MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire will support small scale residential village-style accommodation for low-income earners away from the foreshore as part of its new social and affordable housing strategies. The mayor Cr Sam Hearn estimates up to 1000 people are homeless on the peninsula on any given night, with 30-50 sleeping rough and others “couch surfing” or making do as best they can. Up to 11 tents were at Rosebud camp ground one night last week, with others at foreshore camping grounds from McCrae down to Sorrento. “Council can play a significant role in supporting grassroots action to address homelessness and connecting…
Author: Stephen Taylor
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire staff have reportedly been spared the full impact of redundancy caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Corporate services director Mark Brady said none of the shire’s 1200 staff had been affected and there had been “no formal stand downs”. The mayor Cr Sam Hearn said: “We have made a strong commitment to share the pain. Our staff are mostly local people and keeping them on is beneficial to our community.” However, staff in neighbouring municipalities have not been so fortunate – some having been laid off without assistance. Liberal Senator for Victoria David Van said he had been…
OBJECTORS have until Friday 15 May to voice their opposition to the Ryman Healthcare application for a multi-storey residential aged care development in Kunyung Road, Mount Eliza. A sign nailed to a post at 60-70 Kunyung Road outlines the permit application which include plans for six four-storey buildings, two four-storey wings attached to the existing mansion, three three-storey buildings, a chapel and 362 car spaces. The buildings will house 272 apartments, including 55 assisted living units and 217 independent living units, and 124 aged care beds. Up to 400 people will call the site home. Plans for the $80 million…
CONSTRUCTION of Mornington Peninsula Shire’s $47.4 million aquatic centre is said to be “on budget and on track” for completion at the end of the year. The mayor Cr Sam Hearn said despite the “ongoing challenges” presented by the COVID-19 pandemic the aquatic and activities centre at Rosebud was expected to be finished by late December. Chief financial officer Bulent Oz said the shire received a $5 million federal grant and organised a $10 million low interest loan from the state government for the project. The balance will be financed by council asset sales of $2 million and a $30.3…
WITH fingers crossed, motorists are lining up to be tested for coronavirus on the mezzanine level at Bayside Shopping Centre, Frankston. Melbourne Pathology doctors and nurses conducted scores of drive-through tests as the state government ramps up specific testing for COVID-19. Testing is available at the Beach Street building 9am-5pm daily. Up to 100,000 Victorians will be tested over the next two weeks to better understand how the virus spreads in the community and help pave the way for the potential easing of restrictions. Those tested will be contacted by phone call or SMS to notify them of their results…
THE first sites of Telstra’s 5G network on the Mornington Peninsula are now up and running. The switch-on follows completion in March to upgrades of the telecommunication company’s mobile sites. Sorrento, Blairgowrie and Rye join parts of Melbourne, and several regional locations, where the 5G rollout has started. “Not all of the peninsula is covered at this stage,” a company spokesperson said, adding that work was under way in other parts of Rye, Tootgarook, Rosebud, Fingal, Boneo and Dromana. “The rollout has begun and we’ll continue to expand it as we keep building the new network across the country.” Telstra…
RESIDENTS pushing for the withdrawal of the contentious rural living rate have sent a 295-signature petition to Mornington Peninsula Shire Council. The increase, which adds about $900 to rate bills, was adopted unanimously by councillors when it was introduced last October. The residents claim the 20 per cent rate hike levied on the owners of 724 green wedge properties of two hectares or less is a “cash grab”. (“No cash grab in green wedge rates” The News 14/10/19). The shire’s chief financial officer Bulent Oz said smaller property owners gained greater value than the general ratepayer from programs and policies…
A NEW suitor has announced intentions to bring the grand old dame of Ocean Beach Road back to her former glory with prominent Melbourne developer Trenerry Property Group buying the 145-year-old Continental Hotel for a reported $14.5 million. The company has signed what is described as an unconditional contract after first mortgagee Manda Capital Holdings appointed receivers PKF Melbourne to again put the property on the market through Colliers International. Despite what appears to be a good cause for celebration, neither Colliers’ Guy Wells nor Trenerry director Rob Dicintio would comment on the deal last week. The derelict construction site…
ELECTRONIC warning signs are being credited with cutting the number of kangaroos that have been killed on some of the Mornington Peninsula’s rural roads. Four solar-powered signs were placed on roads with high recorded incidences of kangaroo deaths: Point Leo Road, Red Hill South, Purves Road, Arthurs Seat, and Browns Road, Main Ridge, including the end of Jetty Road, Boneo. Mornington Peninsula Shire statistics show that 10 kangaroos were killed from July 2018 to June 2019 in Browns Road, Main Ridge, with just two being killed there after the signs were erected from August 2019 to March this year. The…
CRYSTAL Ocean Wildlife Shelter’s Brenda Marmion was preparing to release four tawny frogmouths back into the wild last month. The birds, not believed to be related, were found in separate locations by helpers after falling out of their nests. Frogmouths usually build nests in the fork of a horizontal tree branch. Ms Marmion said the areas in which the birds fell were unsafe due to predators – especially roaming cats – so they were sent to Crystal Ocean to give them a new start on life. “The tawnies are all flying and fit and ready to go – especially one…
NEW Somerville Secondary College principal Sarah Burns is no stranger to secondary school leadership on the Mornington Peninsula. For 24 years she held senior positions at Frankston High School and Mornington Secondary College, where she spent nine years as principal in a period she describes as a “most enjoyable and rewarding time leading the school through a significant improvement journey”. For the past five years she has been a senior education improvement leader for the South Eastern Victoria Region working with 31 schools. However, she said her “passion in education” was at the school level with the school community as…
IAN Higgins has borrowed an idea in an effort to liven up social isolation. He’s built a small street library outside his house in Mornington from which neighbours can borrow a book and either read and return it or, perhaps, swap it for a book of their own for others to read. Street libraries or small book exchanges are not new, but they make sense right now as public libraries are closed and residents stay close to home. “I saw something written about them and thought, ‘that sounds like a good idea’,” Mr Higgins said from his house in Strachans…
IN a year typically made up of happy memories, lasting friendships and, yes, study, the struggle towards the VCE (Victorian Certificate of Education) is far from normal in the time of COVID-19. Rosebud Secondary College year 12 student Zoe Dellaportas, 17 this week, is coping like as best she can. “The hardest part is staying motivated,” she said of her studies at home. “It’s a matter of maintaining structure.” Luckily, her older sister Alex has been able to help. “She’s set alarms on my phone for the start and end of periods which has been a big help.” Years 11…
FINANCIAL savings on lost productivity for travel times alone justify the retention of the shire’s $80,000-a-year central Melbourne office, Mornington Peninsula Shire Council was told last week. Business support team leader Sally Milne, in a report to council’s 21 April meeting, said the office would “continue to benefit our ratepayers with improved customer service”. “It has already provided council with a significant competitive edge in attracting and retaining high quality staff that find it easier and more accessible to work out of a CBD office for part of the week,” Ms Milne said. Her report, authorised by planning and building…
ROSEBUD Aquatic Centre construction work costing $11.2 million is the single biggest item in Mornington Peninsula Shire’s proposed 2020-21 budget. Other big expenses are $4 million for road resealing and rehabilitation works, $1.5 million for construction works at Somerville Active Recreation Hub and $1.9 million for the Merricks Station grounds master plan. The proposed budget is on display and is open for public comment until 21 May. This comes as the council takes advantage of a time extension offered by the state government due to changed circumstances under COVID-19 (“Extra time to strike balance with budget” The News 14/4/20). The…
SORRENTO-Portsea RSL president John Prentice knew it would be an Anzac Day like no other. In line with other RSLs around the country, the sub-branch had to cancel its traditional commemorations, such as the dawn service, Gunfire breakfast, street march, midday service, afternoon barbecue and live music. “Regulations required our sub-branch to be closed on this important day. Sad, but there it is,” Mr Prentice said. “Normally we would have 400 for the breakfast, the march and the guest speakers, the laying of the wreaths and the flag-raising.” But not this year. At 5.45am, Saturday 25 April, Mr Prentice and…
GARRY Gosling is doing his bit to support the now dormant live Mornington Peninsula music scene. He and partner Connie Beckett have opened the Peninsula Virtual Pub to help people get together for a drink online on a Friday night and interact with others in their Social Isolation Bar. But, while they are enjoying social time together, their “pub” is also giving local musicians an audience which helps them earn some much-needed income in these troubled times. “We were sitting around when the [stage three COVID-19] restrictions started, saying what a shame it was that we couldn’t go to the…
IT’S like a career change, or a sea change for staff at Chief’s Son Distillery, Somerville. While they usually produce single malt whisky, a shortage of hand sanitiser has opened a new product line that is benefiting the business and the community. “We significantly retooled so that we could help the local community in the battle against COVID-19 and continue to employ our staff,” the distillery’s Naomi McIntosh said. “Our primary aim is to provide medical grade hand sanitiser to front line medical and emergency services workers, to the vulnerable in the community, to businesses so that they can keep…
INDEPENDENT breweries on the Mornington Peninsula are under pressure as their taprooms, bars and community areas are closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past decade, independent breweries have become part of the peninsula’s economy, adding to the its reputation as a hub for innovation and culinary excellence creating places for social connection. They are likely to be important assets as communities struggle to get back on their feet following COVID-19. The Independent Brewers Association is calling for people to buy locally made beer to support these businesses in their time of need. David and Karen Golding, who established…
A CHANCE conversation has led to a meals program being cooked up for needy clients of Mornington Community Information and Support Centre. It began when Mt Martha restaurant Volpino owner David Weill was speaking with a customer about his struggles in keeping the restaurant open during the stage three COVID-19 restrictions. Without ceremony, the generous customer donated $1000 to help keep staff employed. This led to a charity, the Mornington Peninsula Foundation, putting the restaurant in touch with support centre manager Stuart Davis-Meehan and Mornington Peninsula Shire. The restaurant’s staff now prepare, pack and label freshly cooked meals which shire…
AVOIDING close contact with other people is a luxury police cannot afford. Their role in the state of emergency brought on by COVID-19 is a combination of things they have never done before and things they have always done, but with the added fear of being exposed to a new, unseen enemy. Officer-in-charge of Mornington police station Senior Sergeant Paul Edwards said his staff had been told to “keep their distance [from people] to limit their possible exposure” to the virus as directed by the Chief Health Officer. “There are only so many precautions we can take as we still…
THE Quarantine Station at Point Nepean played a vital role in keeping early Victorians well away from those carrying disease, with a period of intense activity to shield the colony from the Spanish Flu in 1919. Twelve timber “influenza huts” were built to quarantine overseas arrivals in what remains – even during the scourge of COVID-19 – the world’s most deadly pandemic. Topical as that scenario is today, there are no current plans to use it as an isolation station. A visit to the Quarantine Station (when it reopens) will once again offer those interested in history an opportunity to…
POLICE have given assurances they will take no action against residents legitimately dumping rubbish at Mornington Peninsula Shire’s transfer station in Watt Road after identifying it an “essential service”. Some prospective tippers last week said they were concerned police were waiting to nab them – even though the transfer station appeared to be doing business as usual. A call to the shire’s head office received the same warning: They had heard reports that some domestic tippers had received on-the-spot fines of $1600 as it was “not one of the four legitimate reasons for being out”. The shire says transfer stations…
AN “iconic” Mornington couple who have contributed to their community over the past 50 years will celebrate their 60th anniversary on Thursday 23 April. Noel and Pauline Scott were planning a big lunch but, as dictated by COVID-19, it will be a quiet affair. “They have had to cancel,” daughter Julie Oldenburger said. “They are 81 and 83 and so are in the highest risk category.” The couple met at Albury when they were children and married at that city’s St Patrick’s Church, 23 April 1960. Mr Scott was in the Australian Army for 35 years, beginning as a 16-year-old…
A DROMANA woman who has been volunteering as a family violence victim advocate for the past three years fears enforced isolation because of the COVID-19 pandemic may lead to an increase in abuse. Geraldine Bilston said isolated living, less contact with people outside their homes, financial pressures and unforeseen stresses could mean “we are now bracing for an increase in domestic violence on the Mornington Peninsula”. As a survivor of domestic violence who fled with her daughter from a “man we should have been able to trust and feel safe with”, Ms Bilston said she experienced many forms of family…
HOLIDAYMAKERS visiting the Mornington Peninsula over Easter and planning to stay at holiday rentals, such as Airbnb properties, run the risk of being turned around and sent home. Somerville CIU Senior Sergeant Steve Wood, of the Frontline Tasking Unit, said police were already patrolling major thoroughfares, such as Peninsula Link and the Nepean Highway, looking for “obvious” visitors and pulling them over. “The rules are that people must stay at home and not undertake non-essential travel – and travel to holiday rental properties is non-essential,” he said. “This applies to rentals regardless of when they were booked.” Senior Sergeant Wood…
POLICE hold grave concerns for two fishermen who went missing on Western Port Bay, Sunday 5 April. The men, aged 20 and 33, set out in their tinnie from Flinders boat ramp about 6am and have not been seen since. A friend raised the alarm later that night. Conditions were said to be rough and police were said to be concerned about the lack of safety equipment on board. The men’s boat was found washed up at Pyramid Rock, on the ocean side of Phillip Island, about 11am yesterday (Monday). Local police, water police, Air Wing and SES crews, joined…
A PLEA for feed or the use of pasture to graze their 60 horses during the COVID-19 virus has proven positive for Gunnamatta Trail Rides. Proprietors Karen and Bekim Alija said a letterbox drop to nearby properties explaining that a sudden loss of income meant they were having trouble feeding their horses had been well received. “We are contacting you from a position of duress and desperation as this situation has hit our business and our horses extremely hard,” their letter said. “As with many businesses on the Mornington Peninsula we are unable to operate in these times which means…
A MAN died in a three-vehicle collision at Frankston South, Friday 3 April. He was the driver of a van which was extensively damaged when it hit a four-wheel-drive causing it to crash into a truck north-bound on Peninsula Link, near Robinsons Road, about 6.40am. The men driving the grey four-wheel-drive and the truck, both sole occupants, were taken to hospital with minor injuries. Drivers were advised to avoid Peninsula Link where possible. Earlier, five cars were involved in a nose-to-tail south-bound on Peninsula Link near the Stony Point railway bridge, 6.15am, Friday 3 April. Sergeant Bruce Buchan, of Somerville…
NEW, simpler, rules have been introduced for what can and can’t be done on Mornington Peninsula Shire-managed beaches. The simplification followed discussions last week to ease “public confusion and establish a consistent approach” between the shire, the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Parks Victoria, management committees, and other bayside municipalities. The mayor Cr Sam Hearn said the result was a “broad alignment” of beach closure rules making them easier to understand. While peninsula beaches remain closed for public gatherings under coronavirus rules, they can be used as thoroughfares; for exercise, such as walking, running, swimming or surfing, and…