CENTRELINK and Medicare services look set to continue in Mornington with a scaled down privately-run service set to begin next month. The about-face follows widespread community discontent at a decision by federal government services minister Stuart Robert to shut the two Main Street offices on 23 March. (“Centrelink shutdown” The News 11/2/20). The mayor Cr Sam Hearn described that decision as a “real kick in the guts” and a “terrible outcome for the community in terms of the challenges it creates making it really hard on families who rely of those services”. The new agency, to run over 15 hours…
Author: Stephen Taylor
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillors were last night (Monday) considering asking planning minister Richard Wynne to amend the planning scheme covering Tyabb Airfield. If given the go ahead, changes could then be made to the special use zone that covers development at the airfield and other properties identified in a proposed design and development overlay. Current approvals only allow Peninsula Aero Club to use the site as an authorised landing ground, not as an airport, airfield, flying school, transport terminal (or heliport) or place of assembly/major sports and recreational facility. There is no existing approval for the east-west landing strip. Strategic…
NEPEAN MP Chris Brayne realised he was growing into the role when a roomful of staunch Liberals came up to shake his hand after a Sorrento Rotary function at Portsea. The Labor pollie – the youngest in the state at 26 and the first ALP candidate to win the seat since it evolved from the former electorate of Dromana in 2002 – said no one had wanted to know him when he arrived. “I was reminded by the club president that I was walking into the Lion’s den and just had to smile and agree with him,” Brayne recalls. “Then,…
NAMES are rapidly being added to a petition aimed at stopping the closure of Mornington Centrelink and Medicare offices. By last Friday (14 February) the petition had in less than a week attracted 970 signatures and 291 “shares” on social media. The petition followed the federal government’s shock decision to close the Main Street offices on 27 March (“Centrelink shutdown” The News 11/2/20). Clients would be expected to access services at either Frankston, Rosebud or Hastings offices from then on. Mornington Community Information and Support Centre manager Stuart Davis-Meehan organised the petition to be presented to Health Minister and Flinders…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council is being urged to investigate the background and implications of permit applications affecting the green wedge buffer zone between Mount Eliza and Mornington. In a notice of motion to last night’s planning services committee meeting (17 February) Cr David Gill moved that the council ask Planning Minister Richard Wynne to protect the “intrinsic value of this land from any insensitive development that urbanises this area, which has a long history as green wedge, [in] between what could otherwise be contiguous residential and related development”. Cr Gill also called for a planning officer’s report be tabled at…
THE Western Port Highway was blocked between Eramosa and Bungower roads on Friday following a high-speed, two-car collision. Police said one car appeared to have crossed double lines and crashed head on into another car 200 metres south of Eramosa Road, 12.45pm. Three people – the driver and passenger in one car and the driver of the other – had to be cut free from the wreckage. First Lieutenant Adam Carrigg, of Somerville CFA, said CFA crews from Langwarrin, Somerville, and Pearcedale, and Frankston SES, helped with the rescue. Sergeant Bob Jung, of Somerville Highway Patrol, said two air ambulance…
A MATE of the Premier Daniel Andrews has been enlisted to help restore the sand-depleted Portsea beach. Futurefish Foundation director David Kramer will join Mornington Peninsula mayor Sam Hearn, councillors Bryan Payne and Hugh Fraser, and shire CEO John Baker, in a working group including scientists from the Department of Environment, Lands, Water and Planning. Their brief is to bring sand permanently back to the beach. The latest bid follows a decade of frustration and despair and hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on sandbags and rock revetments which failed to stop the sand loss. Described as a man with…
THE federal government’s shock decision to close the Mornington Centrelink and Medicare offices next month was a “real kick in the guts”, Mornington Peninsula Shire mayor Cr Sam Hearn said last week. As from Monday 23 March Centrelink clients will have to travel 24 kilometres to the Rosebud office, 14km to Frankston or 18km to Hastings. “This will be a terrible outcome for the community in terms of the challenges it creates and will make it really hard on families who rely on those services,” Cr Hearn said. The shire estimates closing Centrelink Mornington will impact up to 3000 low-income…
CONTINENTAL Hotel owner Julian Gerner maintained last week that a source of finance for the $100 million hotel redevelopment is “very close”. “It is imminent, but there are number of complexities that we are working through,” he said. “You can say that I intend to start the rebuilding in April.” Mr Gerner has had a seesaw ride since buying the 1875 hotel for about $15 million in March 2016, gaining contentious building permits, buying strategic properties and then unsuccessfully putting the whole thing on the market in November 2017. He described the project then as “too big to handle alone”.…
A MERRICKS woman died when the car in which she was a passenger and a tow truck collided at Tuerong, Saturday afternoon 1 February. Her husband, 53, and daughter, 18, who was driving the car, also of Merricks, were airlifted to The Alfred hospital with serious injuries after the collision on Balnarring Road, near Gillett Road, about 3pm. Major Collision Investigation Unit detectives are investigating the crash which caused both vehicles to run off the road and down an embankment. The woman, 53, sitting in the back seat, died at the scene. Three crews from Moorooduc CFA and two from…
RED Hill Fire Brigade’s planned upgrades are a step closer thanks to a concerted fundraising effort by members of the brigade, residents, businesses and an online appeal which raised $45,500 in just a few weeks. First Lieutenant Sam Norris said the station would soon need to replace its 27 and 25-year-old trucks with new trucks standing 3.3 metres high. The building height would have to be raised to four metres to fit them in. “We’ll be doing most of the actual work ourselves on the renovations as we have a few builders, plumber and electrician in our ranks,” he said.…
A FIREWORKS company has defended the staging of a pyrotechnics display outside a Red Hill hotel last month despite nearby residents complaining it posed a bushfire risk. One startled resident said he felt “totally devastated; gutted – especially with the Dandenong CFA which had issued a permit for the fireworks” at the Lindenderry Red Hill Hotel, in Arthurs Seat Road on Saturday night 18 January. (“Groom’s fireworks spark outrage” The News 29/1/20). The resident – one of many not alerted to the upcoming event – slammed the “frivolous fireworks display”. Red Hill CFA confirmed last week that it had not…
VERONICA Whittaker is Mornington Peninsula Shire’s 2020 Citizen of the Year. Ms Whittaker was recognised for her work with not-for-profit boutique Clothes4U which provides clothing and support to those in need. The service began in 2013 when a group of peninsula women got together to discuss how they could help disadvantaged women and girls. Their idea was to “pamper women who were fragile and raise their confidence”. Ms Whittaker was elected president and Clothes4U now offers clothing, shoes, under garments and toiletries to men and women. Education programs assist with interview preparation and clients can have a free hairdressing…
MYKI customers in Bittern hoping for an easy way to manage their accounts are getting short shrift from the Department of Transport, a potential retailer says. Despite regular pleas to the department to provide myki top-up and myki purchasing services suitable to the size of the population of the area and its ageing demographic, Bittern Post Office’s Jack McCarthy said none had been forthcoming. Bittern Post Office is opposite Bittern train station and beside a bus stop – a location ideal for the purpose. “We regularly have customers asking if they can top-up or buy a new myki from us,”…
FOUR Mornington Peninsula men will combine overseas community work with one hell of an adventure next month. Along the way they aim to improve the lives and self-esteem of families through promoting child education and vocational training in Cambodia – a country still emerging from the devastation of the hideous Pol Pot regime in power from 1975-79. It is estimated one-in-four people were killed in the period of oppression – up to 200,000 – leaving it with half its population aged under 25 and only 5 per cent aged over 60. Ben Hodgetts, who is trained in trauma medicine, of…
A RED Hill resident thought “world war three had erupted” when a wedding at a boutique bushland-surrounded hotel climaxed in a fireworks display. The resident complained to former mayor Cr David Gill, as well as the CFA, the Lindenderry Hotel in Arthurs Seat Road, Mornington Peninsula Shire Council and Worksafe about potential dangers from ember attack. He said he felt “totally devastated; gutted – especially with the Dandenong CFA which issued a permit for the fireworks” on Saturday night 18 January. “For the surrounding residents, their animals, and native animals there was no warning,” the resident, who The News has…
IT was the day community spirit reigned supreme at Main Ridge. What started out as an initiative by Main Ridge Bowls and Petanque Club to raise money for a thermal imaging camera for the Main Ridge CFA, and hay for fire ravaged Gippsland farmers, turned into an inspiring rally of support on Sunday 19 January. “At the start we hoped for $5000 to help buy the thermal imaging camera and to buy and transport some hay to the farmers in East Gippsland,” organiser Neville Mallard said. “By the end of the first week I thought maybe we could get $10,000…
AN accelerant – possibly petrol – was used to start a fire at Wittingslow’s Rosebud Carnival last week. Detective Senior Sergeant Miro Majstorovic, of Somerville CIU, said an “explosion” caused at least $500,000 damage to the dodgem cars, 1.05am, Friday 24 January. He said CCTV showed a group of youths near the site in Point Nepean Road. “The entire ride was destroyed,” he said. The blaze was especially cruel coming in the lead up to the carnival’s busiest time – the Australia Day long weekend. Tyrone, son of proprietors Cindy and Bruce Miller, said his family was “devastated” by the…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire officers can now get tough on jet ski hoons but, instead of issuing fines for bad behaviour, will still only be “speaking to and educating the public, surveillance and gathering evidence”. Instead of issuing infringement notices, officers will use cameras to gather evidence and act as witnesses to inform Marine Safety Victoria of dangerous and unlawful behaviour by jet ski riders. Acting manager environment protection Katie McKenzie said officers would enforce compliance within the five-knot zone – usually within 200-metres of shore – or 500-metres from shore along the coastline from Safety Beach to Portsea. These are…
FRENCH Island fire crews were in “clean-up-and-review mode” Monday 20 January after the weekend’s out-of-control blaze that destroyed 87 hectares of bushland and threatened parts of the island’s koala population. French Island CFA brigade first lieutenant Linda Bowden said cooler weather and rain on Sunday afternoon had brought the situation back to normal after Saturday’s drama in which residents were told to leave their homes and campers evacuated from walking trails on the 170 hectare island. Dry lightning is being blamed for the blaze which was thought to have started on the previous Wednesday and smouldered for three days before…
VANDALS are smashing glass bus shelters up and down Nepean Highway with regularity and seeming impunity. Commuter Lindy Clarke, who regularly drives up from Blairgowrie, said she has counted 10 smashed glass shelters from Tootgarook to Mt Martha along the 788 bus route from Portsea to Frankston since New Year’s Day. “All the glass was scattered over the ground – it was alarming and dangerous,” she said. “I can’t understand why the shelters are not made of steel mesh. At least then they couldn’t be damaged as easily.” Her complaint follows other instances on vandalism late last year. “I saw…
SOMERS resident Rowan Brookes decided against taking it easy over the Christmas holidays. Instead, she pushed her body to its limits to raise awareness of the effects of environmental change. Dr Brookes ran 250km over five days along the Great South West Walk in western Victoria, an area of national significance with a long history of indigenous settlement and rich biodiversity. The route through three national parks includes hardwood forests, the Glenelg River, Nelson, Aboriginal heritage sites, the Southern Ocean and its vast dunes, sandy bays and beaches, cliffs and freshwater lakes. Animals that live or pass along the coast…
CFA brigades on the Mornington Peninsula have been inundated by volunteers wanting to join up to fight the state’s unprecedented bushfires. However, while their interest is welcomed, the sheer volume of applicants is causing problems. Peninsula Fire Brigades Group officer Timothy Desmond said all brigades welcomed interest from volunteers, but 18 applicants in just the past week was too many to handle. “The Country Fire Authority is one of the most respected fire services in the world [and] we sincerely appreciate people wanting to step up and help their community,” he said. High fire activity across the state meant that…
THE Mornington Peninsula’s horror run with road deaths has continued into the New Year with three deaths from collisions in the first fortnight. This toll follows 12 road deaths on the peninsula in 2019 – which included double fatalities at Mt Eliza and Bittern – and the deaths of two motorcyclists. The driver of a Hyundai Santa Fe SUV travelling along Baxter-Tooradin Road, Pearcedale, died when he attempted to overtake two cars and collided head-on with a semi-trailer, 12.20pm, Tuesday 14 January. Emergency services crews were unable to revive the man driving the SUV. The driver of the truck was…
“OTHER than by connecting the doorknobs to a 240-volt charge I can’t see how we are going to keep them out.” Western Port Men’s Shed president Colin Proud was joking, but he was clearly upset after the club’s third costly break-in at its Frankston-Flinders Road headquarters in the past five months. The latest raid, on Friday 27 December, followed another overnight Sunday 27 October, when tools valued at $6000 were stolen, and an earlier robbery a few months before that. “It’s getting ridiculous,” Mr Proud said. “This time they came in through the front door, whereas the past two times…
GENEROUS staff and management at McDaid’s Irish Pub, Point Nepean Road, Rosebud, had raised almost $17,000 for the state’s bushfire relief fund by Friday. Keen to support the fire victims, proprietors Caroline Leslie and husband Peter had been mulling over how best to help fire victims earlier in the week. They originally planned to donate 10 per cent of their takings from Wednesday 8 January – only to ‘up’ the percentage again and again until it was decided to donate the lot. They were thrilled to learn staff also wanted to pitch in a day’s wages for the cause, too.…
MAIN Ridge Bowls and Pétanque Club aims to turn up the heat up on fighting fires – high-tech heat. Members of the club, in a rural setting behind Arthurs Seat and near Red Hill, are now more than ever aware of the ravages of bushfire. So, with the help from football, cricket, tennis and Lions and Rotary clubs, they are holding a gala day to raise money for Main Ridge CFA to buy a thermal imaging camera. The 10am-4pm, Sunday 19 January event is at the club at 455 Main Creek Road, Main Ridge. It will include pétanque and barefoot…
THE offer of a prime role in the Young Australian Broadway Chorus production of Cats is a dream come true for Nathan Derix-Brown, of Somers. The former Padua College student, 18, plays the naughty Macavity in the National Theatre Melbourne production running for 10 shows, 17-25 January. The new interpretation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical is set in a crumbling English Music Hall during the Great Depression. It honours the era when T S Eliot wrote the original poems for his children in the 1930s. Derix-Brown, who has trained with the Peninsula Ballet Ensemble, Somerville, under Sharyn Peters, for four…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire staff and relief agencies have continued their support for Mallacoota bushfire evacuees. They were again on hand mid-last week when HMAS Choules arrived with another 274 people and 40 pets from Mallacoota. The previous weekend they had welcomed 1060 arrivals aboard both MV Sycamore and HMAS Choules in the initial large-scale first evacuation, Saturday 4 January. The ship docked at HMAS Cerberus at 6.30pm, Wednesday 8 January, where it was met by shire staff and other agencies at the Emergency Relief Centre. The mayor Cr Sam Hearn said: “We worked in collaboration with state and emergency services…
JET skiers are under fire for flouting water safety rules off The Pillars, Mt Martha and putting themselves and swimmers at risk. Safety Beach Coast Guard Commander Mark Brookes said many of the 70-80 jet skiers off the popular swimming spot on Thursday 9 January were behaving like hoons by speeding close to shore and driving erratically. After asking Coast Guard crews to “take a run up and slow them down a bit” he said the jet skiers had sped off before his officers could approach them. The Coast Guard also received calls from Rye beachgoers saying jet skiers…