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Zoe’s big day out for hugs ZOE the Giant Spider Crab had a big day out on Monday 24 May, meeting up with the mayor Cr Despi O’Connor and Crs Susan Bissinger and Sarah Race. Along with the rest of their Mornington Peninsula Shire Council colleagues, the councillors want an exclusion zone around piers to prevent fishing for spider crabs, from May to July. The decision rests with the Victorian Fisheries Authority. Members of Save Our Spidercrabs (SOS) thanked the council for its sup-
port in working to protect the coming aggregations of spider crabs, with Zoe (SOS committee member Zoe McKenzie) offering hugs all round. Four days earlier Zoe the Spider Crab was telling her story to Sorrento, Red Hill, and Rye Scouts at an information session on all things spider crabs. The scouts listened to a presentation by Save Our Spider crabs committee member AJ Morton. Mr Morton said the children “deserve an opportunity to experience the
amazing spectacle that is the annual spider crab aggregation along the Victorian coastline”. The scouts peppered him with questions about the crustaceans before enjoying cuddles with Zoe. Spider crab presentations at community group functions can be arranged through Facebook or Instagram messenger, or email divealliancevic@ gmail.com #saveourspidercrabs Zoe the Giant Spider Crab will be at Rye Scout Hall, 2pm, Sunday 6 June.
Police Point Artist in Residence Retrospective Exhibition
12 – 20 June 2021
10am – 12pm and 1 – 3pm Commanding Officer’s House, Point Nepean National Park, Portsea More than 90 local, national and international artists have participated in the Police Point Artist in Residence program since it began five years ago. View a range of creative works by emerging and established artists, writers, musicians, and creatives created on site or inspired by their residency. The Gatekeepers Cottage, the AiR residence, at the adjacent Police Point Shire Park will also be open to the public. To book, visit: airexhibition.eventbrite.com.au For more information: mornpen.vic.gov.au/airexhibition
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Mornington News
1 June 2021
Ducks granted partial reprieve DUCKS have just two weeks to lie low until the end of this year’s shortened duck hunting season. The season, which ends Wednesday 16 June, was limited to three weeks instead of the three months the state government could have declared. Nationals Leader Peter Walsh said the cutback was “a deliberate attempt to put another nail in the coffin of legal, legitimate recreational activities in regional Victoria”. Mr Walsh quoted a report commissioned and paid for by Field & Game Australia that found “the justification [for the shortened duck hunting season] masquerades as a science-based decision, when in reality it is a politically expedient decision, aimed at legitimising the views of antihunting and animal rights groups, at the expense of hunters”. Animals Australia sees duck hunting as an archaic “sport” that leads to the suffering of hundreds of thousands of native waterbirds each year during recreational shooting seasons. “Shotguns are used by shooters and send a spray of pellets into the air. It is estimated that at least one in every four ducks shot will escape wounded — only to suffer from untreated injuries and to potentially die a slow and cruel death. Protected species are also shot at, killed and wounded each year.” Mr Walsh said hunters were right to fear the
Labor government was trying to “regulate them out of existence in an effort to win over innercity voters.” Hunting generates $356 million for our state, supports thousands of jobs – many of them in rural and regional communities – and brings families out to country areas for a weekend away. But Labor’s limited season will gut this economic boost. Speaking on the reduced season, Field and Game CEO Dean O’Hara said: “I think the majority of people won’t go, which is exactly what the government wants”. Mr Walsh said Labor was deliberately strangling the season so it could build a case against Victorian hunters. “Ridiculously low bag limits and opening hours will discourage many people from making the trip out to our regional communities,” Mr Walsh said. “I’m urging hunters to back our regional communities by still making the trip out for a weekend away with the family. “Uncertainty generated by Labor’s knee-jerk lockdowns is cutting at the heart of small business in our state. “Labor’s stealth attempt to regulate duck hunting out of existence further damages recovery efforts for our cafes, pubs and accommodation providers.” Keith Platt