NEWS DESK
Have a say on hospital expansion MORE community input is being sought regarding the expansion of Frankston Hospital. The project is ready to go, with $562 million in taxpayer funding made available for it in this year’s state budget. $16.2 million was allocated in the 2020/2021 financial year for the expansion. The Victorian Health and Human Services Building Authority has set up a second community survey to help shape the future of the project. “We are seeking additional feedback from the local community on some of the key spaces in the redevelopment including waiting and family areas, outdoor spaces and wayfinding. Community feedback will be shared with the companies shortlisted to deliver the redeveloped hospital,” VHHSBA CEO Rob Fiske said. “The $562 million Frankston Hospital redevelopment will deliver capacity for 120 additional beds, new operating theatres and dedicated space for mental health services. The redevelopment will support Frankston Hospital to provide modern services and facilities to care for a growing local community for generations to come. “Helping the successful contractors understand the priorities and aspirations of the local community means they have the best chance of delivering a hospital for Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula that meets the needs of the community it serves.” Online consultation closes 21 December. Visit engage.vic.gov.au/frankstonhospital-redevelopment to take part.
Police investigate Frankston Fran kston stabbing POLICE and emergency services were called after a stabbing in Frankston on Saturday, 12 December. Investigators were told that a fight had broken out between a group of people at the intersection of Station Street and Gallery Lane, around 1.20pm. An 18-year-old Frankston man was taken to hospital with non-lifethreatening injuries. Police say all other parties fled the scene, and that the exact circumstances surrounding the incident are still being determined. Police are urging anyone who witnessed the incident or who has footage to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential crime report at www. crimestoppersvic.com.au
Beach Be ach death A MAN died at Frankston Beach on Saturday, 12 December. Police will prepare a report for the coroner following the man’s death. Emergency services were called to the beach along Nepean Highway at around 12.05pm. They were told that a man was “unresponsive” in the water. The man was brought to shore by members of the public. They attempted to revive him before emergency services arrived. Sadly, the man died. The death is not being treated as suspicious. AN artist’s impression of the revamped Frankston Hospital. Picture: Supplied
Cashless welfare program not wanted - MP Brodie Cowburn brodie@baysidenews.com.au THE cashless welfare card program would cause “significant hardship” if rolled out nationwide, Dunkley MP Peta Murphy says. The program sees 80 per cent of welfare payments made to an individual put onto a card, where it cannot be used on alcohol or gambling products. The government is trialling the card in four communities - Ceduna, SA, Bundaberg and Harvey Bay, QLD, Goldfields, WA, and East Kimberley, WA. It moved last week to make the
trials permanent in those locations, but could not gain the support it needed in Parliament. The trial has instead been extended for two years. Ms Murphy said that any rollout of the card in Frankston would not be accepted by residents. “My community doesn’t want the cashless debit card and neither do I,” she said. “One in five people in our community is on a pension. The Liberal government should not force the cashless debit card onto aged pensioners, carer pensioners and disability support pensioners. I asked the minister in Parliament to rule out extending the cashless debit card to pensioners, aged, carer
and disability. He wouldn’t. “The Liberal government has consistently failed to prove this card even works and now want to expand it. It has caused significant hardship on people already on the card. Many have been prevented from purchasing basics and essentials at affordable prices.” A statement from the Australian Unemployed Workers Union read “a leaked report into cashless welfare trials shows that the bill to make the card permanent and the government’s approach to democratic process is a farce. It proves what communities and advocates have been saying since the
trials began - cashless welfare doesn’t help people and violates their rights.” “This latest report adds to the mounting evidence, including that provided by dozens of representatives to the recent senate inquiry, that the card does not work. It proves that not only should the trials not be made permanent, but that cashless welfare is a failed experiment that must be stopped altogether before it causes any more damage.” A single person with no children on JobSeeker currently receives $565.70 a fortnight, as well as a $250 COVID-19 supplement. The federal government will slash that supplement to
$150 a fortnight on 1 January. As of August 2020 there were 1.6 million people on the payment. The Australian Council of Social Service defines the poverty line at $457 a week for a single adult living alone. The cashless debit card has come under fire for disproportionately affecting Indigenous Australian people. The ABC has reported that 82 per cent of people on the card in the East Kimberley trial region are Indigenous. 76 per cent of people on the card in the Ceduna region are Indigenous.
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Frankston Times
15 December 2020
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