Western Port
GET YOUR
FREE TV GUIDE INSIDE!
An independent voice for the community
Your weekly community newspaper covering the entire Western Port region
FREE
DOWNLOAD 3MP FROM THE APP STORE OR GOOGLE PLAY
Wednesday 22 May 2024
For all advertising and editorial, call 03 5974 9000 or email: team@mpnews.com.au www.mpnews.com.au
Quarry grants open: apply now
PENINSULA Quarries is inviting applications for a share of $5000 it will distribute this year through its community grants program. The program is open to not-for-profit organisations in the Somerville, Tyabb and Mornington areas. Last year, grants were allocated to a family day event, two primary schools and a recreation reserve. Somerville Family Day received $2500 to provide first aid for the the event, Tyabb Primary School received $1500 for improvements to its environment centre, Somerville Rise Primary School received $1500 to upgrade its courtyard and the Emu Plains Racecourse and Recreation Reserve received $2800 for repairs to its roads and footpaths. Chair of Peninsula Quarries Community Engagement Group, Rob Gerrand, said the grants program offered community groups an opportunity to seek money for initiatives and projects that directly benefitted the community. Grant allocations will be decided in July and applications close on Monday 15 July. Requests for donations may also be considered. Details: peninsulaquarriesvic.com.au/community
Potter review takes centre stage Keith Platt keith@mpnews.com.au THE saga of staging Harry Potter: The Forbidden Forest at The Briars has entered a new phase with some Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors appearing reluctant to discuss their roles in the event. A majority of councillors last August agreed to the show being held in the wildlife sanctuary at The Briars, Mount Martha, before the venue was moved to a lease-free area for dogs. Before they could see the report by shire officers recommending use of the wildlife sanctuary councillors were required to sign non-disclosure agreements. Cr David Gill refused and left the 22 August public meeting. Cr Anthony Marsh, who has publicly stated that he voted against the
Harry Potter proposal, wants a review of the “original process” that gave the go ahead for it to be held in the wildlife sanctuary. But having a vote or even debate on for an independent review of the event is proving difficult, a situation that Marsh says could lead to “external intervention”. “As tickets went on sale six months ago and there has been no progress on a review, I submitted a notice of motion (NoM) seeking to formalise the undertaking given and ensure it was focused, independent, and timely,” Marsh told The News. He said that original NoM was rejected by shire CEO John Baker but eventually listed as a confidential item on the agenda for the 14 May council meeting. The meeting was adjourned after six and a half hours, and the item re-listed for the following day. However, two councillors left the
following day’s (Wednesday) meeting just before the item was to be discussed, leaving too few of the shire’s 11 councillors behind for the meeting to continue. Marsh said a “make-up meeting” had yet to be called “and my understanding is that we are unlikely to get [enough councillors there … because of their] apparent reluctance to consider the motion in a formal council meeting”. The loss of quorum and difficulty in getting this motion tabled was “incredibly disappointing”. “Councillors are elected to show up and make decisions on behalf of our community,” Marsh said. “We can debate, amend, and vote against any motion if we don't like something … If a lack of quorum continues, preventing us from doing the job we were elected to do, that would be an unfortunate stain on our local democracy and, ultimately, may
COME AND SEE THE CHICKENS ROAMING FREE IN THE PADDOCK!
warrant external intervention.” Marsh said he had long held concerns over the depth and quality of officers’ reports to councillors. “Arguably, you could say the Harry Potter report and some previous reports have emphasised positives and minimised negatives [and] risks - not balanced and impartial, but somewhat leading in favour of the officer recommendation.” He said risk assessment and due diligence flora and fauna reports had not been given to councillors until January, 140 days after the council gave the go ahead to the Potter deal. The reports had been classified confidential “despite containing no confidential or commercial information”. Marsh said the report on which councillors agreed to the wildlife sanctuary being used for Harry Potter was seven pages; the report which changed the venue to the leash-free
dog area was 48 pages. “I think this illustrates just how little was provided to councillors by the bureaucracy in the first instance, which also meant that councillors - especially those who voted in favour - weren’t fully informed of all the identified risks – including those that were known to officers, but not detailed in the report to councillors.” Marsh said he was concerned by the lack of scrutiny and inquiry by some councillors during formal meetings. An example was during recent budget meetings where he, Gill and Cr Lisa Dixon had been “criticised for not ‘trusting’ officers and ‘undermining’ them”. “There are several other examples, but many of these are confidential items, so I can’t give much detail other than to say that I’ve had identical concerns on several big ticket items,” Marsh said.
BARN DOOR SALES MONDAY TO FRIDAY 8AM - 4.30PM AND SATURDAYS 8AM - 12.30PM
Our farm is family owned and managed. We have been producing quality eggs for over 40 years, supplying the public, restaurants and other businesses on the peninsula. Eggs are collected 365 days a year so you can be assured that you are buying the freshest eggs with the best yolk and flavour. Retail and Wholesale from our barn door.
Eramosa Road West, Moorooduc. corner of Binnak Way 5977 5405 220 email: admin@somervilleeggfarm.com.au