NEWS DESK
Church’s blueprint to help homeless
Rain a drain on business
By Barry Morris CATHOLIC parishes should make halls and other buildings available to people who are sleeping rough, a homelessness forum has suggested. The call to open up church properties is one of a series of proposals put to the forum, organised by Catholic Social Services Victoria, in Melbourne on 8 June (“Catholics call for homeless help” The News 4/6/19). More than 50 delegates from Melbourne parishes, including the Mornington Peninsula, attended the forum to discuss problems surrounding homelessness. The suggested strategy started with personal action and covered initiatives that parishes, schools, the archdiocese and governments should set in place. The bishops were also called on to issue regular statements for parishes, social media and the press to maintain pressure on the issue. CSS director Denis Fitzgerald said that while the state government had committed to building an extra 1000 housing units in the next four years, there were 40,000 people needing social housing on the Office of Housing waiting list. He said 20,000 people were on the priority list. “The best efforts of all levels of government will not be enough to satisfy the need for a roof over everyone’s head,” Mr Fitzgerald said. “We are all called to action.” David Moloney told the forum how residents had formed the Seaford Housing Action Coalition (SHAC) to save a beach cabin park for residents
FLOODED footpaths and overflowing gutters after heavy rains like those experienced last week in Point Nepean Road, Rosebud, are bad for business. Traders on the usually busy strip have been hit hard – prompting them to urge Mornington Peninsula Shire Council to fix the drains so that the excess water can escape. Jetty Pizza and Baro Mediterranean Restaurant proprietors Amer and Bahaa Jamal Eddine have circulated a petition calling on the council to ensure a quick fix – especially at the intersection of Jetty Road and Point Nepean Road. “We business owners are urging the council to fix this drainage issue immediately as it is extremely bad for business,” Bahaa Jamal Eddine said. “Both Jetty’s Pizza and Baro have had reservations not turn up in the evenings due to the flooding at this intersection. “Elderly people, especially, are put off by the floods although it is an issue for everybody, not just the elderly. “It’s a big put-off to have to drive through flood water to patronise a business: who would risk that in order just to eat?” Mr Jamal Eddine said the SES and government services advised motorists not to drive through flood waters. “This is effectively recommending they not patronise our business when it rains – on days like 12 and 18 June,” he said. “We do not need more reasons for people to avoid visiting our shops in the depths of winter when many local businesses struggle.”
Action needed: Catholic Social Services director Denis Fitzgerald says there is a need for the church, governments and individuals to help the homeless.
who otherwise would have been out on the street. The cabin park at Seaford was tagged for redevelopment as a car park. He said SHAC also provided meals for rough sleepers, was lobbying for better rooming house standards in the Frankston area and was liaising with Frankston Council for an alternative cabin park site for people at risk of homelessness. The forum suggested that individuals should find out the extent of
homelessness in their area and what was being done about it. They should then volunteer their time and labour at shelters or kitchens, advocate for more funds and contact their local MP seeking support for the homeless. The forum called on parishes to organise to provide food, meals and friendship for the homeless in the community. They could also set aside, build, redevelop or rent a property for
short-term use by women and children fleeing violence. The forum called on Melbourne Archbishop Peter Comensoli to sponsor a specific project to improve the outlook of the homeless and to invite parishes to get behind it in co-operation with government, other organisations and the community. The archdiocese should also provide resource materials, people and information to help parishes engage with the homeless.
Budget seeks to be ‘balanced and friendly’ WINNERS and losers in Mornington Peninsula Shire’s 2019/20 budget include $25 million towards the Rosebud Aquatic centre and beach box owners being hit with increased annual fees. The state government has set a 2.5 per cent cap on rate rises, although the shire has changed its rating strategy – and raise more money - to “focus on green wedge protection” and increased the waste collection costs. The mayor Cr David Gill said the budget was “balanced and community friendly”. Money to for boat ramps had been left out of the budget in anticipation of them being taken over in spring by the state government. Cr Gill said councillors had included “many of community-building aspirations” that came from consulting the public in the lead up to adopting the
budget earlier this month. “Each year, council devises a budget to deliver the best outcomes for the needs and aspirations of our community,” he said. “The 19/20 budget is fair, financially responsible and is delivered with some of the lowest rates of any council in Victoria.” He said “elements of the budget focus on community capacity building, backing our volunteer sector and supporting the overall health of our residents”. “The budget supports our vision to value, protect and improve the unique characteristics and way of life on our peninsula, while being financially responsible and delivering efficiencies and high-quality services.” Included in the budget is $8.3m for township beautification; $2.7m to
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maintain of stormwater drains; $5.1m providing for roadside vegetation; $1.4m for to lessen and adapt to the effects of climate change; $5.4m for parks, open space and streetscapes; $3.9m for bushland and foreshore reserves; and $35.4m for waste services. Listed under “our connectivity” is $12.5m to manage roads, paths, traffic and transport and $1.7m for school crossings in high risk locations. Another $1.6m is for “economic development and tourism programs designed to promote the region, industry development and visitor servicing”. The biggest single budget building item is $25m towards the next phase of the Rosebud Aquatic Centre. Another $3.1m in capital works goes towards recreational leisure and community facilities; $4.9m for child and family health and youth services; and
$1.9m to arts and culture. CEO John Baker, in the introduction to his first budget for the shire, said he had “inherited a sustainable budget” but saw “challenges in the current environment”. He said the shire was eighth lowest Victorian municipality for averaged rates and charges in 2018. “Our total operating cost per assessable property is one of the lowest in the state ($1407 compared to the state average of $2566). This indicates that the shire is delivering essential services very efficiently, compared to the other 78 councils throughout the state. “Despite our strong financial position, with cash reserves of over $40 million, the current rate capping environment creates challenges.” Mr Baker said the budget’s projected spending of $164 million, included
$70.4m on capital works “a 42 per cent increase in funding for important shire projects”. He said construction of the $45m Rosebud Aquatic Centre would in the second half of this year with a view to being completed in late 2020. Other major capital building works included $2.1m for the Mornington Community Centre, and $2m on the pavilion at Crib Point Recreation Reserve. He said $9.1 million would be spent on road renewal and road safety improvements to make the shire a Towards Zero municipality. The $1.4m allocated to lessen climate change continued the shire’s commitment to be carbon neutral by 2021. Copies of the 2019/20 budget can be downloaded at mornpen.vic.gov.au/ budget. Keith Platt
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25 June 2019
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