A GROUP of Flinders residents have banded together to put pressure on the Mornington Peninsula Shire to better service the elderly in the community.“It all came about after we conducted a survey of the elderly, and heard about their lived experiences and key issues,” said a spokesperson for the group, Sandy Grant. “What became clear to us is that many services exist for the elderly, but there is a lack of knowledge about them, and lack of capacity to go through the complex maze of information to find them. “We are wanting to work with the shire to facilitate better…
Browsing: Mornington Peninsula Shire Council
IN a dramatic turn of events last week, an unscheduled council meeting was called for Wednesday (27 November) with the only agenda item being the appointment of an acting CEO following the early departure of John Baker.The new appointment was made from within the organisation, with the shire’s chief financial officer, Bulent Oz, being elevated to the role of acting CEO. It is unclear why Baker, who was due to vacate his role on 6 December, left his role early, but what is known is that by the time the meeting occurred, he had already left, departing the day before.A…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council reduced the gender pay gap for staff by 12% over the last financial year, from 24.3% to 12.4%. They also achieved an equal gender balance in their management team with a 50/50 female to male ratio at the end of the 2024 financial year compared to a 38/62 female to male ratio in 2021. Overall, women made up approximately two-thirds of the shire’s “full time equivalent” workforce of 765 staff.The results were highlighted in the shire’s annual report and are in line with their “Gender Equality Action Plan 2021-2025” which established, as one of its fundamental…
PLANS to store up to 200 boats in four five metre high stacker sheds and build a 38 metre boat ramp at Western Port Marina, Hastings, have been rejected by Mornington Peninsula Shire Council.Councillors said the sheds could be built out of sight from houses in Skinner Street and away from mangroves that formed part of the UNESCO recognised Western Port Biosphere Reserve. Councillors voted against the proposed development on the Hastings foreshore despite senior planner Charlotte McGillivray recommending they approve it subject to some changes, including providing plans drawn to scale with dimensions.In a report to council’s Wednesday 14…
A NUMBER of state government-managed toilet facilities in Mornington Peninsula tourist hotspots have been closed for months, with padlocked doors or fencing around them, and no sign of reopening. An attempt by Cr David Gill to shine a light on the closures was seized by his colleague Cr Steve Holland who tried to turn the issue into an attack on both Gill and The News. Tourism is a vital segment of our economy, and the visitor experience essential for our future prosperity. A notice of motion from Gill presented to Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors at the 23 July public meeting…
THE Committee for Frankston and Mornington Peninsula and Mornington Peninsula Shire Council joined forces last week to lobby federal politicians about homelessness, housing and the use of land near the Port of Hastings.The committee’s CEO Josh Sinclair, the mayor Cr Simon Brooks and advocacy, communications and engagement manager Randal Mathieson went to Canberra to express their shared concerns. The shire is a “community member” of the committee and Brooks and Mathieson extended their Canberra visit by two days to join a delegation from the Greater South East Melbourne (GSEM) for more meetings with ministers and their staff.“This face-to-face advocacy is…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillors have been told that Victoria Police and not the shire should pay for CCTV cameras in the fight against crime.Information recorded by the shire’s 44 surveillance cameras is not accessed by the shire and is “solely for the use by Victoria Police”.A report to council’s public meeting on Tuesday 11 June said the shire’s CCTV policy was “out of date and rarely consistently adhered to”. The report recommends the shire continues to maintain its CCTV cameras but does not install any more unless they are paid for by the police or the state or federal governments.…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council has released its quarterly report, revealing a net operating position of $86.2 million for the year to end of March.The report states $6.1 million was spent on capital works, and $3.4 million on grants, subsidies and sponsorships. The amount spent on materials and services was 47 per cent of the annual forecast.Highlights included adopting a pedestrian access strategy, completing the Flinders Civic Hall redevelopment, a climate action grant to a kelp nursery in Dromana, and the Womin Djeka – Balnarring Ngargee (festival).Sponsorship highlights included the Sorrento Writers and the Flinders Fringe festivals. The projects leave $7…
THE latest review of Mornington Peninsula Shire Council’s planning scheme has found it to be “strategically robust and operationally sound”.The mayor Cr Simon Brooks said last year’s four-yearly review of the planning scheme covering “our amazing and diverse shire” also supported continued lobbying of the state government to release “surplus land” around the Port of Hastings. He has also called on peninsula residents to back the shire by lobbying their local MPs.Other issues involving approaches to the state government included action on sea level rise hazards; reforming bushfire controls to minimise unnecessary vegetation loss; stronger controls to protect the green…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council continues to move towards establishing a “transparency hub” on its website, with councillors last week agreeing to its cost being added to the 2024/25 budget. However, public satisfaction with the hub’s content may depend on its acceptance of a definition adopted by councillors in July 2022.Officially referred to as the Mornington Peninsula Shire Transparency and Integrity Hub, the latest step towards providing online information follows a decision in December to investigate “a low cost alternative” to the estimated $300,000 version recommended by officers.That decision followed on from a July 2022 “policy statement” committing the shire “to…
A NEW method of assessing the need for making footpaths has seen a reshuffling of paths on Mornington Peninsula Shire’s priority list.The list of 118 footpaths also includes problems that may be faced in constructing each path, such as “constructability implications” and “biodiversity and/or cultural heritage impact”. Footpaths seen as potentially having these problems will require “more detailed investigation” as their construction may be more complicated or costly.Just three of the top 20 footpaths on the list are unaffected by these possible problems.Footpaths at the top of list are Nepean Highway and Boundary Road, Dromana, with Nepean Highway being subject…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council has been unable to turn around results from a satisfaction survey last year that saw it rated at an “all-time low”. The same survey taken one year later on behalf of the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions has registered an overall performance score of 50, three less than in the 2022 Local Government Community Satisfaction Survey. The latest survey said “perceptions” of the shire’s overall performance had declined in the past two years, “reversing the stabilisation … experienced from 2014 to 2021” (“Shire hits ‘all time’ low in satisfaction” The News 5/10/22). It said perceptions…
MT Eliza university student Andrew Dixon has a new interest in his busy life – Mornington Peninsula Shire Council. The 25-year-old was perhaps a surprising winner at the council election on Saturday when he grabbed the last of three seats in Briars Ward, the new super ward that takes in the former Mt Eliza, Mornington and Balcombe (Mt Martha) wards. Cr Dixon joins his Briars colleagues Bev Colomb of Mornington and Anne Shaw of Mt Eliza in representing more than 42,000 voters. Many judges thought Leigh Eustace, who had represented Mt Eliza since 2008, would be elected, but the 11-candidate…