28 March 2016

Page 4

NEWS DESK

No Ferrari-fast finish David Harrison david@baysidenews.com.au

Leadership on family violence: Rosie Batty has been appointed head of a new Victim Survivors’ Advisory Council by the state government. Picture: Gary Sissons

New role for Rosie Batty FORMER Australian of the Year Rosie Batty will lead a new Victim Survivors’ Advisory Council as part of a state government plan to implement all recommendations of a Royal Commission into Family Violence due to hand down its recommendations this week. Premier Daniel Andrews said the advisory council will have a say on how the Labor state government ensures the Royal Commission’s findings are used to reform the family violence system across Victoria. Ms Batty’s son Luke was murdered by his father Greg Anderson, who had a history of mental illness and violence against Ms Batty, at the Tyabb football and cricket oval in February 2014. Mr Anderson was shot by police and died in hospital the day after the horrific incident that shocked the nation.

Ms Batty became a high-profile advocate against family violence and lobbyist for more protection for victims. “I’m very proud to have former Australian of the Year Rosie Batty lead the Victims Survivors’ Advisory Council. Her courage and leadership is an inspiration to all of us,’’ Mr Andrews said. Prevention of Family Violence Minister Fiona Richardson thanked victims of domestic abuse for speaking out at Royal Commission hearings. “Survivors have told us their stories. Now we need to make sure we give them the change they have long asked for,’’ she said. Ms Batty’s appointment has bipartisan political support. “Rosie is a formidable advocate and a great contributor for better public policy,” State Liberal opposition leader Matthew Guy said.

GETTING jet skis banned from Port Phillip could be a long, hard grind for its current sole public advocate, Cr Hugh Fraser. His first hurdle will be to persuade a majority of his council colleagues to support him. But Cr Fraser, veteran barrister at law, can be persuasive and determined. Mornington Peninsula Shire has no policy position on jet skis, says Cr Bev Colomb, currently president of the Association of Bayside Municipalities (ABM), through which Cr Fraser must advance his case for a ban. His first task will be to convince his councillor colleagues – a number of whom could prove difficult to sway – to support his cause and to establish a shire policy. Only after he has achieved that can he begin advocating to the ABM, which may be even harder to persuade. The 10-council group covers the entire bay coast, including Hobsons Bay. Its members must agree to lobby the state government to ban jet skis. While some councils, including Mornington Peninsula Shire, have problems with “personal water craft” (PWCs), as jet skis and other powered water craft are formally known, not all are likely to favour a ban, for a variety of reasons, including recreational and political, and pressure from watercraft owners and the PWC industry. Cr Fraser’s case is straightforward. “Jet skiers and swimmers don't mix,” he says. “It's no different to a motor-

bike on a footpath.” The Victorian Jet Sports Boating Association put the same argument to a 2014 submission to a state government inquiry into the marine rescue services. “A 300 horsepower watercraft is a deadly weapon in the wrong hands, just as a 200hp motorbike is a deadly weapon in the wrong hands,” its vicepresident Shan Newman stated. “Most modern watercraft are faster from 0-100 than just about any Ferrari on the road.” Mr Newman’s submission also argued for a tougher licence test for PWC operators. It was too easy for a 12-year-old to get one after “an easy multiple choice test”. Cr Fraser echoes this easy going attitude many PWC owners have to their craft. “Once launched, jet skiers return to anchor close in off shore among swimmers,” he says. “This has to stop. Separate designated areas aren't policed and don't work.” He is on shakier ground with his next line of argument – that jet skis are banned from Sydney Harbour and therefore Victoria could do the same on our bay. Sydney’s harbour buzzes with watercraft, from cruise liners and speedy catamaran ferries to spectacular skiffs, ocean-going yachts and humble tinnies. Our bay has a fraction of Sydney’s boat numbers, spread over a less constricted space. Again, Cr Fraser gets support from Mr Newman of the jet boats group. “It only takes a small handful of reckless individuals to tarnish the reputation of a sport or recreation,”

he wrote in his submission. “But none more so than [PWC] operation; this is compounded because when a watercraft is used in a reckless manner, it is usually witnessed by hundreds of people at a crowded beach.” Tension has existed between jet skis and swimmers for years. In March 2012 a swimmer died after being hit by a jet ski with two men on board in a “swimming only” area in Port Melbourne. The jet ski did not stop, returning only after it was waved down by nearby fishermen. The Mornington Peninsula Shire’s draft marine precincts strategy, dated September 2014 and produced by consultant AECOM, contains only two references to jet skis. They are almost identical. The strategy quotes “government and agency feedback” stating that “jet skis are a growth industry that government policy and initiatives should support in terms of manufacturing, servicing and recreational infrastructure”. “Parks Victoria estimated that the jet ski market has grown by approximately 19 per cent in recent times.” Further down, the report reveals that the “government and agency” was in fact Parks Victoria but adds no further detail. While much of this is imprecise consultant chaff – was “recent times” an acceptably precise term to use in a report to council? – the one important fact that emerges is the huge growth in the number of these craft. The Association of Bayside Municipalities meets every second month. Cr Colomb says it has a crowded agenda

We’re making level crossings a thing of the past. Upcoming changes to the Frankston line. To deliver the level crossing removals at North Road, McKinnon Road and Centre Road, there are going to be a few disruptions to your train services and local traffic conditions over the coming months, including the Easter break.

Buses replacing trains on the Frankston line

Station closures

• Between Caulfield and Mordialloc stations from 25 March to 28 March. • Between Caulfield and Moorabbin stations from 29 March to 3 April.

• Ormond station closes 25 March and will reopen in late August. • McKinnon station closes 25 March and will reopen in early August. • Bentleigh station closes 4 June and will reopen in late August.

Buses replacing trains on the Stony Point line • Between Stony Point and Frankston from 25 March to 3 April.

Road closures • McKinnon and Centre Roads between 8pm 24 March and 5am 5 April. • Bus routes 701, 703, 626 and Night Bus 979 will be affected. Local traders will be open for business during this time so please support businesses in the area. Please plan ahead and allow extra time for your trip. Visit levelcrossings.vic.gov.au or phone 1800 762 667 for details. *Please note these dates may be subject to change.

levelcrossings.vic.gov.au Authorised and published by the Victorian Government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne

PAGE 4 Frankston Times 28 March 2016


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