Browsing: Mornington Peninsula

FIREFIGHTERS and waste companies are urging people to not put batteries or gas bottles in household bins after a garbage truck fire early on Thursday 5 October. Bittern CFA was called on to support Crib Point Fire Brigade when a garbage truck caught fire in Crib Point. The Esplanade was blocked to traffic from Disney Street to Stony point Road as firefighters fought the blaze, getting it under control within the hour. Mornington Peninsula Shire Council is also calling for responsible disposal of hazardous materials. Dangerous items such as gas bottles and batteries should not be put in household bins…

PENINSULA Aero Club says that it has applied for a planning permit to “carry out maintenance works” on Tyabb Airport’s north-south runway. PAC president Stephen Braim said work on the runway’s 21-year-old sealed bitumen section of would ensure that it “remains safe and operational for many years to come”. He said the 45 metre wide runway was included a 10 metre sealed bitumen section with three meter rock shoulders and a grass section on the remainder of that width. Flyers distributed to residents by Tyabb resident Brewis Atkinson say that widening the. Runway “paves the way” for more aircraft movements…

SIXTEEN-year-old Balnarring resident Matty Meysztowicz has always had a healthy fascination with dog poo, recycling and innovation, not unusual interests given the teenager’s background. It has become something of a Meysztowicz family tradition to think ahead and plan for the future. The young Meysztowicz, whose father Ed runs a recycling plant in the south eastern suburbs, has an innovative idea to solve the problem of discarded dog poo and the plastic bags used by owners to pick up and dispose of the mess. The avid dog lover says he came up with the idea after seeing too many plastic-based dog…

MORNINGTON Peninsulas charity Saltbush Balnarring Beach is on the lookout for a new CEO, after Rachel Connor announced that she would leave the organisation at the end of the year. Saltbush was established in 1989 with a vision to provide short-term holiday accommodation for people from disadvantaged backgrounds, including those with disabilities, physical or mental illness, asylum seekers, refugees and families recovering from domestic violence. The organisation caters for more than 1600 people each year for short-term stays in its six purpose-built houses and arranges holiday programs for children to provide respite for parents and carers. Connor joined Saltbush as…

SUPPLY and demand are behind the disappearance of the ubiquitous red postal boxes from parts of the Mornington Peninsula. The removal of letter boxes from Rosserdale Crescent, Mount Eliza and The Esplanade, Mount Martha in September prompted social media protests about cuts to postal services. An Australia Post spokesperson said the decision to remove the letter boxes was made after “careful consideration” of a number of factors, including low use. He also said that there were four other letter boxes available within a three-kilometre radius of the ones removed in Mount Eliza and Mount Martha. The spokesperson said removing the…

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillors may hold discussions in secret about whether they should publicly release advice they receive during their scheduled secret briefings. A bid by Cr David Gill to have the issue debated at the council’s Tuesday 3 October public meeting was stymied when the mayor Cr Steve Holland ruled that it could not be discussed in urgent business. Holland quoted part of the council’s governance rules which stated, “the chairperson must not accept any motion which is vague or ambiguous or outside the powers of council and … must not accept any motion question or statement which is…

SOCCER LANGWARRIN gaffer Jamie Skelly has wasted little time in refashioning his squad by signing two new players for the 2024 season. And a third newcomer could be on the way if discussions between the club and an attacking player reach a positive conclusion. Last week the local NPL2 club agreed terms with central defender Luke Adams and Queensland goalkeeper Griffin Bambach. Adams, 29, boasts an impressive CV. He has captained New Zealand at under-17 and under-20 levels and made five appearances for the full national side. He started playing as a junior with Auckland-based Fencibles United eventually signing for…

CRICKET PROVINCIAL MPCA cricket returned last weekend with one-day action. Reigning Provincial division champions Old Peninsula got their 2023/2024 campaign off to a good start at home against Peninsula division premiers Heatherhill. The Pirates chose to bat first. Their best performers were Dylan O’Malley and captain Justin Grant – O’Malley scored 53 from the opening position and Grant scored 51 runs batting at number five. Old Peninsula finished their innings after 40 overs with 175 runs on the board. Heatherhill skipper Kristian Miller led from the front, but he didn’t get enough help from his teammates for a successful run…

WITH voting already under way and Saturday being the final day for Yes or No votes to be cast in the Voice to Parliament referendum, four Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors have publicly stated their views. Just four of the shire’s 11 councillors issued a declaration stating they will vote Yes, although all of their colleagues were given the opportunity to add their name in support of the Voice. The four councillors – Despi O’Connor, Sarah Race, Simon Brooks and David Gill – are urging ratepayers to follow their lead and also vote Yes. A statement issued by the four councillors…

Vandalising Yes signs is anti-democratic Many community members have been saddened by vandalism to vote Yes signs across the Mornington Peninsula. This vandalism is not just random tagging by kids, it seems to be an organised campaign by people who, for some reason, are angered by the democratic process and the right of everyone to express their opinion. This has ranged from painting No across the signs to actually cutting the Yes from real estate type boards. This process would take some time and effort and property owners report feeling unsafe and violated by such a concerted effort to deface…

FOR some it conjures up images of Alice in Wonderland and the croquet-loving queen and her flamingo mallet, but the game means more to an increasing number of people on the Mornington Peninsula. The Rye and Blairgowrie Croquet Club is opening up the game to a new community of sports lovers by being one of the first, if not the only, croquet club catering to those who are disadvantaged, isolated and “disillusioned”. The RNB Croquet Club is a mobile/pop-up club working with community groups on the peninsula. Club president and co-founder Terri Manwaring, who started the club five years ago…

THE message of conservation will be spread at a communal colouring event later this month. The Australian Conservation Fund Mornington branch is holding a Community for Creatures day at Frankston foreshore on 22 October. Visitors will colour in a large banner adorned with endangered animals to raise awareness. Australian Conservation Fund Mornington member Sue Miles said she hopes the event will engage younger people in conservation efforts. “For Community for Creatures we’re getting people to colour in a banner with endangered species and we are presenting it to our MP Peta Murphy,” she said. “We are going to head down…

MORNINGTON Peninsula firefighters had no hesitation last week in heading off to help manage the Gippsland fires. Brigades from across the peninsula responded to a call out for strike teams after bushfires started in the East Gippsland, Baw Baw and Wellington Shire areas on Sunday 1 October. They were among more than 600 CFA and FFMVic firefighters, with more than 180 CFA trucks attending the fireground throughout the week. By Tuesday, fires near Briagolong had grown to 17,500 hectares and one at Loch Sport on the Gippsland lakes grew to 3000 hectares, before they slowed when a change of conditions…

A 19-year-old P-plate driver from Red Hill had her licence immediately suspended on Sunday (9 October) and her vehicle impounded after she returned a breath test of 0.213. At around 5am, Hastings police were on patrol when they saw a white Holden Commodore allegedly swerving all over the road, on Mornington-Tyabb Road in Moorooduc. The car was intercepted, and the P-plate driver was found to be more than four times over the legal blood alcohol limit. She will receive a summons to attend court at a later date. First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 10 October 2023

AN elderly female driver was taken to hospital with suspected serious injuries after her vehicle crashed into a house in Boundary Road, Dromana last Tuesday (3 October). CFA, police, SES volunteers and two ambulances attended the accident, which happened about 2.30pm. Witnesses said the roads were wet and slippery, and the driver have been travelling along Manna Street before she may have clipped a kerb and lost control of the vehicle, veering across Boundary Road and crashing through a property’s front fence and into the veranda. The driver, believed to be aged in her 80s, was trapped for a short…

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council is inviting the community to have a say on a new strategic plan to increase the resilience of its coastal areas. The shire says its Our Coast Our Future Coastal Strategy will include long-term plans to manage current and future coastal hazards and risks, drawing on science, technical assessments and community input, and drive sustainable outcomes in the face of climate change. Stretching almost 200 kilometres, the peninsula’s natural environment, especially its coastal and marine areas, are diverse and always changing. The coast’s landforms and ecosystems vary from sandy beaches and dune systems, rocky shores and…

WOMEN facing family violence or homelessness are waiting up to 17 months for crisis accommodation as demand surges on the Mornington Peninsula and across the state. Providers say women victims are the hidden faces of the accommodation and cost-of-living crisis and are often forced to stay in dangerous relationships. The peninsula has one small crisis accommodation centre in Mornington, but Southern Peninsula Community Support CEO Jeremy Maxwell says it is mainly used for rough sleepers and not suitable for women escaping unsafe situations. He says many women are forced to stay in violent and unsafe homes because they have nowhere…

THE time-worn adage that it “takes a village to raise a child” is the unofficial motto of youth specialist officers on the Mornington Peninsula who are leading the way in proactive policing and initiative based support of young people. Along with youth resource officers, specialist officers like Somerville’s Senior Constable Trent Delaney work directly with young offenders to prevent recidivism and get them back on track. They work mainly with 10 to 20 year old offenders involved in serious crimes and network offending, including evading police, assaults, aggravated burglaries, carjackings and anti-social behaviour. Delaney says he has a genuine and…

PENINSULA Aero Club wants to widen the north/south runway at Tyabb Airport. In a planning application to Mornington Peninsula Shire Council PAC asks permission to add three metre wide constructed shoulders to either side of the 10 metre wide runway. Long time airport watcher Brewis Atkinson believes the widened and strengthened runway will lead to more commercial and training aircraft using the airport. Atkinson wants objectors to the plan to urge the shire to impose curfews on the use of the airport by non-emergency flights; set an annual cap of 18,000 take-offs and landings (with touch-and-go counting as two movements);…

A 21-year-old man has his car immediately impounded after he was caught speeding more then 80km/h over the speed limit in Dromana this morning. Somerville Highway Patrol officers clocked a Hyundai i30 sedan travelling at 181km/h in a 100km zone on the Mornington Peninsula Freeway about 3.30am. Officers spoke to the driver, who holds a probationary licence, and immediately impounded his car. The Prahran man is expected to be charged on summons with speed dangerous, exceed speed and other related traffic offences. Victoria Police News – Wednesday 4 October 2023

A FRIDGE magnet is being used to let vulnerable people and families know where to get help. The magnets being distributed to all households in Capel Sound are designed for those “struggling with social isolation, ageing, mental health issues and economic concerns”. A small sub-group within the Capel Sound Community Group identified people facing those issues as being the most vulnerable and also the most likely to not know where to find help. “Our local community centres can help with that, but people needed support to even find who to ask,” group secretary Bettyanne Foster said. “We had lots of…

DROMANA Community House is running a program to lighten the load for families and individuals struggling to make ends meet. The weekly Grab and Go program turns donated food into hot meals for the needy, with time-poor families able to “grab and go” from 4pm to 4.30pm. Community house manager Tracey Trueman services had been ramped up at the house as food poverty grew locally. “Over 70 families are collecting weekly on Thursdays from 10 am to 10.30am and our pop-up cart is stocked and well visited by the community seven days a week,” she said. In addition, the pop-up…

SOCCER THE longest serving president in Seaford United’s history will step down at the club’s AGM next month. Willie Lynn and wife Liz have been involved with Seaford since 1978 and Willie is in the 16th year of a second stint as president having previously served for 10 years. Liz has served several terms on the committee and has turned her hand to almost every volunteer job at the club. The Lynns arrived in Melbourne from their native Scotland in August 1977 and North Seaford Reserve became their home away from home just a few months later. It’s been like…

Permit solution a remedy for peninsula’s housing shortage Our Mornington Peninsula Shire mayor, Cr Steve Holland, laments the proposed 7.5 per cent tax on short stay accommodation and adds that it will do nothing to fix the housing crisis (“Overnight tax ‘bad for business’” The News 26/9/23). Of course not. Short stay accommodation is an easy and lucrative way of making money out of tourism and the state, which contributes to tourism, is simply getting in on the act and raising revenue. Tourists are there for no other reason than to be exploited. On the other hand, the mayor is…

A 24-year-old man has his car immediately impounded after he was caught speeding more then 80km/h over the speed limit in Mount Martha this morning. Somerville Highway Patrol officers clocked a Mitsubishi sedan travelling at 185km/h in a 100km zone on the Mornington Peninsula Freeway about 2.45am. Officers spoke to the driver and immediately impounded his car. A Clyde man is expected to be charged on summons with speed dangerous, exceed speed and other related traffic offences. Victoria Police News – Tuesday 3 October 2023

THE Committee for Frankston and Mornington Peninsula wasted no time last week in congratulating Jacinta Allan on her new job as state premier. The lobby group said Allan’s appointment was an opportunity to “collaborate” with the government on a “long list of major advocacy projects” for Frankston and the peninsula. “The committee seeks a renewed focus and consultative approach by the state government on addressing the major challenges and opportunities within our region, including better connectivity and public transport, more funding for housing on the peninsula, unlocking port-zoned land to create local jobs, better access to health and education opportunities,…

ALONG with the warmer weather, snakes are emerging from months of inactivity to search for food and a mate. Many snakes stop eating over winter and conserve energy by not moving around as much, although they may come out and bask on a warm sunny day in the middle of winter. The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) last week said snakes were more visible during warmer months but were rarely a threat. “Snakes prefer to keep away from people. They rely on external sources like the sun to give them energy,” senior wildlife projects officer, Katherine Whittaker…

MEMBERS of the Progressives of the Peninsula group have launched their Just Ask campaign as a way to “engage the disengaged, the undecideds and the No voters” before the 14 October Voice to Parliament referendum. “Our democracy relies on informed voters. Rather than push a Yes or No position, we merely provide people with information,” the group’s chair Dr Sarah Russell said after the campaign launch outside Dromana Community Market on 23 September. Members of the Progressives display If You Don’t Know, Ask Here signs and wear If You Don’t Know, Just Ask t-shirts. “Although I believe informed and compassionate…

POLICE are appealing for anyone with dash cam footage to come forward following a cyclist incident on Sunday 1 October. It is believed that about 11.10am a 70-year-old male cyclist was travelling west on Point Nepean Road in Blairgowrie, near the Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron, and has fallen headfirst over the handle bars of his bicycle. He sustained serious injuries. Anyone with dashcam footage or information about the incident is urged to contact Sergeant Michelle Bradley at the Rosebud Police Station on 5986 0444. First published in the Mornington News – 3 October 2023

MANY Mornington Peninsula cyclists are gearing up for the Around the Bay bike ride on Sunday 8 October. Some, like Carly and Rob Jordan and their daughter, have signed on because of the enjoyment they get from completing as a family. Carly and now 11-year-old daughter Laila completed the 50-kilometre ride last year, while dad Dan completed the 300km ride. This year is Laila’s third ride, after she completed the 20-kilometre distance with her dad and older sister Mia in 2019. Next month, Carly and Laila will do it all again on the 50-kilometre ride with family friends Kady and…