NEWS DESK
Former shire CEO wins port job
New role: Michael Kennedy.
Mike Hast mike@baysidenews.com.au THE shire’s former CEO Michael Kennedy has been appointed interim CEO of the Port of Hastings Development Authority following the resignation of Mike Lean last week. Mr Lean has taken a job in the transport industry in Geelong near where he lives. He was appointed head of the revamped port authority in February 2013 when the Baillieu Coalition government decided to begin longterm planning for an expanded container port at Hastings, which was due to open as early as 2025. In April 2013, the former ports minister (and
new premier) Denis Napthine announced $110 million over four years for logistics, scientific, economic benefit and other studies. (Former premier Ted Baillieu had resigned on 6 March.) The port authority lost funding late last year when the ALP won office and downgraded the expansion plans. In a statement, authority chairman Yehudi Blacher said Mr Lean had “brought outstanding leadership to the role and a genuine desire to advance the future of the Port of Hastings for Victoria. A strong feature of his tenure has been his genuine commitment to transparent engagement with the community in relation to the future of the port”. Ports minister Luke Donnellan said he “appreciated [Mr Lean’s] work in repositioning the focus on the Port of Hastings”. Mr Blacher also announced the appointment of Michael Kennedy. “Dr Kennedy was until recently the CEO of the Shire of Mornington Peninsula. Dr Kennedy brings a wealth of public and private sector knowledge to the authority with particular expertise in local government management and the transport and shipping industries,” Mr Blacher said. Mr Donnellan welcomed the appointment. “I look forward to working with Michael during his period as interim CEO.” Dr Kennedy was shire CEO from 1999 till November 2014, almost 16 years. In August 2014, the shire’s 11 councillors told him they would be advertising his job for the first time since his appointment in 1999. He decided to apply but did not make the short list and quit.
Family hub work to begin WORK will begin next month on the construction of a new Carrum Family and Children’s Centre at Roy Dore Reserve. Kingston Council has awarded a $3.6 million contract to Clayton South builders DURA Constructions to build a new centre to replace the existing Rene Anderson Kindergarten, Carrum Child Care Centre and Carrum Maternal Child Health Centre. The Carrum Family and Children’s Centre has been funded in partnership by Kingston Council ($2m) and the state government ($1.6m). Kingston mayor Cr Geoff Gledhill said the new centre will provide an extra 33 kindergarten places, 39 long day-care places, maternal and child health facilities and playgroup areas to the Carrum community. It joins completed family and children’s cen-
tres in Edithvale and Parkdale and the planned Westall Hub. Open space at Roy Dore Reserve will be increased by about 900 square metres by merging the three existing centres in Carrum into a single hub. A ‘Meet the Builder’ session will be held on Wednesday 7 October, 5.30pm-7pm at Rene Anderson Kindergarten to connect local tradespeople with the project builders who will provide information about job opportunities available during construction works. “Council hopes to support local businesses and promote local job creation and it’s fantastic to see a local construction company appointed to the project. I encourage other local tradespeople to come along to find out how they could be involved,” Cr Gledhill said. The new centre is set to open in early 2017.
New direction: Federal Dunkley MP Bruce Billson said new signage will be installed on Peninsula Link in time for summer.
New freeway signs – at last Mike Hast mike@baysidenews.com.au ALMOST three years after opening in January 2013, Peninsula Link freeway will get directional and tourism signs that were omitted from the original brief for the $850 million road. The signs come courtesy of intense lobbying by federal Dunkley Liberal MP Bruce Billson and peninsula tourism officials, and will be installed in time for this “year’s peak summer holiday period”, Mr Billson said. About $175,000 of the cost will come from a federal Coalition government grant organised by Mr Billson in what some people will see as an unfair cost burden as the freeway is a private public partnership between the Victorian government and Lend Lease. Peninsula motorists were surprised and disappointed at the lack of directional and tourism signs when the freeway opened. Tourists using the freeway were even more disappointed when they ended up lost or on the wrong road. There were no signs on the four-lane road showing traffic where to exit to reach Baxter, Hastings and the Western Port side of the peninsula. Signs showing drivers how to get to Mt Martha were also omitted. Few tourism signs were erected. In August 2013, Mr Billson said the Coalition government would contribute $175,000 to “refresh and update the ‘Tour Peninsula’ tourist directional signage and to correct location signage errors such as omitting the Baxter township”. Last Wednesday, Mr Billson said “At last, the ‘green light’ has been given by state road authorities to install the much-needed and long-awaited Peninsula Link signs”. “Townships and ... destinations across the
region will finally get the recognition they deserve,” he said. “The signs will make local population centres and key points of interest easier for visitors to find and will help businesses.” Mr Billson said the signs would also improve driver certainty, traffic flow and township identification. In total, 32 new signs will be installed and 14 alterations made to existing signs along the freeway and its approaches between the EastLink tollway intersection north of Seaford and Mornington Peninsula Freeway at Safety Beach. New township directional signs will be installed for Baxter, Langwarrin, Mornington, Mt Eliza, Frankston, Mt Martha, Cranbourne, Tooradin, Portsea, Somerville, Tyabb, Hastings, Flinders and Phillip Island. Mr Billson said there had been an “arm-wrestle over which tourist destinations were judged by VicRoads to be ‘regionally significant’. Signs will point to Frankston Arts Centre, Peninsula Aquatic and Recreational Centre in Frankston, McClelland Sculpture Park, and the Mornington Peninsula wine region”. In January he said there had been “unacceptable delays” in getting the signs installed. “This has been an exasperating experience.” Mr Billson said he was told signs had not been installed during freeway construction because they were not included in the original contract between the state government and Southern Way [Lend Lease] consortium. The PPP contract will have to be altered to reflect the installation of the signs. In 2013, Mr Billson blamed the state Labor government for not including a comprehensive signs plan when it signed off on the private public partnership with the freeway builder, which was managed by Linking Melbourne Authority.
Squash champ ready to return serve
Grand design: Haskell Architects’ plans for the new Carrum Family and Children’s Centre at Roy Dore Reserve due to open in early 2017.
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Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News 7 October 2015
THE Victorian Squash Country Individual Championships will be held on October 10 and 11 at the Tonic Squash & Gym Centre and Labor candidate for Dunkley Peta Murphy will be defending her title. Ms Murphy won the women’s title last year and hopes to put in a good effort at this year’s event. “I have been playing squash since I was 12, and play in the Mornington Peninsula pennant league for the Dromana club, having played state grade for Victoria in the past,” said Ms Murphy, who works as a barrister. “Last year was the first time I have won that title, but had won the over 35 Australian Masters Championship, and the US Masters for 35 years and over in 2012.” While her preparation for the event has been minimal, Ms Murphy is going full steam ahead in the last week to get ready. “I have been coming off a really long layoff with injury but am back now and working to prepare for the event this week,” she said. “By hook or by crook I am going to get myself there to compete.” The squash championship is being held at Tonic Squash and Gym, 50 Collins Road, Dromana. Call 5987 1766 for details.
Reigning champ: Peta Murphy