BITTERN residents opposed to plans to link their close with a large subdivision are concerned increased traffic will diminish the family-friendly character of their area. Hector Close resident Rhys Matulis, who has collected signatures from 14 of the street’s 24 properties who are opposed to plans to link Hector close with Henderson Road, says the proposal will endanger children playing in the street. “[Linking the two roads] is not in keeping with the character of existing subdivisions in Bittern in which streets are deliberately not joined to reduce through traffic and enhance their family-friendly character,” Mr Matulis said. “We are…
Author: Stephen Taylor
CONCERNS about the plight of women – and especially girls – in less developed countries has prompted Sorrento resident Bruce Grey to once again get out of his comfort zone and challenge his physical capabilities. At 70 years old, the retired air force chaplain is leading a team in next month’s Tough Mudder Challenge – an event in which Mr Grey competed in each of the past two years when he was a spritely 68 and 69 years old. The famed endurance event being held at Lardner Park in Gippsland 19-20 October is contested by teams which raise money for…
A “LOCAL private developer” has bought Sorrento’s heritage-listed Continental Hotel after a two-month sales campaign by Colliers International. Vendor Julian Gerner on Friday would not disclose the buyer’s name or the price, which is tipped to be about $22 million. The sale of the four-storey limestone building at 1-21 Ocean Beach Road includes an adjoining former public car park at 23 Constitution Hill Road. Colliers International’s Guy Wells said the sale was a “significant win for both the much-loved hotel and the wider community, as the purchaser has committed capital and the ability to bring this iconic asset back to…
TWO dogs seized over the mauling and killing of two pet alpacas at Fingal last week will have their fate decided by a magistrates’ court. Mornington Peninsula Shire’s environment protection manager John Rankine said investigations were continuing into the incident Sunday 1 September when a “pit bull terrier or bull terrier dog” was seen mauling the alpacas at a Harmony Road property. “Officers are busy with the investigation collating evidence for prosecution in court,” Mr Rankine said. “The decision about euthanasia is pending on this evidence and the court decision. Until such time the dogs will remain impounded.” Two shire…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council has written to planning minister Richard Wynne to personally thank him for “rejecting plans for an inappropriately-sited Kaufland supermarket proposal” at the gateway to Mornington. This follows Mr Wynne’s rejection of the company’s bid for a 4000 square metre retail mega-hub at the corner of Oakbank Road and Nepean Highway, Mornington – the Bata Shoes site. The minister had said he made the decision after “community consultation raised concerns about the nature of the development and the site’s proximity to the green wedge”. “We’ve listened to the community and ensured the gateway to Mornington is properly…
A FINGAL family suffered a devastating blow over the weekend when a dog mauled and killed their two pet alpacas. Sharon Richardson, who runs Harmony B&B in Placadena Road with her husband Jeremy, said she heard knocking at her kitchen door on Sunday afternoon 1 September and opened it to find her distraught neighbour coming to report the shocking news. “I’m still a wreck,” she said yesterday (Monday). “My neighbour heard squealing and raced over the see a large Staffie [Staffordshire bull terrier] attacking our alpacas. “He gathered stones from our pond to ward off the dog but it left…
PLASTIC waste slowly decomposing in our oceans is creating perhaps the most devastating environmental problem the world has seen. Without urgent remedial action, the oceans are expected to contain more plastic than fish by 2050. With that sobering statistic in mind, students from 11 Mornington Peninsula schools gathered last Thursday (29 August) at Mornington Park Pavilion, Flinders Drive, to pitch their solutions as to how to best clean up the mess. Pitches included using a large net to collect the plastic, using the plastic to create jewellery, having an ocean plastic deposit scheme, using the waste plastic as filament in…
THE state government has rejected the proposed giant Kaufland supermarket at the entrance to Mornington. Planning minister Richard Wynne last week ruled out the company’s bid to build a 4000 square metre retail mega-hub at the corner of Oakbank Road and Nepean Highway. He said the decision had been made after “community consultation raised concerns about the nature of the development and the site’s proximity to the green wedge”. “We’ve listened to the community and ensured the gateway to Mornington is properly planned. We’re taking action to ensure Victoria remains a great place to live, work and do business,” he…
PENINSULA Uber driver Rob Arrowsmith has taken charge of his fuel expenses by going all-electric in his Hyundai Ioniq. He typically does a fast charge for free at the Peninsula Home centre on Nepean Highway, Mornington, before heading out to collect passengers, or plugs in for an in-depth charge overnight at his Edithvale home for about $8. The dual-port 22kW AURA charger was installed at Peninsula Home in mid-July. It is free and does not need a smart phone app for access. It provides 40-120km of battery-powered driving for every hour of charge, depending on the type of electric vehicle.…
BOATING industry association’s have condemned the “repeated and ongoing attacks on Victorian boating families” by Mornington Peninsula Shire Council. This follows the council’s push for residents to back its tough stance against the behaviour of some jet skiers on the bay (“Shire pushing hard line on jet skis The News 27/8/19). The chair of the Personal Watercraft Industry Association and a past president and life member of the Boating Industry Association of Victoria, David Heyes said industry or user groups had “never been consulted in any of the [newspaper] articles fuelled by the [shire] and other minority groups”. He said…
PUBLIC transport users are backing a push by Mornington Peninsula Shire for better bus services across the peninsula. They say about 82 per cent of the peninsula is not serviced by public transport and that the shire has the second lowest public transport service in the greater Melbourne area. Peninsula residents are five times less likely to travel to work by public transport than those in Greater Melbourne, and only 3 per cent take public transport to work compared with 15 per cent across Melbourne. Potential users say they are unhappy with the buses, citing their infrequency, overcrowding, unreliability and…
A PROPOSED bike path linking Mornington Tourist Railway at Moorooduc with Civic Reserve at Mornington would be ideal for walking and running as well as cycling – all healthy pastimes in an increasingly frenetic world. Backers of the aptly named Mornington Safelink want support for their project which they say is “shovel ready”. “Most of the work has been done – it just requires lots of public encouragement to get up and going,” proponent Graeme Rocke said. Backers of the path see it is a logical extension of the PenLink trail that now ends at Moorooduc. The aim is to…
A SHOW of hands at a public meeting in Mt Eliza to discuss the introduction of 5G telecommunications services on the Mornington Peninsula showed that those attending did not want the rollout to proceed in its proposed form. This would include positioning small cell antennas near buildings and at the ends of streets using untested millimetre waves, they were told. Organiser Judy O’Donnell said the meeting at Norwood House, Wednesday 14 August, went “really well”. “Over 70 people attended and showed much interest in the presentations, which will be available to view on 3RPP video channel. (“Call to stall 5G…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council wants residents to back its hard line against jet skiers on Port Phillip beaches. It is urging them to speak up in a Maritime Safety Victoria survey on a proposed rule change aimed at prohibiting irregular riding – such as wave jumping and freestyling – of jet skis in shared zones. The rule would also require jet skis riders to steer a direct course offshore so other water users to better predict their course. The proposed rule follows the shire losing its bid to reign in dangerous behaviour by jet skiers near bathers. The shire sees…
BARRY Goldsmith has warned that this could be an “early year” for snakes. A wildlife controller, snake catcher and wildlife rescuer on the Mornington Peninsula for “close to four decades”, there’s not much about snake catching Mr Goldsmith doesn’t know. “Every year is different,” he said last week. “Some years, the season will start early and the heavy rain we had in August has meant lots of vegetation growth as well as healthy populations of lizards, frogs and rodents [which snakes like to eat]. “I just want people to be aware in the garden and around the home as we…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council ruled out chemical “fogging” to kill mosquitoes in the fight against the Buruli ulcer. The decision follows community alarm over the uncharted environmental impacts of non-targeted insecticide spraying in mosquito prone areas of the peninsula. (“Be very concerned: mayor cautions about Buruli study” The News 22/7/19). At that time the mayor Cr David Gill – a bee enthusiast who gives talks on native bees – said he was “devastated by the possibility of widespread spraying.” “All insects will be affected and, consequently, the rest of the food chain, including birds and fish. The public has the…
ADMITTING he “didn’t have a clue” about garden care or even being a franchisee didn’t deter Hastings resident Richard Harrison from taking up the first Jim’s Mowing franchise in the UK in 2005. For Harrison, the goal was to make enough money to pay for his and his former wife’s European holiday. “I thought, how hard can it be?” the recently published author said. Looking back all these years later he has written a light-hearted memoir, The Export Gardener, about a clumsy optimist who travels to England and decides that affluent Sevenoaks in Kent is the ideal place to launch…
THE ability to communicate with others is a simple process for most people. We speak, others listen and, hopefully, understand what we are trying to say. But everyday words are mysterious unknowns for some Mornington Peninsula youngsters, especially those from low socio-economic backgrounds who are unable to enunciate, or even create basic sentences. They are unable to use words as building blocks to expand their vocabularies and tend to shy away from communicating because it exposes their poor literacy skills. Later in life they tend to be forced to the back of the queue when it comes to higher learning…
CYCLING, cycle touring and mountain biking could grow to define the character of the Mornington Peninsula as much as its established attractions, such as the wineries, beaches, boating and fishing. The enjoyment of getting off the busy made roads, seeing the sights at a leisurely pace and spending money in shops, restaurant and cafes and on accommodation is being pushed by a group without business links or vested interests other than a love of the region and a wish that more people could enjoy its charms. “This is an activity that has huge potential as is evident from the growth…
SUCCESSFUL applicants from the 2019 Live Music Professionals program held in July were at the Rye Hotel last week for a two-day engagement organised by Music Victoria. The program aims to help venue owners and managers, band bookers and independent promoters, match their services with skilled and experienced music industry professionals for one-on-one coaching, workshops, masterclasses, conferences and networking opportunities. “Over the past few years the program has yielded fabulous results, with participants reporting growth in ticket sales as well as growth in their businesses,” program co-ordinator Sarah DeBorre said. Those taking part in the event learned from A Day…
THE men behind sculptures of sporting icons John Coleman (Hastings), Lionel Rose (Warragul) and John Famechon (Frankston) are planning a similar honour for Mornington Peninsula athlete Debbie Flintoff-King. Red Hill resident Robert McCarthy announced the Debbie Flintoff-King statue project at a function at the Mornington Civic Reserve last week. Sculptor Stephen Glassborow – who designed and crafted the Coleman statue outside the library in High Street – took some final details and measurements of Ms Flintoff-King, 59, and proffered a sketch of the proposed artwork he and the multi-medal-winning athlete had previously discussed. “I have worked with Stephen and a…
CIGARETTE butt bins installed for a second time outside Woolworths at Hastings were stolen within weeks, Mornington Peninsula Shire Council was told last week. The shire’s cleansing facilitator – roads, drainage and cleansing operations Krystal Millen said the bins were a “complementary service and not a waste management requirement of the store”. She said she had passed on details of a local bin supplier to store manager Chris Tatt who she said was planning to seek “vandal proof receptacle options”. “This will still need approval from Woolworths head office due to the additional costs and again, this is the responsibility…
PENINSULA Aero Club has cancelled next year’s air show. Club president Jack Vevers said the club had been unable to reach agreement with Mornington Peninsula Shire over a permit for the event. He said the shire’s “new permit process” was “unworkable” and time had run out to organise the scheduled Sunday 8 March 2020 air show. The mayor Cr David Gill on Monday said the club’s cancelling of the air show was “game playing and childish”. “We offered to fast track a permit and give them a draft permit, but they’ve led us down the garden path so they can…
ST ANDREWS Beach residents have won their fight against a $10 million plan to improve their roads. Mornington Peninsula Shire Council on 23 July voted against its engineers’ recommendation for a special charge scheme to “fully construct all the sub-standard roads in St Andrews Beach to a standard that is maintainable in the long-term”. The 10 kilometres of winding roads and grassy verges in the 1960s estate, between Sandy Road and St Andrews beach, will now stay as they are despite engineers slamming them as “poor, with no drainage infrastructure” and “approaching the end of their useful life”. In a…
A PUBLIC meeting in Mt Eliza on Wednesday 14 August will canvas risks associated with the impending rollout of 5G telecommunications services on the Mornington Peninsula. “There are countries across the world, as well as states and shires, putting a stop to [5G] until it is proven to have no health risks,” organiser Judy O’Donnell said. “We are a group of concerned peninsula residents trying to educate everyone here, too.” “No research has proved 5G safe,” Ms O’Donnell said. However, scientists at the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency say radio waves used by the 5G network have been…
A PUBLIC meeting in Mt Eliza on Wednesday 14 August will discuss the risks associated with the impending national roll-out of 5G telecommunications services. “There are countries across the world, as well as states and shires, putting a stop to [5G] until it is proven to have no health risks,” organiser Judy O’Donnell said. “We are a group of concerned Mornington Peninsula residents trying to educate everyone here, too.” Ms O’Donnell said “no research has proved 5G safe”. “Globally, scientists and doctors have raised serious concerns about health risks to humans and the environment, including animals, birds, insects and trees,”…
NEARBY residents are appalled by the Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal go ahead for 10 apartments with basement carpark to be built at 17 Williams Road, Mornington. The VCAT ruling overturned Mornington Peninsula Shire Council’s knockback of Kencole Holdings’ bid for the mix of two and three-bedroom apartments, and removal of all vegetation on the double block. In refusing a permit, the council cited concerns with the size of the proposed building over neighbouring properties and streetscape – exacerbated by its high-set position on a corner. Officers described plans for the “large two-storey apartment complex as an inappropriate response to the…
PEOPLE are doing it tough and sleeping rough on the Mornington Peninsula in ever greater numbers. Mornington Community Information and Support Centre manager Stuart Davis-Meehan said it was “concerning” that his staff members were seeing “more and more people experiencing homelessness and, in particular, sleeping rough”. “On average, in the first half of this year, we have seen 14 people experiencing homelessness each month,” he said. “Last year for the same period we saw nine people.” Their plight underscores the importance of Homelessness Week across Australia (4-10 August) with its theme: “Housing Ends Homelessness”. The event also comes as Council…
TRADERS at Mt Martha who lost revenue and were forced to cut staff hours and reschedule appointments during the Thursday 25 July power cut are claiming compensation from United Energy. Lyndal Barnes, of Mr Curtis Cafe, said traders have asked the Ombudsman to negotiate with United Energy rather than pursue a costly class action. “We were told early on that we couldn’t sue United Energy because it was an essential service,” she said. While Ms Barnes said United Energy had indicated it was “quite open” to the issue of compensation, the power provider’s Emma Tyner yesterday (Monday) said: “United Energy…
A MORNINGTON Peninsula based social enterprise is on a mission to replace single-use plastic straws with reusable, ethically-sourced bamboo straws. Co-founders of theotherstraw Jamie-Lee Kay and Lennart Meijer, pictured, say most of the 10 million plastic straws used every day end up in landfill, Port Phillip and waterways, polluting the environment and jeopardising marine health. “We founded theotherstraw because we were shocked by the amount of plastic waste on the peninsula’s beaches, parks and just about everywhere else – we knew we had to do something about it,” Mr Meijer said. So far 10 retailers on the peninsula are selling…