NEWS DESK
Local trials for disability assistance Baxter rail plans Brodie Cowburn brodie@baysidenews.com.au
in doubt
AN app to help people with disabilities find accessible venues for their needs has been tested in Mornington and Frankston. The program, called Data for Inclusion, is a database of local businesses that displays how accessible they are for people with disabilities. The program is led by Debbie Roberts, who said she was called into action through her personal experience. “I was inspired to do what I’m doing because of my brother with MS,” Ms Roberts said. “I wanted to make it easy for people to go out and know what to expect. There are lots of apps out there about accessibility which is great. But we need to know what a venue does not have, we need to know if they’re not suitable. A lot of stress happens when a person doesn’t know what to expect of a venue. “We get info from businesses who fill in a form of about 25 questions. We have nearly 40 businesses in Mt Martha and along Main Street in Mornington on board. We’ve had high participation at shops in Benton Square, and we’re working with Frankston Bayside. Ms Roberts said the program began testing in Mornington, and has since expanded to Frankston due to the positive reception from council. “This idea started in Mornington, and council helped expand beyond where it was intended to go. This
FRANKSTON Council has made a plea to re-elected Frankston MP Paul Edbrooke to make funding commitments to their ‘Future Frankston’ projects. Council last week released a statement which heaped praise on Liberal candidate Michael Lamb for committing to council’s four major projects. “Council is delighted that Michael Lamb and the Victorian Liberals have met each of the four priority funding requests made in the lead up to the state election,” said mayor Cr Michael O’Reilly. “This is a fantastic achievement following months of extensive advocacy and we’re proud our work alongside relevant stakeholders has resulted in this positive outcome for the Frankston City community.” Cr O’Reilly also said he was “urging Paul Edbrooke” to support “these vital projects” prior to the election. Council’s tone has changed significantly since Michael Lamb was easily defeated on election day by sitting member Paul Edbrooke. “Council has worked tirelessly advocating to Members, candidates, Ministers and Shadow Ministers in order to secure much-needed funding for local projects that meets the needs of our local community,” Cr O’Reilly said after the election. “This has included numerous meetings, letters and the Future
App for inclusion: Debbie Roberts of DFI and Tamara Reinisch from the NDIA at the launch of the Data for Inclusion app. Picture: Gary Sissons
will hopefully be Australia wide, but we’re piloting it in Frankston, Mornington and Mt Martha,” she said. Ms Roberts said the free app will be a big help to people with “differing abilities” and is the product of hard work from a number of institutions. “We’ve worked with RMIT University for three months, they did the testing of the program. Macquarie has also helped with language translations. We have Spanish, Korean, Chinese, French, and other translations being worked on. This is important social inclusion,” she said.
Ms Roberts said she is working on plans to take the app beyond the local area. “The response has been very high. The MCG are putting their data in, and so are Subway,” she said. “We’re looking for people to participate in pilots for the website. The only time we ask for your details is your email address so we can get feedback. Once it’s live there will be no login or email required, and any info will be saved on your own device, not centrally on a server.” The program and more information can be found at getdfi.com
Frankston campaign involving key stakeholders and community members, a combined effort that has resulted in over $1 billion worth of funding being committed to Frankston City.” “Our role now is to work with our elected members to ensure delivery of the funding promises made during the campaign.” A council statement said it “aims to meet with new Victorian Government ministers soon to discuss election pledges made, including extending the electric rail line from Frankston towards the Mornington Peninsula, building a new tennis and gymnastics centre at Centenary Park, expanding the Jubilee Park Indoor Stadium, building a new safe boat refuge and Coast Guard facility, and upgrades to Frankston Hospital Mr Edbrooke has committed to the project at Jubilee Park, but made no commitment to funding Centenary Park, Oliver’s Hill, or the Baxter rail extension. Mr Edbrooke’s main event pledge was to expand the hospital at a a cost of over half a billion dollars. The statement does not mention Baxter as the final destination of the train line, as had been previously touted.
PLAN AND PREPARE The reasons are black and white emergency.vic.gov.au
Download the VicEmergency app PAGE 4
Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News
5 December 2018
It’s your responsibility to be fire ready this summer, so prepare your property, fire plan and emergency kit now. When hot, dry, windy days are forecast, check Fire Danger Ratings in your district daily and monitor conditions via local radio, the VicEmergency website and app. On high-risk fire days, leaving early, before a fire starts, is always the safest option. Authorised by the Victorian Government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne