Drawings show police station ‘open to public’ - MP Stephen Taylor steve@mpnews.com.au THE row over public access to the new Somerville police complex continues, with Opposition Police Spokesman Ed O’Donohue saying original ground floor drawings for the station “clearly show a front counter and rooms for interviews”. He says comments by Detective Sen-
ior Sergeant Nick Vallas (The News, 17/11/2015) that the Somerville station was “never designed to be staffed by uniform police” are incorrect. Ground floor drawings of the station “clearly show the front counter and rooms for interviews”, Mr O’Donohue said. A letter from then Chief Commissioner Ken Lay to former Police Minister Kim Wells, in October 2014, says the station would be “open 16 hours a day”.
Mr O’Donohue says an email from the VicPol manager for capital works outlining the functions of the station supports this view: “I can assure you the new Somerville police station will not be an office block but, rather, it will contain all the generic elements of every 24-hour police station, including a public foyer, reception counter and private consultation rooms …” it stated. “And, an email from the then Chief Commissioner’s chief of staff to the
then-minister’s chief of staff [also] outlines the functions to be performed from Somerville. [It] includes a range of normal functions [that would be] undertaken from a standard operational police station,” he says. The email says there “will be uniform police working in the station to handle inquiries, [with] shifts and times … determined by the regional assistant commissioner in consultation with the divisional management team
based on demand data”. Mr O’Donohue says reference to “uniformed police to handle inquiries” could be taken to mean the station would be open to the public. “These four documents make it abundantly clear that not only was Somerville designed to be open as a functioning police station, the previous chief gave the then-minister a commitment that the station would be open initially 16 hours a day with a 24-hour coverage.”
Port call: Preserve Western Port Action Group members at the Port of melbourne inquiry, from left, Graeme Hannigan, Kevin Chambers, Jeff Nottle (chairman) Kate Whittaker (secretary). Picture: Supplied
Port inquiry hears need for compo
Pledge lifts fire awareness FIREFIGHTERS are offering $200 shopping vouchers as an incentive to members of the public pledging to be prepared in case of a fire. As well as being in the running for the vouchers, signatories can nominate a CFA brigade, putting it in the running to win $1000. Hastings MP Neil Burgess, above, signed the CFA Pledge at the Crib Point Fire Brigade. “We are trying to engage audiences that perhaps we traditionally haven't. We are treating it
as a pilot eight-week competition [which started 8 October] this year to see how it goes,” the CFA’s acting executive community capability manager Andrew Andreou said. “When taking the pledge, residents can choose the specific fire safety actions they will take, which includes options relating to both summer and home fire safety. To make your pledge and enter the competition go to www.thefiresafetypledge.com.au
Continued from Page 1 Mr Nottle quoted Prof Kennedy as saying “the proposed development is almost certain to have major environmental impacts on the marine and coastal environment of Western Port”. He said Prof Kennedy had stated that “the potential impacts could be more widespread” due top “a general lack of knowledge of sediment transport pathways within the bay”. “This independent specialist analysis brings into focus the potential damage to Western Port properties and coastal foreshores and beaches that will arise from the dredging associated with the construction of a container port at Hastings,”
Mr Nottle said. “The erosion and inundation caused will not be gradual and imperceptible, it will be obvious as the Western Port Local Coastal Hazard Assessment reports give us a baseline for erosion and inundation without the dredging for the port. “We believe all proponents for the construction of a container port at Hastings should support the establishment of a Western Port erosion and compensation fund as part of a business case for Hastings. “The fund could then be accessed by affected property holders and coastal land managers to restore the coast or to provide compensation.”
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Western Port News 1 December 2015
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