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Wednesday 2 October 2024
For all advertising and editorial, call 03 5974 9000 or email: team@mpnews.com.au www.mpnews.com.au STUDENTS celebrate their graduation with (from left) program facilitators Sally Sherriff and Mark Popplewell (partially obscured); MLC Member for South-Eastern Metropolitan Region Ann-Marie Hermans; and Flinders MP Zoe McKenzie. Picture: Supplied
Youths graduate with tools for success NINE youth have celebrated their graduation from the Salvation Army’s Tools For The Trade program, which aims to re-engage youths in education and training. Each term, the program provides participants with hands-on experience through learning activities, group work, trade tasters, accredited courses, and selected work experience opportunities. The latest graduation was held on 20 September at the Salvation Army’s Mission Centre in Mount Martha. The nine-week program, assisted through Youth Services Peninsula, is designed to support young people aged 16-21 who are disengaged or at risk of disengaging from education, training, employment and community connections. Salvation Army Major Warren Elliott congratulated the latest graduates “who join a long list of past students who have found new direction and purpose along with life skills that will stand them in good stead for future job opportunities”. Brendan Rees
Push for short-stay tax revenue to stay on peninsula Cameron McCullough cameron@mpnews.com.au THE Committee for Frankston and Mornington Peninsula have written to the CEO of Homes Victoria, Simon Newport, seeking clarification on whether revenue from the proposed short-stay levy will be used to alleviate the housing and accommodation crisis on the Mornington Peninsula. The 7.5% short-stay levy is proposed through the Short Stay Levy
Bill 2024 and, if adopted, will be applied on short-term accommodation across Victoria. In September 2023, when the state government announced the proposed levy, it was suggested the estimated $60 million generated would be spent on housing projects across Victoria. It is believed the Mornington Peninsula has over 4,500 homes listed on the Airbnb platform alone. It makes the peninsula the highest short-stay accommodation rental area in the state, dwarfing the Surf Coast (2,254)
and City of Greater Geelong (2,314). The southern peninsula accounts for more than half the peninsula’s listings, putting a strain on infrastructure, services and housing supply during peak periods. The committee’s CEO, Josh Sinclair, said “With 25% of the revenue generated from this levy reserved for regional Victoria, the remaining 75% for metropolitan Melbourne is likely to be spent in key activity centres close to Melbourne’s CBD”. “Given the Mornington Peninsula
Shire is not designated regional, we are concerned that no funding will be delivered to the Mornington Peninsula Shire under this program.” In their 19 September letter to Newport, the committee said “Our region has the second worst homelessness rate (i.e. for those sleeping rough) in Melbourne, beaten only by City of Wyndham. This makes us the fourth worst performing local government area by this measure in Victoria”. “With a significant amount of shortstay accommodation available on the
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Mornington Peninsula, we expect our region to do a lot of the ‘heavy lifting’ when it comes to revenue raising for this levy. “The Committee is seeking clarification from Homes Victoria that funding generated from the short-stay levy will be delivered to our region to help address the housing and accommodation crisis on the Mornington Peninsula.” The committee have not received a response from Homes Victoria.