats each day. The News was not notified of the Prime Minister’s trip to Mornington but managed to scramble an agile photographer at no notice to cover the visit. Mr Shorten visited Seaford on Saturday 30…

BRUCE Billson is preparing for a life after politics and has already hit the ground running. The irrepressible Liberal MP for Dunkley decided to retire from the political scene after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull decided to drop him from cabinet late last year but has already landed his first post-politics gig. The former small business minister was appointed executive chair of the Franchise Council of Australia (FCA) in March. “When I decided not to continue I wanted to do things that helped me energise enterprise and support the creation of opportunities and livelihoods for people and this seemed a good…

ALL libraries across the peninsula will remain open after a restructure that will see some library staff lose their jobs. Mornington Peninsula Shire communities director Robin Adams says council has no plans to close down any of the shire’s four libraries at Hastings, Somerville, Mornington and Rosebud. The temporary two-week closure of Hastings library until 18 May is coincidentally timed during the staff restructure. The High St library has closed its doors so a new radio frequency identification (RFID) system to make it easier to borrow and return library items can be installed and refurbishment works including a new carpet…

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull triggered a double dissolution of the House of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house) and announced the federal election will take place on Saturday 2 July. Candidates and voters across the country face the prospect of a gruelling eight-week election campaign ahead of polling day as the main contenders for the seat of Dunkley – covering an area from Seaford to Mornington – square up to succeed outgoing Liberal MP Bruce Billson who is retiring from politics after a 20-years plus political career. The main suburbs in the Dunkley electorate include part of Baxter,…