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Wednesday 12 August 2026
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Sammy immortalised in Safety Beach mural A NEW mural by local artist Tyson Savanah, known as Father Marker, now honours the life of Sammy the seal at Safety Beach. Sammy became a local icon earlier this year, drawn to the beaches between Rosebud and Mornington, with the Safety Beach boat ramp among his favourite resting spots. He gained national attention in April when he took a nap on Point Nepean Road near Anthony’s Nose, closing the road to traffic in both directions for six hours. Sammy died at Coral Cove, Mount Martha, on 12 May, prompting an outpouring of community affection. Tyson, who recently completed a Sammy the seal mural in Melbourne’s Flinders Court, approached the shire offering to donate his time and skills to create a similar artwork on the peninsula. The shire agreed to cover the costs of materials and identified a highly visible wall on the toilet block near the boat ramp. Mayor Cr Stephen Batty said the mural is a fitting tribute to a seal who captured the hearts of the community. Picture: Supplied
Shire to seek changes to landslide overlay Raia Flinos raia@mpnews.com.au MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire will consider asking the state government to drastically reduce the interim landslide planning controls introduced in response to a recommendation from the McCrae landslide board of inquiry. At the 11 August council meeting,
councillors will decide whether to write to Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny requesting amendments to the Interim Erosion Management Overlay (EMO7). If adopted, it would reduce the number of affected properties from 33,000 to around 6,000. The changes would bring the peninsula’s total land area covered by the overlay down to around 5.5 per cent, with 40 per cent being
public land. The recommendation follows months of community backlash following the introduction of the overlay last last year. Many residents argued their properties had been incorrectly classified as highly susceptible to landslides. The shire said while EMO7 was based on the best available information at the time, they have since completed an updated review using
expert advice, updated LiDAR data, and site inspections. The shire previously confirmed EMO7 was a temporary measure until a revised EMO was completed “after a comprehensive shire-wide review of landslide susceptibility data and mapping (also known as Stage 3 of council’s review and update of EMOs on the peninsula)”. The proposed changes mark a significant shift from the original in-
terim overlay, which was introduced following the findings of the board of inquiry into the January 2025 McCrae landslide. The overlay was the subject of widespread criticism, with The News being told properties containing features such as small retaining walls, flat residential streets, piles of garden waste, and otherwise level land had been captured by the mapping. Continued Page 6